From: Jo Rainier
To: Felix Navarro
Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2024, 6:10 P.M.
Subject: RE: Homework
Oh my god, I totally forgot that my display name was Jolene. It’s fixed now.
As you might have guessed, my mom’s a big Dolly Parton fan. And obviously, Dolly is the queen, but there’s only so many times a kid can stand having her own name sung at her when she meets someone new. I even had auburn hair as a girl. (It went more brown as I got older, but now I dye it auburn anyway because eff me, I guess.) I cannot tell you how glad I am not to have eyes of emerald green, though! But thanks for saying Jolene suits me… that’s really nice.
I started going by Jo in middle school. It was my best friend Aida’s idea, actually. We got paired up for some icebreaker activity, and I didn’t want to tell her my name. She weaseled the whole story out of me and suggested I go by Jo instead. I loved it immediately, and Aida and I became inseparable. She corrected everyone who called me Jolene until it stuck.
And since I’ve written you two full paragraphs about my name, I’m going to shut up now.
I’m glad you figured out the equipment! Happy to help. Can’t wait to hear that name on Friday!
Jo
P.S. Funny story. When I told my parents I was moving to Ashville, my mom literally shrieked with joy because she thought I said Nashville and she’s always wanted to go to Dollywood. Like she was only excited to visit me because of my proximity to a theme park. (lol thanks mom)
5
By Friday, Felix was exhausted. Exchanging emails with Jo had kept her on his mind all week. He couldn’t stop picturing her hands, her smile, her pale eyes flecked with dark umber. He’d wanted to write her back, but he couldn’t come up with anything more to say under the guise of librarian/volunteer correspondence. Even asking about her name was pushing the bounds of professionalism.
He read through more of Core Rules to find questions to ask her, but things were actually beginning to make sense. Once he got past the fantasy elements, he found the rules complex, meticulous, and esoteric—in the best way. Wrapping his mind around their intricacies and having things click was extremely satisfying. And since it would be rude to make up questions and waste Jo’s time, he didn’t email her back.
That didn’t stop him from looking up sharply every time the front door of the library opened, though, hoping she’d stroll in to pick up some books. Or from thinking about her in the evenings while he lay on the couch with a book and a glass of wine. Or from hearing her booming laugh in the back of his mind as he fell asleep.
And that’s why he was so exhausted on Friday. He spent every night in his basement gym, getting out the restlessness Jo stirred up in him, overworking his body as he pummeled the bag to the sounds of “Hey Ya!” and “Supermassive Black Hole” and “Work It.” That last one, actually, he’d had to skip when it came up on shuffle. It didn’t help matters.
He was just lonely and pent up, Felix told himself. Dating in his thirties in a town of only eight thousand people was tough. Most women his age were married with kids. He hadn’t slept with anyone, or even gone out much, since he’d lived in New Jersey. He’d just started seeing someone when he got that phone call from Tito last June, a mere week after finishing grad school. Things weren’t serious enough for them to want to try long distance, and since then, there hadn’t been anyone Felix was interested in pursuing.
But now, here was Jo. Funny and cute and passionate about something she loved. Charming him with an abundance of parenthetical statements in her emails. Willing to help him out and asking nothing in return. And, as a bonus, if that text was any indication, she apparently thought he was hot.
There was no denying how good that felt.
“Hey, Peg?” Felix said when his co-worker came back from her lunch break Friday afternoon. “May I ask a favor?”
“You still owe me a dollar from the last time you wanted a pop,” Peggy retorted with a smile.
He chuckled. “Not that. Are you free to stay late tonight? For about an hour?”
“What for?”
“The volunteer I’m working with on the game night launch is coming at six,” he said. “She’s a woman. Last week I didn’t think about the fact that we’d be alone in here. And I had to lock the door after hours.”
Peggy grimaced. “Ooh, honey.”
“I know. I feel awful about it.” Felix ran a hand through his hair and felt the dull burn of a tight muscle deep in his shoulder. “It turned out okay, but she was understandably nervous at first. I think she’ll be more at ease if someone else is here.”
“Well, you know me,” Peggy said with her best customer service smile. “Always glad to help out with volunteers. I’ll be here.”
“Thank you, Peggy.”
A few hours later, right before six, Jo arrived. She was in scrubs again—navy blue pants and a top with a blue-and-white paisley pattern. Her denim jacket was over her head, her glasses dotted with rain from the downpour outside. On her shoulder was a yellow tote bag, emblazoned with the words “There’s a non-zero chance this bag is filled with dice.” She beamed at Felix across the front desk, and he grinned and gave her a polite wave.
“Hey, sugar, we’re closing in a few,” Peggy said as she came around the corner from the reading room, where she’d made the same announcement.
“Oh, I’m here for Felix,” Jo replied, pointing at him. Felix’s heart leapt, despite his head knowing that she didn’t mean it the way it sounded.
“Peggy, this is Jo, our volunteer for game night,” he said, standing up. “Jo, my colleague, Peggy.”
“Great!” Peggy said with a double thumbs-up. “Sorry about that, sugar. If you two want to go get started, I can watch the desk.”
Jo glanced between them and furrowed her brow.
“Peggy’s going to stay tonight,” Felix jumped in. “I thought you’d be more comfortable that way.”
Jo’s jaw dropped in surprise. “You—oh. That… that was thoughtful of you. Thanks. And thanks, Peggy.”
“No trouble at all, Jo. We like to keep our volunteers happy.” She waved in the direction of the reading room. “You kids go on. Plenty of space available.”
Jo gave Felix an eager grin, which did more funny things to his heart. “Ready when you are.”
As they headed off, Peggy called after them, “Holler if you need me!”
