Chapter 5
Bennett
THE SIX STORY LIBRARY, built in the seventies from sand-toned brick, sat right in the middle of campus and the doors opened at six in the morning. It smelled of old books, stale coffee, and freshly sharpened pencils. I’d spent many an hour scoping out the routines of the people who ran the place and it was a rare day when an employee arrived any earlier than 5:45. And even then, the library aides, most of them student workers, didn’t make their way up to the stacks until much later.
My military alarm clock woke me at five o’clock on the dot, which fit my new arrangement perfectly. Leaving the fifth floor bathroom in the east wing of the library with a good fifteen minutes to spare, I stopped short when I turned a corner and ran right into a giant wall of a man.
My towel, around my shoulders just seconds before, had fallen across the toes of the man’s brown leather boots, leaving me completely bare from the waist up, water still dripping from my beard.
“Ahh, man, it’s not… ” Then I stopped, squared my shoulders, and looked him in the eyes. I was six feet tall, but this guy was at least two heads taller. His bulky arms folded over his chest like a club bouncer and could barely cover it. Dressed in what looked to be an official university polo and pressed khaki pants, I wondered if he might be security, but I hoped to hell he wasn’t. I’d seen him around. He was hard to miss, the man was a brick wall. Impenetrable. “Well, sir, I’m not gonna lie. This is exactly what it looks like.”
I could hear the theme song from “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” playing in my head and it took everything in me to keep from cracking a smile at the absurdity of the whole thing. After a few long minutes, the brick wall spoke.
“Follow me.” Two words and he turned and walked toward the stairwell, confident I would do as he commanded. I’d planned to at least stop and grab my rucksack, but as we neared the door to the stairs, I saw it was already waiting for me there. So I swung it over my shoulder and followed the man to meet my fate. I knew I was in the clear when he started whistling the theme song from “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”
For a large man, he was agile. Sure, four flights of stairs were nothing, going down, but for a man his size, I expected him to be more out of breath. When we reached the bottom floor, I expected to take the double doors into the main part of the library. That would place us a few feet away from the large circulation desk, where ‘the wall’ would then call campus police and I’d either be ticketed or just thrown out. Campus police didn’t have lockup, did they?
But instead of leading me out into the library, we turned the opposite direction, ducking through a small, nondescript door I hadn’t ever noticed before. The space was stupid small, but it didn’t help that ‘the wall’ stood right in the center.
“That right there makes out into a bed.” He started barking information about what appeared to be a small apartment. “Through that door, you’ll find a toilet, shower, and an ancient, stackable washer and dryer. They worked, last I checked, but I’ve never been able to figure out what those were ever used for here.” I wondered how he knew they worked, but he didn’t seem the type to answer questions. It was strange, really. I was trained to read people, anticipate their every move, but this I did not see coming.
He took my bag from me, placing it in a floor-to-ceiling cabinet. “This here’s your closet and your pantry.” That’s when I noticed a microwave sitting on a shelf within the closet.
“Food service stores the vending machine snacks that have almost expired in here. Help yourself, though I’d steer clear of the cherry pies unless you’ve got good dental coverage. That’s one snack that probably actually expires before the date on the package.” He chuckled at his own joke while I looked around for Dick Clark and the Candid Camera crew. That show was still on, right?
“Sir, just curious, but why did you bring me here?” Valid question, though it could have been executed in a more masculine way. I was starting to get antsy, both from being in such a small space with ‘The Hulk,’ and because I was slowly realizing all the combat training in the world couldn't have prepared me to take this guy on in the event his switch flipped.
“This used to be the employee break room, but when we remodeled a few years ago we built a bigger one, so this room just sits here.” Oh. Well. That answers… nothing.
“I don’t—”
He chuckled again.
“Sorry, just realized you have no idea who I am. I’m Lillie Lowe’s husband.” His bright, toothy grin completely transformed his imposing character into someone I’d sit and watch a game with over a beer.
“Oh, wow, it’s nice to meet you.” And since his introduction calmed the ninjas kicking and chopping my insides, I offered my hand. “Your wife is a miracle worker. She saved my ass this semester!”
The low timbre of his voice made his laugh smooth and rich, reminding me of a chocolate waterfall. “She had me keep an eye out for you. She was afraid you didn’t have a place to live.”
I ducked my head as heat spread up my neck and over my cheeks. Knowing I was homeless, stowing away in the nooks and crannies of the library, was one thing. But having to admit it to a perfect, albeit well-meaning, stranger brought me to a whole new level of pathetic.
“Truth is, sir, I’d have reenlisted if for nothing more than three square meals a day and a roof over my head, but that wasn’t an option.” I could have gone further, told him the whole truth, but my story was just that. Mine. And it was really all I had.
“You know, pride can be a pretty strong barrier between two people, son. If you’ll swallow a little of that and let us help you, I think your situation will start to improve.” The man spoke from the heart and oddly, I felt like he shrank in size. He wasn’t intimidating anymore. He was one of the good guys. Maybe he was the exact friend I needed.
He crossed the room, running a finger over the surfaces, checking for dust. There was none. “We all hit rough patches and I don’t know what you’ve gone through to land you here today, but see this as a second chance.” I knew every word he spoke was true and came from a good place, but it didn’t make accepting charity any easier.
“Well, Mr. Lowe,” I tipped my head up to meet his kind eyes. “I thank you for all of this, but I won’t take advantage. I’ll figure something out soon.”
He was already shuffling out of the room, waving away my words. “No worries on my end. You clearly know how this building works, so just stay invisible, keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll be fine. But it does look like you could use some meat on those bones of yours. I left some information on the counter about a free meal program we have on campus. It’s a good distance from here, but it’s worth it, I promise!”
“Thank you, Mr. Lowe.” I called after him.
“Mr. Lowe is my father. Please, just call me Chance.”