Chapter III
It was the day after the lunch. I had woken up with a slight stomachache, maybe it was the goat cheese being processed in my stomach. I figure my stomach is not that well equipped for cheese, especially goat cheese. Even so, I would eat it again if ever the chance comes to me.
The day was cold. I could see grey clouds hovering over the sky from my bedroom window. I felt cold even inside my thick-walled bedroom. I finished my usual morning routine, taking a shower and other miscellaneous things. It was my ordinary Autumn day.
As I took a seat on my usual seat my assistant had said that there was someone who wanted to see me. It was uncommon for someone to be searching for me, the visitors usually depended on my assistant if they ever needed any guidance through the maze-like library.
“He said his name was Mr. Smith, Mr. Wyatt Smith, and that he needed you for some urgent business.”
It was rare even for Mr. Smith to come visit me, but if it is for an urgent business that might as well means I have to respond to him urgently. I set out to where Mr. Smith was waiting, passing through a number of visitors. It is nice to see visitors in this grand library, reading whatever they find interesting or soothing for their own mind, devoured by their imagination and fantasies, forgetting their many worldly problems or accidents. The paradise of an escape the book gives to their readers are very well brilliant.
I came to Mr. Smith, he was just waiting, his feet tapping impatiently. His back was against me, in front of him was a long reading table, it was all but empty with just him waiting there. The reading lamp in front of him was lit, one lamp out of the many others on the table. He had a piece of paper in front of him. Mr. Smith studied that piece of paper intently, as if he was seeking an answer out of it. Mr. Smith was so immersed in his thoughts that he did not even notice me as I was right behind him.
“What is it that you want to see me for Wyatt?”
Mr. Smith flinched and turned to myself.
“O-Oh, you’re here Andy”
I pulled the chair beside him and took a seat, leaning forward to his position.
“Yes, I know I’m here, so what is it?”
Mr. Smith looked very much excited about the topic. I could see if he weren’t on a seat he would be jumping and I would have to kick him out for disturbing the library.
“I need a book about airship mechanism, do you have any that comes to mind? I need good ones”
“I don’t know anything about airships or the sort but you can find books related to them on the aeromechanic section which is over there”
“Thank you Andy, appreciate it”
And with that he stood up and left me alone with the one lit lamp.
I turned off the lamp and headed back to my reading seat, just behind the counter. On my way back I saw a familiar figure, a woman with wavy black hair, Ms. Stone. Ms. Stone was sitting alone reading what looks to me was a novel. And so I greeted her.
“Good morning Ms. Stone, I didn’t know you were a regular here”
This feeling of comfort from talking to other people is foreign to me. I did not even know Ms. Stone that well but I was trying to keep myself from looking arrogant. She flinched, much like Mr. Smith, and closed her novel with a thump.
“Mr. Anderson! I didn’t see you there, I’m sorry”
“Not at all, what is that you’re reading Ms. Stone?”
She hid the novel behind her back as if it was something disgraceful.
“O-oh! It’s just an ordinary novel”
I saw that as a sign to not question further.
“I see, I hope you will enjoy the library Ms. Stone, I will see you in a couple of days then”
So I left Ms. Stone to her ‘disgraceful’ book. It occurred to me as odd, hiding something that one is reading. If one felt disgraced in reading a book then why would he or she read it in the first place, is it for a sense of guilty pleasure, I don’t know. But it soon departed from my point of interest, I still have a book to finish, The History of Cheese, oh what an interesting book indeed.
But I was once again separated from my precious book of cheese. My assistant had called out to me when she saw me coming back.
“There was a call from a Ms. Sylvester for you”
With a heave of sigh I sat down on my chair.
“If it is anything important then she will call again”
And so she actually did call again. It was unfortunate for me. I picked up the phone and answered her calling.
“Hello! Can I talk to a Mr. Anderson?”
I cleared my throat once.
“Yes, this is the Grand Library, may I help you?”
“Yes, as I said can I talk to a Mr. Anderson? I was informed that he worked here.”
What an oblivious girl. I guess meeting once won’t make someone recognize the voice of others through the telephone.
“Yes, that’s would be me, how can I help you Ms. Emily?”
“Oh, I’m sorry for not recognizing you Mr. Anderson”
“Please, it’s Jefferson”
“Oh yes…”
“…And? What is it that you wanted to talk about?”
“Oh! Yes, would you mind going out to lunch with me?”
I hesitated to accept the offer, but seeing as we would be co-workers for a quite a while I did not see a reason to decline the offer. Establishing relationship with co-workers can further develop the quality of work done and made. Besides, a quick trip to lunch outside wouldn’t cause a dent in the library’s performance. That’s why I have my competent assistant here to replace me when I’m gone on a date or idling away my time on a café someplace sipping on a cup of coffee.
“I would be delighted to join you Ms. Emily”
“That’s terrific! I will head to the library then, oh and please, it’s just Emily”
“Very well then Ms. Emily, I will see you soon”
I returned the receiver to its rightful place and slacked down on my chair. I was feeling a bit famished, maybe it was because of the fact that I was reading a book about food, more specifically, cheese. I had imagined all the kinds of flavors the different kinds of cheese gave off to my tongue, which incidentally caused my mouth to water up.
I left my book on my work-table, and started heading towards the aisles. I scanned the bookshelves to my right and left, picking up what seems to me was interesting enough. After having found enough books I head towards the reading tables, the smaller ones with only 4 seats. On one of them was the black-haired lady, Ms. Stone.
“I see you’re still reading that novel. I’ve read it once, it’s a fine piece of work if I may say.”
And again she flinched at me. I had guessed Ms. Stone was caught off-guard by my presence.
“O-oh! Mr. Anderson, yes, I guess it’s decent”
“Decent enough to take your whole attention I presume”
“Oh that’s not quite the case! I was just dozing off”
“While reading a lewd novel? Is it that boring?”
Her face reddens with embarrassment. I guess I was off the line.
“Oh, this is an erotic novel? I didn’t know that”
I shrugged her away.
“Ah I guess you didn’t know that, even though you’ve read roughly half of it. Never-mind that though, here are some of my recommendations for you Ms. Stone, I think these will pique your interest, they’re of the same genre I can tell you that much”
I placed the stack of novels next to her reading lamp. Ms. Stone studied the stack of novels, counting how many are in them. I had only picked up 5 novels. All of which were either by the same author as Ms. Stone’s book or of the same genre, like I said earlier.
“My, you shouldn’t have. Thank you, ermm, even though I don’t really like these kinds of things but I appreciate the help, I do”
Ms. Stone seemed excited at the stack. Of course, it was my job to recommend books to the readers so that they will come here again. If I don’t do this, then this library would’ve been closed for lack of visitors, good thing the company pays for its bills.
I didn’t know why I helped her with her interests. Ms. Stone is quite intriguing, maybe it’s the fact that she’s also a literature fan that made her all the more intriguing. I guess I have a soft spot for fellow readers. Or maybe it’s the fact that we’re about to be co-workers, just like what the case was with Ms. Sylvester.
As I was returning to my seat, Ms. Sylvester had called out to me from the gates. She was wearing a light-brown coat and a checkered scarf. Ms. Sylvester was waving her hands at me and so I returned her wave.
“I see you’re all ready to go Ms. Emily”
“Yes, shall we then Mr. Jefferson?”
“Let me take my coat first”
I then returned to my chair and picked up my coat on the reading table.
“Let’s get going shall we, wouldn’t want to miss out on a seat”
I said to Ms. Sylvester as I inserted my right hand into my coat and started wearing it.
“Alright, I know this great place where we can find some of my favorite Tomato and Basil soup”
“Tomato and Basil is nice”
We departed from the grand library and headed into the streets of autumn. The streets were partially filled, most of them were business people going to meet their clients in some place somewhere. We walked through the cold damp pavements. Some street shops had a late start on opening for the morning course, but even so they still had a decent amount of customers coming in.
“So where is this favorite place of yours Ms. Emily?”
Ms. Sylvester started tapping her chin lightly with the tip of her index. Her fingers looked delicate to the touch, white in color with clean fingernails. As expected of a woman of her age.
“Hmm, if I remember correctly it’s just around this corner”
“Will it be crowded? I wouldn’t want to miss out on this soup of yours”
“At this hour? No, it shouldn’t be too crowded, but in the evening they’re really cramped. I even had to have a reservation once just to have dinner with my mother. She also loved the soup there, but her favorite dish is the Banoffee Pie and I couldn’t blame her, it was really delicious”
“Ah, maybe next time you should invite your mother as well, I’d love to meet her and have a slice of pie”
“You can’t, she already passed away sadly”
“Oh I’m terribly sorry, I shouldn’t have said what I said”
“It’s quite alright, she passed peacefully”
“Thank God then”
I had lost my tongue. I couldn’t speak another word. How did I end up making the situation this awkward, hell knows. But what was done was done, all I need to do is to patch up the broken pieces left. We had turned to the corner and as she said there it was, the little coffee shop with the amazing soup. The shop wasn’t all too crowded, at least from the outside it didn’t give off any sign of busy life.
“We’re here, it may not look like much but it’s a very comfortable shop”
“I see”
We went in and sat on a table especially for two. The inside was well decorated. Wooden furniture and some ceiling lamps. A white wallpaper covered the entire room and gave off a sense of relaxation to the room. There was a stage, but at the time it was just another stage, empty. No surprise there since it’s still day time, people usually have live shows in the evening.
A waitress came to our table and took our orders. Ms. Sylvester had ordered the Tomato and Basil soup with a glass of black tea. I ordered the exact same thing and the waitress left us to wait. The tea came quickly so we shouldn’t wait too long to enjoy their brew. The smell was fresh and calming. I took a sip and a surge of warm relaxation breezed through my throat and into the pit of my stomach. It was good tea.
“This is surprisingly good, I should come here often”
“Yes this is a very good shop, I frequent this shop. Say Mr. Jefferson, do you have a shop you also frequent? Any good coffee shops that you could recommend to me?”
“Well it’s more of a café, they have a very delicious banana cake but what they’re really named for is their goat cheese. I’ve never tried it though. I usually read my books there for a change of scenery, I can’t live in the library forever you know”
“I know what you mean, I love my workplace but sometimes I would be bored of it and needed some outside world and so I found this getaway shop. Going out for a while is quite nice actually”
“What do you do actually Ms. Lily? I know Aaron and Wyatt well and I know that Ms. Stone is Aaron’s former assistant, but what do you do? What’s your part in this expedition?”
The waitress came back with two bowl of Tomato and Basil soup. She placed it neatly in front of us and left two spoons right side of it and left. Ms. Sylvester took a sip of is and put the soup spoon down.
“Refreshing, well Mr. Librarian...”
She joked.
“I’m a pilot, Aaron’s pilot actually”
I never saw it coming.
“Ah I see, that’s quite the interesting job you have”
“Yes, it quite is the interesting job. I loved planes, and I also followed in my uncle’s foot-steps, Aaron’s father. If I remember correctly, Aaron’s father was your grandfather’s pilot”
“Yes, that’s true, it’s nice to see that you have a figure to hold on to. And here I am drowning myself with books because I didn’t know what I wanted to do”
She giggled.
“Oh it mustn’t be that bad, I think it’s quite nice, you can fill yourself with knowledge until you can’t remember anything anymore. I think that’s quite positive”
“Well, it’ not better than having something specific to thrive for at least. But being a librarian is harder than you think, sometimes I have to deal with rogue visitors”
She raised her eyebrow on that matter.
“Oh would you please tell me about these ‘rogue’ visitors in your domain Mr. Librarian”
She snickered.
“Well actually there was this time when the library almost got robbed. It was a thief, a book thief if you may. And if it weren’t for my quick actions he would’ve gotten away with it”
She laughed softly at the short story that I had told her. The story was genuine though, the thief had almost stolen a book.
“And what did this book thief took?”
“It was a just a couple of old novels”
“And what was your quick action that stopped this ferocious thief?”
“I threw a book at him, hit right on his head and he fell”
Again, she laughed softly. It was a hard book, an encyclopedia if I remembered correctly. I had been searching on some facts about the deep blue. You see, I had taken a liking to marine life and its mysteries at the time.
“You must be joking”
“I’m afraid not”
So the conversation died out. Silence seeped in once again from all direction. Of course for me silence was comfortable, but silence is not for everyone to enjoy. Some people tend to dislike silence as it is uncomfortable and awkward. But maybe it’s just my librarian instinct for liking silent situations such as this.
She finally broke the ice with a question,
“So what’s your role in this little party Mr. Jefferson?”
I had no clue what my role was in this expedition. At first I had thought that it would just be a trip of friends but as I looked closer everyone had a role of their own. Mr. Sylvester was the leader, the experienced traveler. Mr. Smith was the trusty mechanic who can do general engineering. Ms. Stone was the other expert on the matter. And last but not least Ms. Sylvester was the pilot. Now where do I contribute in this little expedition.
“I hadn’t the slightest clue on what I’m supposed to be in this expedition, a counselor maybe? I tried studying psychology once. Well I actually only read about it in a book but I think I get the main idea of it”
Ms. Sylvester let out a short giggle.
“I guess we’re going to find out about that later on Mr. Jefferson”
“So we shall”
The lunch continued smoothly.
We had conversations in-between sips of soup. Mostly I would only listen to her tell stories about the adventures she had with Mr. Sylvester. Of course none of them were new to me since Mr. Sylvester would always share them through his letters.
I had discovered how wonderful a person Ms. Sylvester was. She was the typical lively woman who knows how to keep the atmosphere as it is. She was quite honest about her life, unless she wasn’t telling the truth at all. She would laugh at all the sarcastic jokes I made. God forbid me on making those awful jokes.
As we had our conversation the shop started to gain some weight. Pedestrians started coming in and before we knew it the seats were almost full. The only empty space was a table fit for two. But not long after that too was taken by an elderly couple.
The majority that filled the shop was students, relaxing in their off-time just after school. It made me wonder whether I had relaxed when I was still in university. I actually didn’t remember if I had been busy the entire time either.
The instrumental music kept on playing. Now a pianist was taking the stage. He guided the room to an assortment of thoughts with his relaxing music. I had always enjoyed the sound of the piano in my ears. Maybe I should buy a piano for the library, who knows maybe I could learn how to play it.
The day continued and finally the sun was starting to set.
“---and that was the time Aaron almost lost his leg to an alligator. By God he can be very reckless at times. If it weren’t for me pulling him with my aircraft he would’ve lost his right leg and he would have to limp his way home”
“Funny, I haven’t heard this one before. Maybe Aaron was embarrassed that his tricks didn’t work”
“Well he does have a big ego, he wouldn’t want to break it now would he”
“It’s gotten rather dark has it?”
“Oh my, you’re right, I didn’t even realized it”
“We should get going then”
We called for a waiter and had asked for the bill. The shop was now busy, busy enough to only have very few available waiter or waitresses. Luckily we managed to grab the attention of one of them. The waiter we had called out brought us our bill. For a good coffee shop the expenses weren’t that much, I could even consider it cheap for the quality they had served.
We stood up and left the shop. By the time we were outside I saw that our seat was already taken by some other customers. The atmosphere of the café still lingered in me, maybe it had seeped to the outside.
Ms. Sylvester and I parted ways when we arrived at an intersection. She had told me that her home was the opposite direction from the library, coincidentally.
“Thanks for the lunch Ms. Emily”
“You’re welcome, maybe we could do it again sometime, after the expedition perhaps”
“I’d love to”
We waved our goodbyes and went on to our homes.
I hid my hands inside my pockets and started pacing through the cold stone pavements. Dry leaves scattered here and there, cracking from just a light step. The orange carpeted stone pavements rejuvenated the mind. The walk was long, but it was worth it.
When I arrived at the library it was already empty, even so there weren’t that many people there to begin with. I had seen that Mr. Smith has already went away with his books about blimps and whatnot. All the while Ms. Stone had left her table clean. The novels I had suggested to her were returned to their respective shelves. My assistant was sipping her coffee.
“Welcome back Mr. Anderson”
“Thanks”
After greeting me she then went back to her book. She was reading a novel, a classic one at that. I had already read that one once.it was a pretty interesting story about a man who lost his wife from the war and had to take care of his 4 children.
I walked to my chair and grabbed my book from the desk in front of it. I slumped into my chair and started back on reading the book I had been interested in. But soon after I had lost interest in it and felt that I was too tired to read. I informed my assistant about the trip and I was about to have and about the replacement that Mr. Sylvester had arranged and said my goodnight to her. I looked through the closet of my bedroom and found a set of pajamas that I later change into.
The moment I looked at my bed I was surprised that it wasn’t vacant. On my bed laid a briefcase and a mountaineering bag. Almost forgot to pack up for the trip. Knowing that the trip wasn’t until the day after tomorrow, I decided to drop them to the floor and dropped to my bed. Before I could get some shut eye my assistant had come to my bedroom.
“Oh Mr. Anderson I forgot to inform you, Mr. Sylvester came when you were away and left you a bag. He said it was a gift”
“I’ve seen it, thank you. You may go home now, and don’t forget to lock up”
“I won’t, goodnight Mr. Anderson”
“Goodnight”
After she left I said to myself,
“What a bother you are Aaron, honestly”
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