The Blueprint (7 page)

“I’m going to write letters to every state congressman and tell them about how Ms. Sweaney runs this place.  I want you to know that I won’t stop sending letters until Ms. Sweaney is investigated and fired.  If you hear from your sister, tell her what I said and what I’m trying to do.”

She tilted my chin up so I was looking into her wet eyes. “Lily, will you promise me something?”

Shedding new tears
, I answered, “Yes.”

“The state offers college scholarships for girls with good grades who graduate from high school and live at the children’s home.  Promise me that you’ll win one of those scholarships, go to c
ollege, and never return.  When you get out of here, make a new life for yourself and never look back.”

“Yes ma’am, I promise.”

5

12 years later

“
Lily, that was Simon that called and he needs you to pick him up again."  Kim scanned her scribbled message.  "He said he’s waiting for you at the McDonalds where the two of you had lunch thirteen days ago.  He said it's the McDonalds where Ronald needs rhynoplasty and you spilled orange soda on your pleated maroon slacks.”  She crumpled the note and joined Lily who was busy alphabetizing documents and placing them on a cart.  Kim massaged her temples. “Talking to him always gives me a headache.  And how he can remember all that, but can’t find his way back to work makes no sense.”

“Maybe he can’t remember for the same reason you can’t remember that Tuesdays are you
r night to do dishes,” Lily teased.

“And what reason might that be?” 
Kim crossed her arms, preparing herself for this familiar battle.

“Selective memory, l
ook it up.  I’m sure it’s in one of those psychology books of yours.”  Lily left her work unfinished and headed for the back office where she kept her purse and car keys locked in her boss’s desk drawer.

T
railing along, Kim leaned on the door jamb of what she believed to be the most disorganized office on campus.  She watched Lily step over and around numerous knee high stacks of books and papers, finally leaping to a bare spot closest to the desk.  Kim continued, “I realize he's super smart, but if he’s so prone to getting lost, he should run the track.”

“I told him that once, and he said he can’t think while running in circles.  He prefers
running in more of rhombus pattern.”   Lily smiled.  She enjoyed Simon's eccentricities.  Kim did not and rolled her eyes. 

After unlocking the drawer and
grabbing her stuff, Lily negotiated her way back through the obstacle course.  “Anyway, going to pick him up when he gets lost jogging isn’t a big deal.  He’s a good boss.  He did me a big favor hiring me on after graduation.  There were lots of applicants with more experience.”

“He hired you because you’ve always taken such good care of him.  Even
as a student, you were the one running this place.”  Kim plopped in the desk chair and paged through her lecture notes.

“Simon’s the boss.  You might want to remember that since he’s your boss too.  While I’m gone, I need you to reshelf those documents on the cart and watch the desk.  If someone
shows up with a question you can’t handle, ask them to wait.  I should be back in about 15 minutes.”    

Lily was officially hired on as Simon’s full time assistant in the Government Documents department of the university library right after graduation.  She’d started working there her freshman year after discovering that the scholarship she’d won provided room and board, but not spending money.  Although she had stumbled into the position, it turned out to be the perfect job and Simon's preoccupation with his darting thoughts made him the perfect boss.  He was the stereotypical absent minded professor and that suited Lily just fine.  It never occurred to him to press Lily for personal information in hopes of building a less formal working relationship and Lily had a preference for invisibility.  He would disappear for large chunks of the day doing whatever it was he did while she reviewed and investigated the treasure trove of materials that circulated through the department.  It turned out that she had a real knack for keeping him and the department organized.  While still a lowly student employee, she’d witnessed Simon run off three assistants.  None of them could tolerate the lack of leadership or his quirkiness.  He didn’t have the interest or inclination for training an assistant, and Government Documents was a beast entirely its own with hundreds of thousands of documents cataloged and filed with its own complicated numbering system.  He seemed to know where everything could be found even in his office with the mountains of papers, but didn’t care to explain his methods.  Over four years, Lily had the time and opportunity to learn by doing and greatly appreciated the independence of the work.  After the last assistant left six months ago, she took over the position, and Simon made room in his overactive brain to learn her name.  A month later her promotion became official.

Pulling up to McDonald’s in her beat up rusty red Pinto, Lily spotted Simon jogging in place near a dumpster.  Seeing him with his too short shorts, pasty white legs, and blue sweatband, she couldn’t help but laugh. 
This is the smartest man I know
.  She honked at him, and he looked over, suddenly remembering his predicament. 

Scrunching his tall skinny body into her tiny car, Simon said, “Thanks for coming.  You got here fast.”

“You’re only five minutes from campus, Simon.  It took me longer to walk to my car than to drive here.  What threw you off the path this time?”

Eyes glazing slightly
, he began, “There was this dog running down the opposite side of the street and as I watched it run I was trying to figure out where a fifth leg would go and how that would affect the dog’s speed and gait.  Once I determined that evolution got it right and legs should always come in pairs, I didn’t recognize the street I was on.”  Beaming like a little boy who had survived some grand adventure, he added, “But I did recognize this McDonald’s and the statue of Ronald in desperate need of a surgical intervention.”

“Your mind works in interesting ways.”

“Yes, it does.  So who did you leave in charge?”

“Kim’s covering the desk until we get back.”

“Who?”

“You know my roommate, Kim, cute little blonde, always smiling, real friendly.  She started at the beginning of the semester.  You’ve met her a hundred times.”

“I thought her name was Stephanie.” He contemplated and then shrugged.  “Anyway, what’s on my agenda for this afternoon?”

“You have a lunch meeting with the Dean to discuss construction on the library expansion.”

Simon plunged his fingers through his poofy curls with an intensity that might easily explain his receding hair line, a familiar gesture he often repeated when his position required him to do something he disliked, like meeting with the Dean.  “That sounds fascinating.  Was I supposed to prepare something?”

“No, just listen.”

“That’s easier said than done.”

Lily lived with her roommate, Kim, in the aging neglected area west of campus where students rented dilapidated houses for cheap.  They'd found a two bedroom rickety shack six blocks from the university with so much chipped paint the house appeared to be molting.  Thrilled to live off campus, they gladly sacrificed clean and reliable dorm life for their own bedrooms and total independence.  They blew what cash they could spare at thrift stores, decorating their space with color and oddities.  Their agreed upon mission: to procure for themselves the gaudiest of home furnishings.  Nothing matched other than in its outrageousness.  A competition to see who could bring home the ugliest stuff was instituted.  The big winner so far was Lily and her beloved couch depicting a scene of cowboys herding cattle in shades of orange and brown.

Four years ago,
Lily returned to her room on the first day of the fall semester to find Kim leaning against her door. Kim was easily recognizable by her exploding bangs and high pony tail that defied the laws of gravity.  She swung around when she heard Lily approach and flashed an excited smile.  She grabbed her old friend in a crushing hug, exclaiming, "I did it Lily!  I did it!  I got out of there just like you."

They’d both been awarded the same college scholarship just a year apart.  Kim had always been teased about being a tag-a-long at the children’s home, but Lily had liked her from the first day she
’d skipped up and chirped a welcome.  Although they couldn't be more different, they'd always gotten along.   Kim, an itty-bitty, blue-eyed, golden haired pixie had the spunk and spirit of an entire cheerleading squad, which Lily had found both charming and irritating.  But it worked out that Lily’s timid and serious demeanor, which Kim had found equally irritating, balanced them as a pair.  As much as Lily complained that she preferred her quiet little life before Kim came barging in, she remembered being lonely her freshman year and appreciated the fun that followed Kim everywhere.  The unsaid bargain in living together:  Lily managed and Kim entertained.

Lily’s car unleashed a smoker's cough as she parked in the carport.  She found Kim inside relaxing in her favorite bright green furry chair, which she lovingly referred to as Fido, slurping a big bowl of Ramen noodles and watching TV.  Lily headed for the pantry and the peanut butter sandwich she called dinner most nights.

Kim called
, “The sink is making that rattling noise again.  You should call what's-his-face and have him look at it.”

“Why can’t you call the landlord?”

Kim peeled her eyes away from the television and met Lily’s frown, “He creeps me out.  Actually, now that I think about it, maybe we should have someone else do it.  I think he’s purposely not fixing it just so we’ll call again, and he can come over and harass us.”

“Yeah, I don’t like him much either.  As long as it’s not spurting water, I think we can leave it until after the weekend.”  Lily finished
smushing her sandwich together and joined Kim in the living room.  “I don’t want to do anything tonight but curl up on my cowboy couch and read.”

Kim sunk deeper in
her chair. “Don’t hate me... but I invited the boys over to play cards tonight.  They’ll be here around eight.”

Lily stopped mid-bite and glared at her. “Does it ever cross your mind to ask me before you invite people over?”

“Oh come on, Lils. You haven’t been out in forever," Kim whined.  "You’re quickly becoming a crotchety old librarian.  All you need is a cat."  She gave a crooked smile to soften her jab.  "Tonight won’t be so bad.  We’re just going to hang out, play some cards, and drink beer.”

“Is Ben coming?”

“I think so."  Kim leaned over the arm of her chair and readied herself for round two.  "I can’t for the life of me figure out why you’re not still dating.  He’s gorgeous. You’re gorgeous.  He’s smart. You’re smart. He’s got muscles. You’ve got curves.  The two of you would make beautiful babies together.  I think it could work,” she finished with a conspirator's smirk.  She considered herself the female equivalent of Chuck Woolery from
Love Connection
, but her roommate failed to see or appreciate the comparison.

“That’s just it,"
Lily argued with a full mouth.  "I don’t want it to work, and I certainly don’t want babies.  I’m not looking for a relationship, and he won’t give up.  I’m running out of nice ways to say no.”

“N
obody’s asking you to get married, but you need to get out and have some fun.”

Lily shook her head. 
“Ben’s not the guy.”

“Al
l right.  Fine.  I’ll run interference for you with Ben like I've done with a million other guys.  Will you try and have a good time tonight?”

“Who’s buying the beer?”

“The boys.”

Lily brushed the crumbs from her blouse as she stood.
“I’ll tell you what.  Throw in some brownies and you've got yourself a deal.”

"Beer and brownies.
  Yum."  Kim joined her roommate in the kitchen, happy to oblige.

The boys included four graduate students who formerly wrestled together and lived across the
street in a crumbling two story.  While spying attractive new possibilities moving in, they’d eagerly offered their help and made regular visits ever since.  They quickly took to Kim, but only like big brothers to a little sister.  She felt cursed to have so many attractive adopted brothers.  Although Lily would have preferred that kind of attention, men never considered her friend or family.  Kim was the buddy and Lily was the fantasy. 

After g
rowing her hair long as a child, Lily discovered the advantage of the ponytail for controlling her dark heavy curls and simultaneously the disadvantage of long hair's appeal to men.  And to her horror, as her hair began to grow so did her body.  Despite her loose fitting clothes, there was no hiding her long legs, tiny waist, and generous bosom.  She’d been accused by her roommate of dressing frumpy to hide her shape which Lily agreed was absolutely the case.  The drab shirt and slacks combinations she wore couldn't hide her striking green eyes.  She was the innocent prey whose camouflage made her more enticing.

That night, Kim stayed true to her word and never left Lily’s side through the initial bouts of teasing and flirting that were always batted
back and forth when this group came together.  She blocked Ben’s advance when he tried to share Fido with Lily during the boy’s impromptu wrestling tournament, and dutifully escorted her roommate to and from the bathroom so Ben wouldn’t get a chance to catch Lily alone in the hallway.  Empty beer bottles accumulated and five card stud was the game agreed upon.  For nearly two hours, hands, change, and jibes were won and lost between players, and then Bill, who was by far the luckiest that night, declared himself the true stud in the room.  From there, the conversation deteriorated into exaggerated stories proving each "boy's" superior manhood.  Topics ranged from impossible wins on the wrestling mat to impossible wins with the ladies.  Having witnessed this ridiculous debate many times before, and knowing that this discussion would only get more obnoxious, Lily left the kitchen and stepped out onto the porch.  While Kim had her hands full encouraging and discouraging the other boys’ antics, Ben saw his chance to corner Lily alone and followed her out.