An Imperfect Librarian - Elizabeth Murphy [18]
The waitress returns with our drinks, fish and chips. Edith waves to people.
“So what was his sin?”
An Imper fect Librarian
“He was working in the Reading Room at the time. At the end of the day, he dropped whatever he was working on into his briefcase then walked out the door. He didn’t go far. The alarm nearly gave him a heart attack. He told me that on the phone after. The student-clerk tried to take his briefcase. William smacked him right across the head with it. He wasn’t allowed within fifty feet of the campus after that. It’s a shame. You know another thing that’s a shame? You sitting so far from me. Move over closer. Don’t be so unfriendly.”
The bartender calls out, “Happy Hour, five to seven.”
“That’s Great Big Sea’s music,” Edith says. “You can’t live in Newfoundland and not be a fan. I’ll buy you a CD.” She sings along in a high-pitched voice that pays more attention to clear diction than melody. She nudges closer to me, drops her head to touch my shoulder then smiles. “We should do this more often. Why don’t we try going out together for a while?”
“I’m not interested in dating right now. Why don’t you speak to Henry?”
“Don’t insult me, please,” she says.
“What’s wrong with Henry?”
She adds salt and vinegar to her chips. “You should know. You spend enough time with him.”
“I rely on him for advice and–”
“Don’t let yourself be influenced by him. When administration announced they were advertising the digital systems position, he threatened to stage a one-man strike. If he had his way, you wouldn’t be here.”
The steam is rising off the gravy. I grab a chip and pop it in my mouth. “I don’t blame him for feeling threatened. If the Internet takes off, eventually we won’t need Information Services Librarians anymore. We’ll have interactive support built into the software with the searching capacity and skill of thousands–”
“The only thing Henry should feel threatened by is the administration. If they could be rid of him, they would. If he’s not careful, he’ll give them grounds that even the union won’t be able to help him with.”
“Such as?”
“He’s rude to the students. If they don’t know what he thinks they should, he insults them. Remember our creed. A is for access, B is for borrowing, U is for understanding. We’re expected to have as much knowledge of our readers as we do of books. He’s an embarrassment to the profession.”
“I’m sure he was a great librarian in his earlier days. I’ve never met anyone with such passion for books and reading.”
“That’d be fine and dandy if he’d share his passion with library patrons, but he doesn’t. Not unless it’s one of those darling young duckies with the bulges in the right places.”
For Valentine’s Day, he had given a rose to every woman on staff. I saw the red flowers on desks and counters all over the library, with a card that read, Be mine, Valentine! HK.
“Henry is lonely.”
“More like lecherous,” she says as she reaches for the ketchup.
He once told me he longed for a Spanish or Italian woman, a long-haired brunette with tight cleavage and a heart that’s warm as the nicest of grandmothers on a Sunday.
“He has no family here. He’s in pain constantly because of his sciatic nerve. He’s frustrated with the changes in his role, changes in the–”
“Why are you defending him?” she says.
“Why not? He watches out for me.”
She places her hand on top of mine. “I watch out for you too.”
Someone she knows comes to the table to chat. After they leave, I dig into my fish and chips while Edith launches into her plans for my first summer on the island. “We’ll drive across the island, go to Gros Morne, climb the mountain. It’s a world heritage site. We could stay in B&Bs if you’re not the camping type.”
“I don’t have any holidays accumulated yet. Remember, I came here in September and it’s only April.”
“You’re allowed