Chapter 3: At the Library

Three months into their new Indiana life, Jean and Les had settled into a routine. On Friday evenings, they would always spend time with Dee and Bud, either at home or across the road at their place. A few weeks in, Jean realized she needed mental stimulation as much as she enjoyed her physical frolics.

She drove into town to find the public library. Inscribed above the old building’s main door was “CARNEGIE,” owing to the building’s history. During the Gilded Age, Andrew Carnegie, born in Scotland, became wealthy as one of the pillars of American industry—railroads and steel. He sold Carnegie Steel (a precursor to US Steel) for the modern equivalent of eight billion dollars to J. P. Morgan, then spent the rest of his days giving away about 90% of his wealth. Carnegie built 2,500 public libraries, including this building, completed in 1908.

All these details she learned from a wall display while waiting for the librarian to finish her new library card. That’s when she noticed the large flyer on the bulletin board: “Help Wanted.”

“You need help?”

“We do, but the job is minimum wage, $7.25 per hour. For that amount, we haven’t been able to recruit. I’m sure you wouldn’t be interested.”

“Actually, I am. My husband and I have plenty of income, and I need something to do with myself.”

“In the movie, Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart’s last line is ‘Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.’ I’m Louise Baker, head librarian, and I can offer you 32 hours a week starting tomorrow.”

“Pleased to meet you, Louise; I’m Jean Coulson. You have some paperwork for me?”

Jean started work with basic stuff: shelving. Patrons would take several books from the stacks for research and leave them on the tables when they left.

Like many libraries, the outside wall had a book drop. After hours, a large levered door allowed returned books to be pushed through and left inside. The books fell down into a large bin on the floor. Jean collected the returned books from the bin and distributed them back to their proper homes on the shelves. As part of her shelving duties, she had to learn the notorious Dewey Decimal System.

As time went on, Jean became very efficient. She would be all caught up with shelving by mid-afternoon when youngsters came through the doors after school. Many of these children were being sent to the Instead of coming home to an empty house and waiting for their working parents to show up at dinner time, many of these children (ages 11 – 16) went from their schools to the library.

Jean started out casually coaching some of these kids on their homework assignments. Then, after discussions with Louise, Jean moved her group of young students into a separate room. She spent her time with them, moving from student to student. Many were in middle school; some were in high school. Each one of them would get a few minutes of her attention, offering help, encouragement, and suggestions.

Jean couldn’t keep her eyes off her boss. Louise, “Call me Lou,” was in her thirties, with brown hair with natural blonde highlights, a beautiful fair complexion, and bright blue eyes behind eyeglasses with bright red frames.

“Why are your glasses red, Lou?”

“It’s a silly affectation, to show my patriotism. Back in college, I would be out getting drunk with my friends, and one of them looked at me and said, ‘You’re a flag! Your eyes are red, white, and blue.’ I only drink a little, these days. I ordered these frames on a lark and I decided to keep wearing them.”

Except for that, Lou presented herself in a conservative manner, most often wearing long dresses in dark colors. She felt embarrassed by her body, which she thought of as the “pink pyramid” in self-critical moments. In old-style measurements, she was 34-30-42. She (wrongly) considered her breasts too small, her waist too large, and her butt and thighs too large, even enormous.

At home, she piled things on the shelf under her bathroom mirror, blocking anything below her waist from her reflection as she stepped from the shower.

Jean, on the other hand, privately wanted to take Lou home and get her, naked, into their swimming pool. And after that, watch her grind and squirm on her erect husband’s lap.

At the book drop, Jean was collecting and stacking the pile of returned books in the bin onto a rolling cart when she saw Louise walk in. Something was off, catching her eye.

“Lou, why are you hiding your ... Oh.”

She was trying, and failing, to conceal a huge black eye. She shook her head and fled into her office, shutting the door behind her. Jean was not deterred.

“Lou, honey, tell me what happened.”

“I was stupid.”

“No, what is stupid is hiding from your friend. Spill!”

“I had a second date with this guy, Tom. He insisted on buying me an expensive steak dinner. Afterwards, he got more and more angry, saying that I owed him. Owed him sex. When I said no to him, he tried to grab me, and knocked off my glasses. I slapped him, and he punched me. We were still in the parking lot, and I ran back inside screaming. But, he came in after me.”

“Into the restaurant?”

“Yeah. He has a terrible temper and also he’s not very bright. I was headed back toward the kitchen doors, and he was catching up. But then two men stood up to intervene, and Tom started punching them. Next, the third guy at their table got up, and that ended it.”

“How?”

“He was a Noble County Deputy Sheriff, in full uniform, and he gestured at the gun on his belt. One of the deputy’s friends had him in a headlock by then, so Tom had to submit. His friends pressed charges, and Tom went to jail. I went to the hospital just to document my injuries. I only got back home at 2 in the morning.”

“Just take it easy here in your office, Lou. I’ll stay out front and mind the store. Then when we close, I’m going to first go home with you, before I go home to my husband. I’ll give Les a call so he knows I’ll be late.”