In Parched Gardens: Book 1

Chapter 4: Where Was The Line

Isaac surprised himself by actually getting up early, at least for him. Up by eight, he had gotten ready, eaten something quickly, put on the clothes he needed for work in case he didn't have time to run by his house again before his shift, and walked out his door in a hurry. He lived just a few blocks south of Fin, on the corner of Clarence Avenue and 3rd Street. As such, he had a six block straight-shot west to get to the center of town. Once he made it to the other side of the town Circle, he had to go four more blocks west on 3rd Street, which picked up on the other side of the Circle, and half a block north on Fox Street to the Allbrook Public Library. Though the larger half of Allbrook's primary downtown neighborhood was to the east of the Circle, a considerable portion was also laid in gridwork to the west. Near the western edge of the neighborhood stood the recently renovated public library.

Isaac had long loved the library. Really, he loved reading and learning in general, as well as saving money, and accordingly, he loved the library. It was also nice that if he felt like it, it was walkable. He could drive there, but one of the things he and many others in Allbrook loved was how many places you could walk to. There were certainly many places in the village's limits which were much more convenient or even necessary to drive to. But, there was something so enjoyable to him, especially on warm summer mornings like this, about walking.

As he walked, his mind raced about the material he wanted to search for in the library. No doubt he'd consult the head librarian there. Not that she was necessarily the head librarian in title, but Isaac and everyone else who even semi-frequented the library knew very well that she was the head librarian. Actually, she was probably barely older than Isaac was, somewhere between 30 and 35, and that made him laugh thinking about her. When he used to think of librarians, he couldn't help but think of sweet Mrs. Enross who had been the librarian at Allbrook High School, it seemed to many, for as long as Allbrook had had a high school. An older woman by the time Isaac and Fin had been in school, impressively short, and with glasses thicker than many of the books checked out of the library, she had left a large impression on Isaac. He had spent many lunches and study halls in the library reading and chatting with her, especially in his later years of high school, and they had really gotten to know each other. But Natalie, the current librarian at the public library, was very, very different from Mrs. Enross, and that almost jarring difference made him laugh. Not that he didn't like Natalie, for she was very helpful in his many pursuits there, but she wasn't Mrs. Enross and she could be a bit lordly over the library. But, he supposed, so could Mrs. Enross.

Arriving at the library doors, he quickly made his way, like muscle memory, to the back corner of the library where the small locker area was. That was something he especially appreciated about this library. Certain members, if they were willing to pay a small monthly or annual fee, could rent out a locker in the library to use for things like storing their coats, books they didn't want to take home but wanted to make sure didn't get checked out by someone else, or notebooks they brought with them. Though Isaac was not known for his prodigious spending of money, he wasn't unreasonably cheap either, at least in his estimation. This was especially true when the spending was practical, and when he felt like he was supporting an institution that was important, like the library. He considered not only how much he used the library at this point in his life, but how special it was to him as a child, and he loved seeing children enjoying the library even now. Spending a negligible amount to feel like he was supporting something like that didn't bother him.

Putting his lunch away in his locker, he walked to the main desk to look for Natalie. Instead, as he approached, one of the newer librarians was standing there, fiddling with a few books. More interested in Natalie's proven ability to help him find just about whatever he was looking for, he veered from the main desk down the center of one of the primary wings of the library, looking between each corridor of books for Natalie. Finally, among the young-adult science fiction section, he found her, placing some books back and leafing through others as she went.