Boxed In by Karen Kelly

Author:Karen Kelly [Kelly, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery, Fiction
Publisher: www.DRGnetwork.com
Published: 2011-09-28T16:00:00+00:00

12

“My goal for the library is to arrange everything so John and Joanna can reach books and things that might interest them. And are appropriate, of course.” Annie and Alice stood facing a wall of built-ins crammed with reading material. Over the years, what had begun as an organized collection had been multiplied, shifted, separated, and put back together so many times it resembled a reading jungle. Determined not to be overwhelmed by the size of the goal, Annie had narrowed her focus. “Let’s begin by going shelf by shelf and pulling anything the kids might like. We’ll tackle the desk another time.”

Alice turned to scan the other side of the room, lined with identical stuffed built-ins. “Do you still have the step stool that used to be in here? We’re going to need it.”

“It’s in the family room, very handy for dusting the moldings.” Annie went to fetch the stool as Alice began removing books from a few of the lower shelves, stacking them next to a leather reading chair. Annie returned with the white metal, three-step stool and placed it in front of the first stack of shelves. “I’ll climb up and look through the books. When I hand one to you, dust it and give it a place on a lower shelf.” Annie climbed up to the highest step.

“Do you want me to separate fiction books from nonfiction?” Alice asked as she wiped the dust from the shelves she had just emptied.

“Yes! John loves looking at the pictures in encyclopedias, field guides, and other nonfiction books about animals, boats, oceans, you name it. Having them all in one low section will be really helpful.” Annie ran her eyes along the top shelf, while she ran a lamb’s-wool wand along the tops and spines of the books. “Nothing suitable on this shelf.” On the next highest shelf Annie found some nonfiction animal books and a couple of classics—Heidi and Mr. Popper’s Penguins—and handed them down to Alice. Once they were in a rhythm of scan, pull, dust, and reshelve, Annie asked Alice, “Did you have a chance to start your place mats?”

“I only had a little time last night after I had everything packed for the shows today.” Alice reached up for the book Annie was dangling down toward her, Birds of the Eastern United States.

“How is the pattern looking in the actual stitches? Does it look like you thought it would?” Annie stretched over to snag a book at the end of the row, a collection of Beatrix Potter stories. “Of course, I’m asking because I’m the one who’s not so confident about her project.”

“I’ve only done one side of the border, so it’s probably too early to know how it’s going to look when it’s completed. My main concern isn’t if the pattern will look nice, because the colors are looking beautiful together already.” Alice settled the dust-free story collection on its new shelf. “But what if I copied the pattern wrong, and it comes out looking unlike any Micmac pattern ever used? I would hate that.

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