Alex & Clayton Read Free Page A

come up with a way to cut down on our theft problem. Do you have any initial questions?”
    “Not at the moment, but I’m sure I will once I get into the practices of the library,” he replied.
    “Excellent. Well, just ask Cindy to call you in your office when the shipment of books arrive and get started learning that process. That’s all I have, unless you have anything more?”
    “No, I’m looking forward to learning this place inside out, and the sooner the better as far as I’m concerned.”
    The meeting ended, and Clay headed back to his office, stopping off at the front desk to tell Cindy to make sure to call him when the books arrived. Once seated in his office again, he resumed reading where he had left off.
    Just before lunch, Cindy called Clayton.
    “Mr. Anderson, the book shipment just arrived, but I’m getting ready for lunch and Carol is out sick today, so there’s no one to relieve me,” she said.
    “Oh, I see. Well then, I’ll be down to let you go to lunch.”
    Clay wasn’t really all that hungry, so he could wait for lunch. When he got to the front desk, Cindy smiled and said, “There’s really nothing much to do. If someone checks out a book, they have to have their membership card, and you write the number on the card in the back of the book and keep the card and drop it into this slot. Make sure you get the number right because it’s the only way for us to know who has the book.”
    “Okay, that’s easy enough,” he said with a smile. “How long do you get for lunch?”
    “I’ll be back in one hour,” she said as she grabbed her purse from under the counter and went out the door.
    There were only about a dozen people in the library at the moment, so Clay really wasn’t that concerned about getting too busy. He was looking around under the counter when Miss Clark walked up to the desk and smiled.
    “I forgot that we have one employee out sick today. Sorry, the assistant fills in for lunch and other breaks when that happens. I’ll be back in an hour also,” she said and left.
    Now I guess for the next hour, this is my library , Clayton thought with a smile.
    Clayton did fine the rest of the day and for the rest of his time at the Merrimack Public Library. He got a chance to put his education into practice and quickly learned how to manage a library. He received top performance reviews, and when Miss Clark was transferred ten years later to another library within the system, Clayton Anderson was appointed head librarian. He had reached his first career goal, and he had never been more satisfied in his life.
    His work life was happy, but now in his thirties, Clay still hadn’t dealt with the fact that he was gay. He repressed his sexual feelings for a couple of men that he had met through his job. Though he thought about acting on those feelings, Clay’s religious upbringing and society kept his urges in check. He refused to walk through that door knowing the pain and humiliation that were sure to follow.
    His life consisted of working—sometimes ten hours a day—and living at home with his mother. He had a few professional friends but almost no personal friends who really knew Clay inside and out. He had a couple of female acquaintances he could count on to accompany him to weddings and other events where he’d be expected to show up with a date. The women eventually figured out that Clay was gay since he was a perfect gentleman who never made a move to kiss them, much less get them into bed. Finally one night, he was confronted on the issue by one of his “dates.”
    “I want to ask you something. It’s personal, and I hope you’ll be honest with me,” Veronica said.
    “What? Go ahead,” Clay responded.
    “All the times we’ve been out to social events, you’ve never once tried to kiss me, let alone make love to me. You’re a very handsome man, and I don’t understand. What’s wrong with me? Don’t you find me attractive?” she asked.
    Clayton was taken aback