The city public library is my home away from home because books are my favorite way to escape reality. It warms my heart to see people losing themselves in a book or checking out several books at once.
My name is Evonne Simmons, I'm 32, a newly hired librarian who's also an at-home bibliophile. I've been working at the city public library for over a year after the head librarian had to retire because of health reasons, all that aside, I love my job! I'm the youngest librarian in the public library, plus it helps that my glasses are not on a chain. I wear my curly hair down to my shoulders, my clothes are in bright colors, and I wear makeup. I do my best to ensure everybody's visit to the public library is pleasant; aside from making sure other readers don't get disturbed by loud volumes, I encourage visitors to take book selfies and pics of their library hauls to share on social media. I also ensured that the library had an old-fashioned card catalog and stamper in case of power outages.
Another idea for the public library was to have designated charging areas where visitors can charge their phones and electronic devices. At the same time, they check out the books and have magazines handy to relieve their eyes from screen fatigue.
Never a dull moment at the public library, especially with story time for the kids where I get to cosplay book characters. The kids love it when I dress as Miss Frizzle from The Magic School Bus books, especially since I have curly hair.
It was another busy day at the public library. The Social Security Administration office hosted a job and career seminar for senior citizens, plus both sets of my grandparents had attended. I got my love of learning new things from them; in fact, I have a better relationship with them and my father than I do with my mother; mainly because I'm a child of divorced parents. My mom and dad met in college, they got married when she was pregnant with me, dad supported her while she pursued her teaching degree, marriage had been strained since I was born, mom started her teaching career at the nearby private school, and dad worked three jobs to support us (his main occupation is flight attendant for a major airliner), mom cheated on dad while he was away, and they got divorced. I had found out from my grandparents that my mom had cheated on my dad with a young male student at the private school she teaches; she was an English teacher. Long story short, I went to college and never spoke to my mom again, but I keep in touch with my dad and both sets of grandparents.
Divorce and family drama aside, my academic life fared much better; I went to a university out of state, worked two jobs, pursued a master's degree in library information science (MLS), and obtained a bachelor's in English literature. Not only that, but I also obtained certification through a program by way of the American Library Association; I shadowed the head librarian at the public library while on summer and winter holiday breaks.
One day during the week, I was putting up the books in their proper sections before closing for the day when I noticed a black case on one of the tables; which inside had a pair of black, full-rim, rectangular eyeglasses. It already had me wondering who those glasses belong to; although I'm not an optometrist, it does make me wonder if the person has astigmatism, myopia, nearsightedness, or farsightedness. Does that person have 20/20 vision in one or both eyes and possibly wear them for the look? I decided to put the case with the glasses over into the lost and found container.
One day the following week, I worked at the front desk because a few people needed new library cards (some of them were first-time visitors, and others needed to replace them because their cards were either damaged or lost).
Several minutes later, I heard a male voice say to me, "Excuse me, have you seen a pair of eyeglasses in a case? I was here last Thursday, and I seemed to have left them after reading an issue of Time."
I got a good look at him; he was a tall, Asian man with short black hair, almond-shaped eyes, and honey-kissed skin. He had on an olive-green button-down shirt, a pair of dark wash jeans, and a navy-blue blazer, looking like he stepped out of a GQ photoshoot.
I then asked him while I looked in the lost and found container, "Okay, were the glasses in a black case?"
"Yes, they're my reading glasses." He said to me.
I picked up the black case, opened it, and said, "Are these rectangular glasses with the black frames yours? I found them on one of the tables."
"Yes, thank you so much for finding them. I wanted to check out a few books here today." He said as he opened the case and put the glasses onto his face.
"Of course, if you need me to help you find something, I'll be at the front desk," I replied.
I must say that the man who had gotten his glasses back sounded like he was well-spoken and well-dressed in his appearance. I wondered about him while I continued with my regular duties as a librarian, I was in no rush to get to know him better since I had just met him.
A few minutes later, he came up to me at the front desk and asked me for his assistance in finding some books. I briefly noticed that he had a book on wines in the book basket; one of the other librarians had suggested book baskets from repurposed shopping baskets, making it easier for those who like to check more than one book at a time.
"Could you help me find a few cookbooks? Also, do you have any recommendations?" He had asked me.
"Of course," I replied as I walked with him.
I had helped him find a few cookbooks and gave him a few recommendations, some of them that I have owned a copy for myself. One of them that I suggested was a Korean cookbook that has comic book-style illustrations, he seemed interested in that one and probably wanted to cook dinner for his parents.
"If I may ask, are you taking up cooking as a hobby?" I had asked him while we looked for cookbooks.
"Yes, I am. I had recently signed up for a cooking class at the adult education center. I wanted to try something new when I'm not teaching students." He said to me.
"What subject or which subjects do you teach?" I asked him.
"I teach two subjects: Humanities and Public Speaking, both at the nearby community college. I'm a professor there." He replied.
"That's very interesting and I say that because my mom was a teacher. She taught English literature at a private school." I said to him.
"Did you attend a private school?" He asked me.
"Not at all. I went to public school from kindergarten up to the 12th grade." I replied.
I felt some type of way with him while I was assisting with books; I mean, he's intelligent and handsome, not to mention very well-spoken for a community college professor. It made me wonder more about him, and imagine being touched by him in more ways than one. Princeton and I came back to the front desk a couple of minutes later; there I checked out the books for him, scanned his library card, and let him know that they're due in two weeks, which I will see him again, and I hope he can return them on time.
