Michael and Ally worked at the same college.  He was a relief teacher, (he would laugh at that on many occasions as he had been there 3 years now) and she was the librarian. Only he was allowed to call her Ally, to everyone else, she was Miss May.
 
Michael was 24, Ally (Alison) was 39.  Despite the age difference, they became friends, and they regularly shared coffee and laughter in the dining room at lunch time which brought disapproving looks their way by other members of staff. Secretly, Ally was the spark that fuelled Michael’s fantasies.
 
Today, Michael stood outside the doors of the library.  He had been here many times before but not like this.  His heart was pounding, and his throat was dry. 
 
Would she be there? 
 
Only one way to find out, he thought.
 
Pushing the doors open quietly, he gingerly stepped inside.  The cool air that greeted him was refreshing after the humidity outside.
 
Sunlight streamed in through skylights, and high windows inlayed with stained glass of gold and rich earth tones made the light in the library soft and comforting. 
 
Michael glanced towards the librarian’s station, and breathed a sigh of relief.  She was nowhere in sight.  Hurrying over to the shelves that contained the returned books, he began quickly looking for the one he wanted.
 
After what seemed like an eternity, but was in fact only about ten minutes, realisation dawned on him, and as Ally turned the corner of the book shelves and saw him,...