Soul Dancing with the Brass Band (The Brass Band Series) (23 page)

I tucked my folks into my bed and went to Ruth’s room to sleep. It wasn’t long before I heard my Dad snoring softly and everything felt like home.

My alarm went off early and as I realized it was in the other bedroom, I felt a little pang of guilt for waking Mom and Dad on their first day of vacation. But listening to the soft footsteps and whispers that came from the living room, I could tell that my parents had probably been up for hours.

“Did you sleep well, Hillary?” Mom asked cheerfully as I opened Ruth’s bedroom door.

“Like a baby. Did you guys sleep okay in my bed? I hope it wasn’t too small.”

“We slept just fine. I love any reason to snuggle a little closer to your father.” Mom still had a way of teasing Dad that lit him up.

“Okay guys that might be too much information,” I said waving my hands and changing the subject. “What time is your rendezvous with Sam today?”

“I talked to Sam on the phone while we were on the road yesterday. He said about 10 a.m. today would work fine for him, so we still have plenty of time. Maybe we can have lunch at the Student Union afterwards? I know the food won’t compare to mine,” she said, glowing, “but I haven’t been in a student union for decades.”

ARRIVING AT the library just before ten, we found it very quiet compared to when school was in session. We all walked to Mr. Delaney’s office and Mom made the proper introductions. Mr. Delaney’s office was much cleaner than usual and he was much better dressed. His crush on Mom was still showing even after all the years that had passed.

I could tell by the look on Dad’s face he was a bit embarrassed to be watching it all. Dad was too much of a gentleman to gloat over being the winner, I’ll even bet in an odd way he found it charming.

Dad and I excused ourselves to begin the library tour. We started at Ann Marie’s desk and from there I showed him all the different levels of the library, saving the best for last because I knew the glass-floor room would also be Dad’s favorite place.

“You should tap your fingers on a shelf, so you don’t get a shock,” I warned Dad before we got too far onto the glass, “static electricity…”

I heard Dad tap his fingers on the shelf behind me and as I continued talking and walking across the room, I got a funny feeling that I was the only one engaged in my conversation. I turned to look and sure enough, Dad was already thumbing through the books.

“Hillary, I’ve never been in a room like this! How can anyone in their right mind ever leave without reading every book in here?” He was mesmerized by the titles and started reading them out loud as his fingers floated by them: “
The Masters of the Far East, The Book of Early Whisperings, God Will Work with You but Not For You, Reincarnation and the Laws of Karma, Meditations of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, The Bhagavad-Gita
.”

Dad was in heaven!

“That’s why they call it a library, Dad. You don’t have to read every book while staying in this room because you can actually take them home,” I said jokingly.

“Hillary, can you check out some of these books for me?” He was almost breathless as he pulled books off the shelf and lined them up on the reference table.

“Sure Dad, you pick out what you’d like and I’ll check them out for you for as long as you like.”

Dad sat down, pulling a stack
toward him and started opening each book in random places to see what treasures it had to offer.

“Kiddo, do you have a pen and paper? I need to take a few notes, so I can keep my thoughts straight.”

“Not on me, but I can run to Ann Marie’s desk. I’ll be back in about five minutes.”

As I walked down the almost abandoned hallway, I thought about peeking in on Mom, but figured Dad was in more need of the pen and paper than Mom was of rescuing. I hurried back to the glass-floor room and when I arrived, Dad had his books divided in three stacks.

The first were books he wanted to check out today, the second were the ones he wanted to read in the future and the third were books he could do without, at least for now. I handed him the paper and pen and he began writing the titles and authors from stack two. He was as excited as a techie in a computer store.

After about ten minutes, Dad put the pen down to stretch and wiggle his fingers.

“Cramps,” he said as he stood to work the kinks out of his back. Seeing his pen roll off the table, he walked over to pick it up and when he didn’t stand up again, I went around the table to see what he was doing.

Over the top of his head I saw him picking up pieces of a book that had been ripped from the binding.

“This book must have made someone very angry,” he said, reaching for the last piece. “Hey, Kiddo, call your Mom and see if she can come up here. I’m sure Mr. Delaney can show her the way.”

I pulled my cell out of my pocket to call. “Hi, Mom, can you have Mr. Delaney show you to the glass-floor room? Dad’s found a torn book and wants you to come up here.”

Mom didn’t have a problem with the request even though it sounded pretty lame to me. “Tell your Dad that we’ll be right there.”

He tucked the pages from the torn book into his jacket pocket and then from a kneeling position, he gently picked up what remained before him. He turned to me with his hands together, palms up.

“It’s a bird!” I mused, wondering how it got in.

“He’s still warm Hillary and I can feel his heart beating.” I looked into his gently cupped hands at the small body. “Your Mom will know what to do. She’s the one that’s good with animals.”

As we both gazed down at the tiny creature, I heard Mom behind us. She reached up and Dad gently placed the little sparrow into her hands.

“He must have gotten tired and lost, flying around in here. Let’s get him a drink of water,” she said looking up at Sam. “Where is the nearest water?”

“There’s a men’s room around the corner.” Sam seemed very interested in helping and was ready to do absolutely anything Mom asked.

“Can you bring me a wet paper towel? Just be sure to make it wet enough for me to ring out a few drops for our little friend.” Mom held the sparrow, and whispered softly, “It will be alright. We’re here to help now. You are going to be just fine.”

Sam rushed back into the room with a sopping wet paper towel and water running up his forearms into his rolled up shirtsleeves. Mom took the towel from him and tilted it, so that a single drop was hanging from the corner.

“Okay Buddy, can you take a drink?” she coaxed. “Come on, it will help you get your strength back.”

As we all looked down at the little thing, it raised its head and Mom squeezed the paper towel just hard enough for the drop to fall down his throat, followed by a second and third. Dad was right when he claimed Mom had a certain magic when it came to animals.

“I think we need to be heading home now,” Mom said, looking at Sam. “I’ll give you a call when we know the status of our little friend.” Mom handed the sparrow back to Dad to put in his coat pocket. Dad’s body heat would keep him warm until the heater in the car kicked in.

Sam and Mom walked ahead of us to say their goodbyes, while I carried Dad’s books to the checkout desk, so he wouldn’t squish our new friend.

Dad had gone out ahead of us to warm up the car, so as Mom and I rushed out with our hands full of books, the car was already nice and toasty. Dad had the little sparrow out of his pocket and into Moms hands within seconds of our arrival.

“I’m sure glad we decided to drive. Hope you aren’t too upset about missing lunch at the Student Union,” I said turning to Mom, realizing her full attention was on the little sparrow in her hands.

“I’m fine without the Student Union. Sam says almost everything is closed anyway because of Christmas break. I want to get this little guy home and fed,” Mom said cooing in a soft rhythmic voice, so she didn’t upset the bird she had already named
Buddy.

WHEN WE pulled up to my apartment, I was surprised to see smoke coming from the chimney of the lower apartment. I hoped Will had been the one who started the fire. I was trying to not miss him, but looking at his apartment made me realize how empty I felt when he wasn’t with me.

We put Buddy back into Dad’s pocket while Mom and I each picked up an armload of books and by the time we closed the last car door, there he stood
, smiling. Mom and Dad knew immediately who he was by the look on my face.

Will moved
toward us, relieving Mom of her books as he introduced himself.

“Hi, I’m Will Emerald.” He shifted the books, so he could shake my dad’s hand. “It’s very nice to
meet you sir and you, too Mrs...”

That’s all the further he got before mom interrupted.

“My name is Kate and this is my husband Terry. It’s very nice to meet you, too. We’ve been looking forward to this moment.”

“I have some coffee on and a warm fire, if you’d like to come in.” Will nodded to his door.

“That sounds great, Will,” Dad said, putting his arms around Mom and me to hurry us along. “It’s damn cold out here and we have an emergency patient on board. We’ll explain once we get inside.” Dad said, noticing the puzzled look on Will’s face.

Will looked over the book titles as he set them down on his kitchen table.

“You also appear to be a
seeker
, Terry.”

“Never found anything that interests me more in this lifetime,” Dad said, warming his hands in front of the fire. When they were warm enough he reached into his pocket and pulled out Buddy.

“Do you have some lukewarm water and some honey?” Mom asked, walking toward Dad to see if Buddy had regained any of his strength.

“Sure.” Will smiled watching Mom and Dad with the little creature gently held between them. “It will only take a few minutes to get it together for you.”

“How are your classes going with the boys?” I asked, following him into the kitchen.

“Initiations,” he corrected. “They’re going great. Everyone is looking forward to the New Year’s celebration. All the boys will be given a new mantra,” he said turning to finally look at me. “Is that what you really want to know or are you really wondering when I’ll be back?” He reached out for my hand and pulled me closer to him.

“I suppose both,” I sheepishly answered, feeling like I’d been found out. “It would be nice to have you spend time with my parents.”

“I’d like that, too, Hillary. I’ll be around for the next few days.” He stirred the honey into the water and looked at the color for consistency. “Let’s get this out to your parents and then we can talk.”

As we walked back into the living room, there was a flutter of wings and a flash of brown as Mom and Dad gasped with excitement.

“I guess he’s alright!” Dad exclaimed, as we watched Buddy land on the fireplace mantel. “And by the looks of it, I think he’s found a new home.”

The lid on Will’s antique wooden box stood open. It usually held a box of matches, but George had left them on the hearth when he lit the last fire. We all watched as Buddy hopped over and into the box.

“It must be warm in there,” Mom laughed.

We added some fabric and cotton balls to make him more comfortable and placed a bottle cap full of water along with a few sunflower and pumpkin seeds to one side. After he had a day or two to recover we would be able to set him loose.

Dad and Will took an instant liking to each other. They moved from one topic to the next with relative ease and before I knew it, Dad had an invitation to visit Will’s house for an introduction to McCollum. I was impressed and with any luck, Dad would be able to explain to me what went on over there. I don’t mean to suggest that Will was keeping any secrets from me, it was just that I had a hard time understanding the terms he used.