Just One Look (Castleton Hearts)

I nodded, trying to absorb everything so I didn’t forget.

“But if you ever have questions, or need anything, do not hesitate to ask.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Okay, are you ready to try checking out some books?” she asked, and I said I was, even though I was nervous.

We had to wait a few minutes before an older woman came by with a stack of biographies.

“Hello Marla,” Beth said with a bright smile. “More presidents?”

“Some are more interesting than others,” Marla said.

“This is Kendra, my newest volunteer. I’m showing her the ropes.” Marla gave me her card number, and I scanned the first book with the little wand until the computer beeped. I let out a sigh of relief before doing the rest of her books.

“Those are due back on the 28th,” Beth told her as she picked up the stack.

“Thanks so much. I’ll see you before then,” Marla said with a laugh as she toddled out the door with her stack.

“Marla loves non-fiction, and she’s decided she wants to read just about anything about the presidents, so she started with Washington and is working her way up. I’ve tried to get her into fiction, but she’s not interested. A lot of readers know what they like, and some can be persuaded.”

I filed that away.

The rest of my shift was spent doing all kinds of tasks, from helping a patron make some copies, to dealing with a malfunctioning computer mouse, to putting back a bunch of books a toddler had yanked off the shelves when his mother had her back turned for a few seconds. She was so apologetic, but it wasn’t a big deal.

“So, what do you think?” Beth asked as we sat at the desk and waited for another patron.

“It’s fun. I’m going to have to get really familiar with what books we have, though, because there’s so many.” I was used to huge libraries in Boston, but even the Castleton Library had hundreds of books, and was always getting new ones.

“Take some time and browse. And you don’t have to know every single book. I definitely don’t. You’ll learn what our patrons want, and their tastes pretty fast. They take out a lot of mysteries, a lot of crime fiction, romance, and nonfiction about gardening and learning foreign languages.” I should have brought a notepad.

“Once you get the hang of things, I’d love your input on what younger readers are wanting. Our patrons skew a little bit older, so I’d love to get teens and twenty-somethings in the door.”

I looked at Beth, because she didn’t seem that old, but I’d guess she was in her mid-thirties.

“I don’t know how hip I am, but I can give it a shot?” I said.

“I appreciate it,” Beth said. “If you want, you can grab a snack in the kitchen and take a quick break.”

The kitchen was sweet and cozy and had a bowl of fruit, fresh coffee, and a few boxes of snacks. I grabbed a granola bar and sat down at the big table.

“How’s your first day?”

I jumped and turned around to see the other volunteer who had come in a few minutes ago.

“Great,” I said, struggling to remember her name and then seeing her nametag.

“Pam,” she said helpfully, going to pour herself some coffee.

“Right, Pam. So nice to meet you. It’s a lot of information to remember.”

She nodded as she stirred a packet of sugar into her coffee.

“You’ll get the hang of it, I’m sure,” she said, sitting down. “Now, do you work, have kids?”

I was getting this question a lot and I was trying not to be annoyed about it. People were just curious what a twenty-something was doing in the middle of the day not working.

“No kids,” I told her. “I just moved here recently and haven’t found work yet.”

I was trying to keep my private life private, so I didn’t elaborate much more than that. These people didn’t need to know all my personal details.

“Oh, to be young,” she said with a sigh as she held her mug in both hands.

Pam proceeded to tell me that she was a retired teacher, divorced grandmother, and was dealing with a mystery medical ailment that she gave me all the gory details of. I sat there and listened so I didn’t seem rude, but it was a lot of information to hear from a woman I’d known for less than thirty minutes.

Just as Pam asked me if I wanted to see one of her rashes, Beth came in and asked her if she could go tidy up the children’s room. Pam set her coffee cup in the sink and said she’d talk to me next week.

Beth gave me a wink and I mouthed thank you at her as Pam left the room.

“I could tell you needed a rescue,” Beth said when Pam was out of earshot. “A lot of our volunteers are people who live alone, and this is their only social interaction for the week, other than the grocery store. Giving them a place to be and a way to feel needed is just as important as having someone to help shelve the books.”