Page 18 of Break My Fall

“The book drop slot was a lot bigger than it is now. We’d seen it on a tour our class took of the library. It was more of a chute. Like a slide.” Bronwyn held out her hands. “I mean, it was just begging for someone to try it.”

“You went down the book return?” Donovan’s question held all the same surprise that Gray was feeling. It was hard to imagine the normally cool and professional Bronwyn Pierce as a little hooligan terrorizing the librarian.

“I tried to.”

Mo still didn’t have complete control of his laughter. “I got down on the floor on my hands and knees. She climbed onto my back and put her arms and head in. Then I tried to push her the rest of the way through by her feet.”

Meredith and Cal both howled at his words.

“There were so many books in the bottom that I couldn’t squeeze my entire body into the bin.” Bronwyn wiped at her eyes. “And the chute was too narrow for me to pull my legs up.”

Meredith managed to speak in between bouts of giggles. “We came around the corner, and all we saw was Mo standing beside the book return and Bronwyn’s feet kicking.”

Cal picked up the tale. “And that’s when Mrs. Flanders caught us.”

“What happened?” Landry and Donovan asked at the same time.

The four miscreants were all laughing so hard they couldn’t answer. Cassie spoke up. “You have to understand that this story is a family legend. I’ve heard it my entire life. Mrs. Flanders panicked and started screaming. Aunt Carol was in the nonfiction section and came running because she thought someone was hurt. She gets the story from Mo, calls into the chute, and hears Bronwyn insisting that she’s fine, just stuck. She turns to Mrs. Flanders and says, ‘For crying out loud, Janet. Pull yourself together and go get the child out of the book return.’ But Mrs. Flanders is frozen. So Aunt Carol goes into the office area where the book bin is and extracts Bronwyn from the chute. By this time, Mrs. Flanders has stopped screaming, but she’s furious and she tells them to leave and never come back.” Cassie took a breath. “The story goes that Aunt Carol took all four of them out for ice cream after.”

“Mom told me later that she thought the whole thing was hilarious. Especially because it was Beep that went down the chute. She would have expected it of me or you”—Cal pointed to himself and then Meredith—“but never Mo and Bronwyn.”

It took a couple of minutes for the laughter to turn to chuckles and then to random huffs of amusement.

“Anyway,” Meredith said once she was fully in control, “Mrs. Flanders never had children, but she had a lot of opinions about children. No one could make her understand that kids don’t like to wear coats. That if they’re cold, they will put one on. And that they won’t get sick from walking from the car to the library without a jacket.”

She pointed to herself. “As the favorite aunt of many delightful children, I’m not like Mrs. Flanders. I don’t judge the moms when the kids walk into my office wearing nothing more than a sweater. To be honest, I’m more likely to judge if they come in covered up ina scarf, toboggan, and puffy jacket when it’s not that cold outside. It’s not safe for kids to be in car seats when they’re all bundled up like that. And it’s inefficient to expect them to put on that many layers to walk fifty feet.”

Gray had to remind himself that a toboggan in North Carolina wasn’t the same thing as a toboggan in Chicago. He didn’t know why they didn’t just call it a hat. Or a knit cap. Both of which were shorter than saying toboggan. And less confusing. But now wasn’t the time to bring it up, because all the humor drained from Meredith’s face as she continued to speak.

“It’s different in Neeson. When I do the clinic up there, I park in a church lot. They let me hook up to their power and water. They typically open the building, but they don’t turn the heat or A/C on.”

“Why not?”

Gray knew the answer to Cassie’s innocent question, but he wondered how Meredith would answer it. “Part of it is ignorance. They think they’re doing a good deed by giving me access to the water and power, and they are. But they mainly open the building so I have access to the bathroom. The people who come to the clinic don’t go to their church. The pastor knows Papa and Uncle John, and they asked the pastor there if I could have access to the building. I think in the minds of the people in the church, they’re already going above and beyond.”

“That’s dumb.”

Gray gave Cassie an air fist bump. She wasn’t wrong.

“They don’t really see the people who are coming to my clinic. I mean, they think what I’m doing is great. They’re in favor of it. But that doesn’t mean they trust the riff-raff in their building. So they won’t make it convenient or comfortable for them. Even when it’s blazing hot or freezing cold.”

Meredith gave Cassie a sad smile. “It’s entitled and completelynot what Christianity is about, but I’m playing a long game. That church parking lot is the best spot in Neeson for me to set up. There’s plenty of room. Easy access to the water and power. They have bathrooms. And even the criminal element in town would hesitate before coming after me on church property. It’s the safest spot in town. And every time I go, I pray for their hearts to soften.”

Meredith propped her feet up on the firepit edge. “The problem is that their concerns are valid. I didn’t realize it at first. I thought it was just snobbery and elitism and a holier-than-thou attitude. And it is some of that. But it’s also prudence. I do see adults, but I’d say seventy-five percent of my patients are children and teenagers, and I’ve discovered that their parents aren’t always upstanding citizens.”

It required an intense effort for Gray to keep from making a comment on Meredith’s understatement.

Donovan either didn’t succeed or didn’t try. “I think when you said they aren’t upstanding citizens, what you meant is they’re drug-running hardened criminals.”

Cal and Mo had gone from relaxed and laughing to serious and alert.

“I wish you were wrong.” Meredith looked into the fire. “The parents ... I know they’re up to no good. But the kids? They’re adorable. Chubby cheeks. Funny stories.”

When she didn’t seem inclined to continue, Mo asked, “What kind of stories?”

“Oh, you know.” Meredith wiped at her eyes, and when she spoke, her voice was high and childish. “My dog got into the shed last night. I think he heard something, but Daddy said it was just an animal. But he ran out of the shed with a sock! A purple sock! I think he might be magic because I don’t have any purple socks.”

Gray expected her to stop, but she didn’t.

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