Page 75 of Truth

Stephan

I stood off to the side as Brianna walked down a third row of books. She held out her hand as she passed by, touching the bindings. Once she reached the end of the aisle, she switched to the other side to repeat the same action. I wasn’t sure if she was reading the titles of the books or just enjoying the feel of them. It didn’t matter to me either way. The only thing I cared about was the look of awe on her face.

There were times Brianna was childlike in her actions. From the time she’d laid eyes on that first stack of books, she’d been like a kid in a toy store who couldn’t decide which toy to pull off the shelf and play with first. It was both amusing and slightly disturbing. Brianna was easy to please. She didn’t require much, and she gave with her whole heart. I didn’t know if that was because of who she was or if it had to do with what she’d been through. Maybe it was a little of both.

We gradually made it around the entire library in this fashion. I made sure to stay out of her way, but where I could see her and she could see me. Although we were the only ones there, it was a new place for her. Anything new was always an unknown with Brianna.

She stood in the main center aisle glancing back and forth at the bookshelves. I had no idea what was going through that mind of hers, but this was her reward. She could do anything she wanted. I was only along for the ride.

To my surprise, Brianna shifted her gaze to the long row of reference books along the wall. She went and sat down at one end of the encyclopedias and removed the first one from the shelf. As she flipped through the pages, I noticed she was mostly looking at the pictures rather than reading the pages. Only every now and then would she stop and read the caption or, even rarer, the article.

Once she was finished with the first book, she moved to the next. At first, I didn’t realize what she was doing, but then it dawned on me. Brianna had taken care of her mother while she’d been sick. It was doubtful she’d paid much attention to what was going on in the outside world when her immediate world was crumbling. Then she’d gone to live with her father in a small town where she’d had little freedom. It was hard to say how much access she’d had to information. I knew she went to school, but she’d also been grieving her mother at the time. I was well aware of how easy it was for people to get lost in their own world when going through something like that, and I’d been lucky enough to have Diane and Richard to help me. Brianna had been all alone.

Eventually, when I realized she was going to be there a while, I pulled out a chair at one of the tables and sat down. Taking out my phone, I checked my e-mail along with a few other sites I frequented. As I scrolled through, my gaze drifted back to Brianna. I’d tried to keep her sheltered from too much information because I hadn’t wanted to overwhelm her given how easily she panicked. Seeing her tonight, however, devouring information, coupled with how she’d handled herself at dinner, I knew what I needed to do.

In just a few short months, Brianna would be going to school. She needed to be comfortable with technology and how to use it. It was then I knew the perfect birthday gift for her.

Using the time wisely, I pulled up the website for my favorite computer store and scanned their listing of laptops. After twenty minutes of searching, I found the one I wanted. It was perfect for anything she might want to do, and it was lightweight. She’d be able to carry it with her to her class if she wanted and take notes. I sent Jamie an e-mail with the laptop information and a note to have two of them delivered to my office the following week.

With that accomplished, I leaned back in my chair and watched Brianna as she continued down the bookshelf. The information she could access here was only a fraction of what would be available to her on the Internet. If I used her current reaction as a gauge, I would have to put some time restrictions on her, or she’d be glued to her computer all day.

It was almost midnight by the time she placed the last encyclopedia back on the shelf. She turned around to face me but didn’t get off the floor. We stared at each other for several minutes before she began to crawl toward me. I remained still and waited to see what she would do.

She came to a stop beside my chair and laid her head in my lap. I didn’t hesitate to reach down and begin stroking her hair. We remained that way until I felt drops of moisture seeping through the fabric of my pants. “Brianna?”

It was then I heard her choke out a sob, and I lifted her chin so that I could see her face. Tears streamed uncontrolled down her cheeks.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I brushed the moisture from her cheeks. “The reference books can’t be checked out, but did you want to pick out any novels? You’ve been speeding through the ones Lily gave you.”

Her eyes opened wide with both shock and excitement.

I chuckled. “Go on. Pick out some books and I’ll make a list for Patty. She’ll officially check them out for you tomorrow.”

She scrambled to her feet and rushed off to the romance section. While she was looking, I went behind the circulation desk to get some paper and a pen. Patty had been one of my elementary school teachers. She’d heard about my parents’ deaths and had come to the memorial service, along with several other teachers, to offer her condolences. After that, I hadn’t seen her until I’d been invited to a “Friends of the Library” meeting to speak on the foundation’s work and how we might be able to partner with the library to collect books and educational toys for children. She’d retired from teaching several years ago and was now the library director.

I returned to the table and waited for Brianna. One of the things that had changed with Brianna’s arrival in my life was that I no longer attended many of the charity functions I once had. It was something I missed, but until I was sure Brianna would be able to accompany me or I felt comfortable with her being on her own, Jamie and the other executives would have to continue filling in for me. I left her home alone too much as it was already.

Brianna came around the corner, and I jumped up to help her. She had at least ten paperback novels in her arms, and she was about to lose at least two of them.

When I removed most of the books from her hands, she blushed and looked down. “I took too many.”

Tucking the novels under one arm, I pulled her against my side. “Not at all. This will keep you busy for what? A week?”

I laid the books on the table and sat back down, pulling her with me. She quietly sat on my lap while I wrote down the titles and authors for Patty. She was doing me a favor tonight. I didn’t want to mess up her inventory.

Once I had written down all twelve books Brianna had selected—some of which had rather racy covers, I might add—I led her over to the circulation desk and retrieved one of the plastic grocery bags I’d noticed earlier. Loading the books inside so they were easier to carry, I guided her back down the hall to the storage room where we’d entered. She looked sad to leave.

“Don’t worry. We can come back.”

“Okay.” Her smile returned, and I couldn’t resist giving her a kiss.

“Come on, sweetheart. It’s late. Let’s get home.”

Brianna

“Good morning.” Stephan smiled up at me from between my legs. He’d woken me up and then proceeded to trail kisses all the way down my body.

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