That Would Be Enough

2

Lin sifted through his desk drawers hopefully, pushing things aside and digging in deep. His library card had to be in here somewhere. He made a mental note that he needed to find time to better organize his desk. It was something he didn't take time for...he had too much else to do.

Today, Lin decided it was high time he took a visit to the New York Public Library. Not that he felt a sudden urge to read, but he was hoping to encounter a certain librarian by the name of Kate. It had been at least 5 years since he'd visited the library. He had a tendency to buy books he was interested in. Usually, he just didn't have the time in the 3-week checkout limit to finish an entire book. Finally, he found his little red card tucked in the back behind some notebooks.

"Yes!" he said quietly, pulling out his wallet. He tucked the card inside and grabbed his car keys. He typed "New York Public Library" into Google Maps and was astonished to find there were over 100 branches. He exhaled in frustration, stroking his goatee. He figured he'd just try the Grand Central Library, located on 46th street. After paying for parking, he made his way inside.

He'd dressed up a bit more than he usually did to go to a library. Again, he had his "nice" jeans on, and a button-down shirt, undone at the collar. As he entered the large facility, he took a long gaze at the space. He spotted the circulation desk, which several different workers were sitting. None of them was Kate. He decided to take a little walk around the building, seeing if he could scope out any of the workers. For some reason, he felt a bit of nervousness in the pit of his stomach.

He made his rounds around the building, and realized that Kate was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she wasn't working that day, or she worked at one of the other 100 branches. He breathed out, disappointed, and made his way to one of the circulation desk. The young librarian smiled up at him.

"Can I help you, sir?" she offered.

"Uh, yeah. I was hoping you could help me locate an employee. Do you know of any librarians named Kate that work here?"

The girl shook her head. "No one by that name works at this branch. But that's a pretty common name," she pointed out.

He nodded, "Yes, that's true."

She began typing on her computer. "Let me do a quick search in my work e-mail. Everyone's email in the NYPL system is listed there."

"Great, thank you," he said as she began her search.

"I have four Kates," she reported, grabbing a pen and a piece of paper. "You don't know her last name?"

Unfortunately, he didn't, he reported.

She passed him the sheet. "Here are the four Kates that were in the system, and here are the branches they work at."

Lin took the paper gratefully and tucked it into his jeans pocket. As he walked away, he pulled up his phone and began typing the addresses of the other libraries into Google Maps. They were all over the city. He found the closest one and opened the directions. Today would be a field trip day, he decided.

The first location was a bust. He asked for Kate, and a middle-aged, slightly cranky lady appeared. She was annoyed for having her work interrupted. Lin thanked her, saying he had the wrong person, and made a quick exit. He headed to the second location, about a 15 minute drive away.

As he walked into the main area, his eyes immediately fell upon her. She had glasses on – cute little librarian glasses, and she was conversing with a patron standing in front of the desk. She asked the man questions, and continued to click around on her computer. Obviously, she was very thorough. Lin hung back, browsing through some encyclopedias nearby, as he waited for the man to finish.

The conversation seemed to wrapping up, so he took his opportunity to approach the desk. Kate thanked the man, and then turned her attention to the next person in line – Lin.

When she saw his face, her face immediately blushed. Lin smiled and stepped up to the desk.

"Good afternoon," he greeted her, feeling nervous.

"Hello," she said, a little taken aback. Were they just happening to run into each other again by coincidence? She didn't think he'd ever seen him here before. This branch was nowhere near his apartment complex. "Did you need help navigating the Reader's Digest over there?"

Lin looked back at the collection of books he'd been pretending to browse. "No, no," he said, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "Um...," he set his library card on the desk. "I actually haven't been to the library in several years, so I was hoping to see if it's still valid."

Kate smirked and took his card and scanned it. "It is expired," she reported. She pulled up his information. "Are you still on 180th Street?"

"That's the place," he said. Lin despised moving, and tended to stay in one place unless it was absolutely necessary. He still lived in Washington Heights, where he'd grown up, and couldn't imagine living elsewhere in the city.

"Okay," she said, typing on her keyboard. "You know, you could do this yourself online," she mentioned.

He smirked, laughing. "I decided I'd rather do it in person?"

"Why's that?" she asked.

"I was hoping to run into you," he said bluntly, watching her face for a reaction. She bit her lip and kept her eyes on the computer.

"Your card is now up to date," she reported, passing it back to him. "It expires in 2023. Do you need help finding any reading materials?"

"Thank you, but no," he told her, tucking the card back in his wallet. "But, uh...I was wondering if you wanted to grab some coffee after work or something?"

Kate grinned. "I would love to, but I've got to pick Madeline up from day care by 6:00. Otherwise, they start charging me a dollar for every minute I'm late."

Lin winced at that. "I see," he said. "Rain check?"

"Sure," she said, pulling out a small piece of paper. She began writing, then pushed the paper towards him. "Here's my number."

Lin's heart soared. He hadn't even asked for her number and she was giving it out willingly. He carefully tucked the little piece of paper into his wallet for safe keeping.

"Thank you," he said. "I'll text you so you have my number too."

"Great!" she said, and looked to his right, observing another patron was ready to be helped. Lin took his cue that it was time to move on.

"Oh, and by the way," Kate told him as he turned to leave. "Your closest branch is Washington Heights Library. It's on St. Nicholas Avenue."

Lin grinned, knowing it was obvious he'd come here specifically for her. "Thanks," he told her as he headed for the door.

Kate couldn't help but grin as the next patron stepped up to the desk. Somehow, her work day would be a little more bearable now.