annoying ass and watch him get zapped by lightning?”
“Evan, I’m trying to teach you something here.”
“Sorry, go ahead.”
I got that short pause that teachers engage in to give the student time to stop being a dumbass and listen. Then he started his story.
“Ben and this fellow had an adversarial relationship. They worked together and had to see each other every day as they were working toward the same goal. No matter what they did they just seemed to be too combative to get along, let alone work together. Then Ben came at the problem from a different angle. He knew the man had a large and extensive library that he was quite proud of, and so Ben asked if he could borrow a book.”
“I have so many questions…”
“Keep your questions for after the parable. Ben made sure to return the book promptly, in good shape, and with a gracious note of thanks. That single act made all the difference in the world. That man and Ben became great friends and went on to work well together on many projects.”
I glanced to the side. Dad was pleased with himself I could see.
“Is that the end of the story?”
“It is.”
“Who was the man? What was the project? What book did he borrow? Did you just make this up knowing that I admire Ben Franklin?”
“The details aren’t important, Evan Cadoc.”
Damn. I got two names. One more and I’d be in really deep shit. “Okay, sorry, but there are lots of holes in that story. But I get the point. You think I should borrow a book from Gideon.”
We stopped in front of my house. My porchlight lit up my tiny yard well, throwing a soft white light on Dad’s face. He was still a handsome man, with deep laugh lines that showed how well he had enjoyed his life so far.
“I think he wants you to borrow a book but he’s not sure how to make the offer.”
“He was ridiculously mean to me.”
“I know, Son.”
A moment of quietude fell over us. A barn owl hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo’d off in the distance. The first call of one owl seeking another.
“I’ll think about it, Dad. I really will.”
“I know that too.” He patted my cheek and went home to Mom. I watched him until he was inside, and his porch light went out. Then I sat on my stoop and stared at the stars in the cold, black sky. The lonely owl called again, and again, and then once more before he fell silent. I went inside then to have a cup of coffee and think.
Chapter Four
Monday was a long day. Exceptionally long. So long that by the time Mara handed me my coat and my leather bag at five p.m., I wondered if I’d be able to haul my weary ass home. Everything that had come across my desk today had been swaddled in negativity. No funding of any kind for the Christmas Carnival had been approved. Which meant that we either nixed the idea or we borrowed the money. The city council was talking of vetoing my proposed change in the city clerk’s wages so I’d been in group chats for most of the day arguing for a pay raise while they argued against. Given that the last wage increase was before I’d been born, I felt the hard-working clerks deserved the increase. The city commissioners disagreed, citing a lack of available funds. I’d never met three people with harder heads in my life. We’d agreed to settle it at the monthly town meeting this Thursday one way or the other.
After that it had been permit day, so Mara and I had waded through the pending permits and licenses my constituents had applied for. Then a quick meeting at the library to discuss adding a new laptop checkout kiosk and how much that would dip into our meager coffers. There simply wasn’t enough money for everything that needed to be done in my poor, small town. No matter how many ways I tried to finagle the influx of tax money with the yearly stipend from the state, there simply wasn’t enough for necessities let alone wish lists like a library laptop checkout kiosk.
I felt the burden weighing me down. My mind was all over the place, scurrying like a chipmunk trying to fill his den with nuts before winter. I was so engrossed with trying to work how to rob Peter to pay Paul that seeing Gideon waiting for me on my front porch took