“You could try to look less imposing.Maybe grow your hair out and wear clothes that don’t say ‘I killed people for a living.’I bet you’re still wearing camo and fatigues.Ditch the usual garb for civilian clothes.”Harm looked down at his green t-shirt and camo pants and wondered how Caution knew.
“Thanks.I guess I’ll have to give that a try.”He added a smile to his message and got one in return.
“Talk soon, and don’t let all the change get you down.”Harm was grateful for the advice, and for the reassurance that not everyone thought of him as some freak to be afraid of.Now he just had to try to figure out a way so he could be happy.
Chapter 3
“WHAT CANI do for you, Derek?”Anne Rodriguez asked once she returned his call.She had retired as the library director.Anne had also been the one to hire him, and she had groomed him to take over for her.
“Can’t I call to find out how the basking in the sun all day is working out?”he asked, knowing that was the last thing she was doing.
“I’m bored stiff, and Juan doesn’t want to go anywhere.He just sits here….”A giggle interrupted what she was saying.It was followed by another.“Okay… okay…,” she said away from the phone.“He and I are going to see the kids for Thanksgiving, and apparently he is surprising me with a trip to Italy in the spring.So while I’m bored stiff at the moment because I don’t have something to do every day… everything is going to be fine.How are you?”
“Pretty good.I keep wondering when I’m going to hear about my application for the director position.But other than that….”
“The board is going to take their time.They may even do a candidate search.The thing is, if you really want this position, then you have to show them, and that means doing something to get their attention.Demonstrate what you can do.They already know you can do your job, but they need to see that you can put your own stamp on the place… in a positive way.”
“How do I do that?”Derek asked.
Anne paused.“You do great work.Always have.But I can’t tell you what to do.This is something that has to come from inside you.Something that you’re passionate about.Find a need and fill it.Develop a new program or plan an event that will bring visibility and maybe some donations to the library.Make a splash, and make it something that’s you.I know you can do it.I have full faith in you.Now, I’m sure you didn’t call just for that.”
“I have something a little strange.It’s a problem with a patron.Well… not a problem necessarily… but something strange.”He didn’t quite know how to phrase it.
Anne chuckled.“You’re going to need to be more forceful and communicative than that with the board or they’ll eat you alive.Just tell me what’s happening.”That was Anne.When there was an issue, she tackled it head-on.
“There is a patron who’s been coming in regularly, and all the library staff are scared of him.They hide or find other areas of the library to work in.Jane even went in and cleaned the women’s bathroom to get away from him.”
Anne gasped.“What did this guy do?”
“That’s just it.Nothing.He comes in, goes to the fiction section, gets the books he wants, brings in his books for return, and then leaves again.Now, the man is huge, I mean, six-six at least and really wide.He wears camo pants usually, and once came in in full fatigues.I have to admit, he scared me too.”He swallowed hard.“The thing is that he never says anything… like, at all.Not a word, and he never approaches any of the staff other than to check out books.”Derek thought a minute.“Shit…,” he said under his breath.
“What?”Anne asked.“It sounds to me as though you’re missing something and it just occurred to you.”Damn, the women always had a sixth sense about what patrons needed, and there had been times when he’d felt she knew what Derek wanted before he did.
“The other day, he wanted a book we didn’t have on the shelf.So he brought up one of the author’s other books, and I helped him.He just pointed to what he wanted.At first I thought maybe he was just shy or that he didn’t speak English or something.But no, because he was reading in English.I don’t think he can talk.Shit, that’s the answer.He’s silent because he’s forced to be.”
“And all the military-type clothes….”
“Holy hell….”
“Exactly.Don’t speculate on what happened.”
Derek chuckled.“That’s not it.I got the book he wanted, and when he came in, I brought it to him and he smiled at me.In an instant, his entire demeanor changed.He didn’t say anything, but he continued smiling and nodding to me before he left.I think he was trying to say thank you and couldn’t.Crap, how could I have missed this?The man isn’t able to speak.I wonder if he knows ASL?”
“You do, don’t you?”Anne asked in that way of hers.“From your sister?”
“Yes.”Suzanne had been born deaf, and once they realized it, their parents had learned sign language.When Derek was old enough, he had as well.“Suzanne is in Rochester, New York.There’s a large deaf community there, so things are easier for her.She could always communicate to the family, but with the rest of the world, things are more difficult.She can read lips and she speaks pretty well, but where she lives, a lot of the people know ASL, so she can live a really good life.”
“She’s a dentist, as I remember?”Anne said.
“Yes, and a great one too.Her patients love her, both hearing and the orally challenged.”He smiled because his sister was pretty amazing.They didn’t see all that much of each other, and he needed to pay her a visit soon.“Anyway, the next time he comes in, I’ll try ASL and see if it helps with communication.”
“Good.Talk to him, and if you show a little understanding… who knows.”
“Thanks, Anne.I really appreciate you being a sounding board.”
She chuckled softly.“Any time.”She ended the call, and Derek went back to work with a real smile.It was always great to talk to her.Derek missed working with her.But now that she’d retired, he was really hoping the board would make his position permanent.He had a ton of ideas for library programs and to increase traffic and usage of their facilities.He just needed the chance.
DEREK FOUNDhimself keeping watch for the huge man and almost missed him when he came in on Tuesday.He looked different, really different.No fatigues or camo, but jeans and a polo shirt.He was still huge, but now the guy didn’t look like he was storming the library as part of a conquest.The man went to the fiction section as usual, and this time, Derek left the desk, heading in that direction.
