Anticipation

By Diana Felso

April 23, 2003

"Mr. Huggins!" exclaimed Claudia, "you rarely pay attention when I am speaking to you." Mr. Huggins pushed aside the mail order catalog he was marking up with red pen and looked up rather sheepishly through his spectacles. It just occurred to her how much Mr. Huggins reminded her of Don Knotts in "The Incredible Mr. Limpet." The black-rimmed glasses and pouty lips made him a dead ringer for the talking fish. "Miss Lawrence, have you forgotten you are in a library? And one must remember to whisper in the library. Always." This was a weekly routine between Mr. Huggins and Claudia. She stopped in at the public library to browse through the newest hardback selections every Tuesday after volunteering at Mullins Memorial Hospital. And just like clockwork she had to interrupt Mr. Huggins every Tuesday to ask him to print out the list of new selections. He was unaccustomed to using a computer and his constant glancing between the keyboard and screen was frustrating. Claudia was usually tired and hungry and wanted nothing more than to check out a book and go home. "Please forgive me Mr. Huggins, but I'm in a terrible rush and I can't find the book I'm looking for. Can you please print out a list of newly released books?" Pulling the keyboard in snugly next to his cashmere sweater he adjusted the twisted frames on his nose, cleared his throat and looked forlornly at the flashing words on the screen. "It will just take a moment, Miss Lawrence, and then you can be on your way." Claudia nervously tapped her fingers on the countertop. Exhaling in exasperation she quipped, "any plans soon to add another computer in the library for public use?" She noted a tiny twitch next to his right eye just as the tapping on the keyboard halted. Silence. Immediately she sensed she had overstepped her boundaries. "Miss Lawrence, it is in your best interest for the librarian to maintain orderliness among the literature. And I highly doubt that in your continual state of impatience you would be able to fully appreciate all that we do to make your learning experience more enjoyable. Therefore, please go browse the library and let me do my job. I will have the list for you much quicker if I am not distracted by the droning of your fingernails on the Formica." Mr. Huggins' directness was out of the ordinary. Shocked and bewildered she turned and headed toward the travel section. Perhaps dreaming of a journey to a tropical island would dull the rejection she was feeling at that moment. The coffee table book on Tahiti looked particularly appealing. Pictures of Tahitian dancers and fruity drinks welcomed the reader. Flipping the weathered pages slowly and peeking over her shoulder just in time to see Mr. Huggins scowling at the computer screen, her hand brushed across a piece of blush-colored note paper. The edges were slightly broken and worn, but Claudia could still make out the imprint of a calligrapher's expert handiwork in Gallic script. Penned in faint blue ink were the words "Laughter for them, sorrow for me. Yesterday's sadness, tomorrow shall be. Forever, Sebastian." A distant cough brought Claudia back to reality. Why was the note left in this particular book? But more importantly, who was Sebastian? Claudia carefully slipped the note between the pages and tucked the book underneath her arm as she headed back toward Mr. Huggins who was motioning for her return. She slid the travel book in front of Mr. Huggins and retrieved the top 10 new releases list from his hand. As Mr. Huggins reached for her book and Claudia scanned the list, an element of surprise overtook them both. There at the top of the list was the number one bestseller "Tahitian Time Travel" by Sebastian Morris. "Oh my, what a coincidence," Mr. Huggins mumbled as he stamped the book. A coincidence is not exactly the word that came to her mind. Whoever this Sebastian was, his life had suddenly intertwined with Claudia's and she wasn't about to let this moment pass. "Mr. Huggins, being the organized librarian that you are, could you please direct me to the shelf where I can find the Tahitian Time Travel book?" With a look of disdain on his face, Mr. Huggins pointed toward the back of the library. Turning slowly in anticipation, Claudia walked hesitantly toward her destiny.

The End

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