#60 Yahweh

Dear diary,

Pepper had kept our final destination a secret throughout the whole journey. I’d tried to plot it on the map, following the trajectory we’d made so far from west to north to east across rural Victoria in the Mobile Library. But it was only after noticing the ‘other’ pattern we’d been following that I correctly guessed where we were headed.

The van rolled onto the main road of our last town, albeit slowly. The street was crowded with people, more than could possibly live in this town. It appeared as though people had come from every town for miles for this parade. As we drove on the people parted to let us through, shouting and cheering us on. Heb came up to the front of the van and scanned the crowds ahead of us. He frowned and pointed out that there was nothing else on the road, and that everyone’s attention was focused on the Mobile Library. I slowly nodded in agreement, allowing for this interesting morsel of information to sink in.

Pepper sat there in the driver’s seat with a huge, knowing grin on her face. Suddenly she told me to take the wheel, and before I could react she wound down the window and leaned out. I grabbed the steering wheel as our librarian climbed out of the window and onto the roof. Heb opened the skylight and poked his head out like a periscope. He reported that Pepper was, um, setting up massive speakers and, um, reaching into her, um, ah, you know, hehe, cleavage, and, um, pulling out a microphone and, um, speaking to the, um, crowd and oh wait you can hear that, um, okay never mind then you know what she’s saying.

I drove at about 5kph to allow for people to come up to the window and shout their blessings to us. One woman threw her underwear at Heb, who blushed bright red to match the silken lingerie. A man, woman I recognised from FaceBook pics as Pepper’s husband, climbed on top of the van and handed Pepper a bouquet of flowers. I looked out of the windows and beamed with joy. Kids were looking up to us as role models, grandparents praising us for providing a service for their whole lives, and parents lauding us for taking both the youngins and the oldies off their hands. It was truly spectacular.

Pepper had organised another treat for us. I parked the Mobile Library van and immediately there was a knock on the door. Tentatively I opened it, steeling myself for the inevitable onslaught of the rushing masses, only to be met with a surprising sight. Boudecia stepped into the van, raised her eyebrows (which for her is a massive sign of approval) and walked past me. Bron rushed in straight behind her to embrace Heb in an embarrassing way that only a mother can master. The rest of the gang poured in: Goldie, Sylvia, Ernesto, TJ and even Talia. Shannon entered last and opened up a book she was holding. The transparent image of the Bookman, the main library’s resident ghost and also Shannon’s father, soared out of it and floated in the air.

Pepper, Heb and I took a much needed break while the other staff staffed the Mobile Library. We went to the local pub and had a five-and-a-half-star banquet meal, all the time surrounded by excited onlookers. It felt a bit Orwellian but definitely not unpleasant, to be watched by so many avid readers all wanting to be in the presence of we humble library workers. I looked from Heb’s face to Pepper’s to my own (there was a mirror handy), and I could see we were all grinning wildly. This was heaven to us.

The celebrations lasted all day, with massive library thoroughfare the likes of which we had never seen, except possibly in Reeding. I managed to sneak away to have a moment to myself. Sitting out the back of the pub, I mused over the events of the past few weeks. I’d experienced rural Australia and met heaps of interesting people. I’d sung on stage, been involved in a bar fight, experienced the wonderful Australian outback, rescued someone from a kidnapping, met a beautiful woman…

Ursula appeared from around the corner, smiling and holding two champagne glasses. She came over and sat next to me.

“How did you find me?” I asked.
“Well, your van does kinda stand out.”
“Not that much.”
“Ah, yeah, good point. Would you believe me if I told you it was a coincidence?”
“Like us visiting towns whose names just happen to start with L-I-T-E-R-A-C-Y?”
“Two good points. Okay, you win, I’ve been kinda sorta uh following you since our last meeting. Thought you might need me to bail you out again or something.”

She chuckled softly and took off her rapper beanie to reveal her long black flowing hair. She looked incredible, stunning, so damn hot! She leant forward and or lips touched for one precious moment.

Suddenly my ears flattened and I snapped my head around as the sound, breaking our connection. Through the open door of the library I saw a pile of books lying on the floor where someone had dropped them, and was now walking out of the library. I stood up straight, apologised to Ursula and ran off to do what I was born to do: shelve.

-Jay, Shelver Explorer