Bridget was a librarian

she dressed conservatively and wore librarian glasses

hardly ever speaking to customers

checking out their books with a timid smile

living at home with her aging mother

her day started early preparing breakfast

cleaning the house and helping her mother dress

before walking a short way to the library

she came home every lunchtime

preparing sandwiches for her mother

stealing the occasional bite as she tidied up 

back at the library her silent phone lit up frequently

remember to buy the vegetables

my prescriptions are running low

you left dirty dishes in the sink again

I want fish for dinner tonight and don’t overcook it

bedtime was her only period of solitude

curling up with her favorite book

too exhausted to read more than a page or so

dreaming about being an author

one day at work her phone was unusually quiet

her mother did not respond to her texts

she knew something was wrong and ran home

finding her lifeless body at the foot of the stairs

Bridget quit her job at the library

exchanged her librarian glasses for contacts

spending her inheritance on a round the world cruise

enjoying being waited on hand and foot

she became a social queen on the cruise circuit

lovers were easy to find and easy to lose

fulfilling a dream to write a best seller

the book began with….Bridget was a librarian