The Beautiful Librarian

A comic book fanatic is ordered by his mom to spend one whole summer reading normal books at the public library, but he meets a beautiful librarian who distracts him despite her oddness.

Steve must've collected over 1,000 comic books since he was 12. He was now 35 and working from her home with an online business consultancy firm. Steve was making good money but was still single and brought his mother to live with him in his condo in Virginia (USA) after his father died of a heart-attack. Steve's mother Shirley was concerned that her adult son was wasting too much personal time reading comic books and needed to mingle more with civilization. Shirley ordered Steve to spend at least 2 hours a day at the local public library reading normal books and perhaps try to meet a nice woman there to date and maybe marry(!).

Steve decided to do what his mother commanded. In the summer of 2020, Steve planned to spend about 2 hours a day at the local public library, the Allen P. Vogelson Virginia Beach Library(!). Steve went to this library after his working hours on weeknights and between 12-2 p.m. on Saturdays/Sundays. He did this through the entire month of June. Steve did as his mother ordered and refrained from reading comic books and instead read books about oceanography, Shakespeare, engineering, Egypt, and medicine. He was surprisingly stimulated despite the obvious fact that comic books dominated his imagination. He had not yet, however, met a nice woman (at the Vogelson library) to court, which was his mother's real hope.

Then, in early July, Steve noticed a new regular visitor to the Vogelson library, a rather attractive woman in glasses who seemed to be about 35 years-old, Steve's age! Steve felt drawn to this woman and started thinking of ways to approach and meet her(!). He decided one day to walk up to her (while she was sitting and reading at the usual table she liked at the library) with a book about ghost-stories and show it to her and see if she wanted to peruse some of the spook-tales in the book with him! She accepted his offer and told him to sit down next to her. She had on a terrific flower-type perfume.

The woman introduced herself as Shelley, a local nurse working at the hospital. Shelley wanted to spend summer time at the Vogelson library reading books and 'enriching' her mind. Steve told her he was at the library that summer to do the same thing, under orders from his mother, so he'd start weening off his 'comic book addiction.' Shelley seemed impressed Steve wanted to obey his concerned mother. The two began sitting regularly together at the Vogelson library, reading ghost-stories together. Steve was excited now everyday to wrap up work during weekdays and freshen up on weekend mornings to head to the Vogelson library and read and share time with his new 'companion' Shelley. Steve told his mother he may have met a perfect woman at the library...his mother smiled

Steve and Shirley began dating. He took her to the pizzeria after spending time with her at the library and then to the local park, where he'd park his car and spend time kissing Shelley and sharing his daydreams. Steve told Shelley he wanted to someday write a book about a new great American detective, even better than Dick Tracy himself(!). Shelley began falling in love with Steve's offbeat maturity, and he was drawn to her unusual and charming demeanor. Shelley would often keep Kleenex tissues in her purse which she'd pull out while she and Steve were sitting at the park together and rub the soft aloe-vera tipped tissues on Steve's face. One cool night in August, Steve asked Shelley to marry him.

STEVE: You're my ideal woman...
SHELLEY: We've had a wonderful time together!
STEVE: I'm daydreaming now of us being a married couple.
SHELLEY: Marriage would be rather extreme, no?
STEVE: Why, don't you like our chemistry?
SHELLEY: Well, I like the fact that you're not a comic book junkie anymore.
STEVE: I adore your strange and charming demeanor, Shelley!
SHELLEY: I have a secret that may prove to be an obstacle...
STEVE: You can tell me anything; I think I'm totally in love with you.
SHELLEY: I'm a ghost...
STEVE: What?
SHELLEY: I died in 1989 in a car crash; I used to be a nurse at a Maryland hospital.
STEVE: What?
SHELLEY: Look at my hand; if I wave it in front of your eyes, it'll seem a hologram!
STEVE: Oh God, I really think I'm in love with you!
SHELLEY: That's why I'm telling you; I was originally going to nurse at the hospital.
STEVE: As a specter?
SHELLEY: As an 'angel'...
STEVE: The living can't love the dead, Shelley!
SHELLEY: Why, didn't you feel passion when we kissed?
STEVE: I suppose I did, Shelley, but I think ghosts frighten me...
SHELLEY: Nothing can divide true love.
STEVE: Alright, 'ghost Shelley' (I will love you!).
SHELLEY: So what'll you tell your mom?
STEVE: I'll tell her...I met an 'enchanting' woman.



*The End*