Louisiana Saves the Library Read Free

she had to the state. Without her job, she’d be lost, not just financially but personally.
    Becoming an academic was never her plan, though. Like so many of her life decisions, it had been Brendan’s idea.
    He didn’t fit the profile of a deadbeat dad when Louise met him. They sat together in a German language class during their junior year at the University of Minnesota. He wasn’t very good at German, but he had read practically every classic novel and remembered all the characters, plots, and themes. Louise didn’t even have to read the assignments for her English class; she could just talk to him and take notes. Besides literature, they spent hours discussing life in general. He was genuinely interested in what she had to say and made her feel, for the first time in her life, that she might actually have worthwhile ideas. That was what she loved about him: the way he listened.
    She followed Brendan to Indiana University, where he’d been accepted into graduate school in English literature. Louise landed a job in the university library. She spent sunny days checking in new issues of periodicals in the basement of the frigid building. The pay for the library tech job was so low that it seemed like a waste of time, so Louise decided to get a master’s degree. Brendan talked her into the PhD program instead. When they completed their degrees, he was offered a position at the University of Iowa. Since she was already pregnant with Max, Louise stayed home to write articles on the history of public libraries. Two were accepted to journals.
    Brendan changed after Max was born. He spent longer and longer hours holed up in his office, leaving Louise to take care of the baby by herself. Max never slept through the night, waking up three or four times for feedings. Louise was too tired to clean, cook, write, or even think. She fell asleep holding the baby in the glider chair and woke up terrified that he would roll out of her arms onto the floor. Brendan justified his disappearing act with a flip “How do you think we’re paying for all those diapers?” As Max got older, Brendan showed interest in the toddler for a few days or even weeks, but always fell back into his old ways.
    It was obvious that Brendan was having an affair. Louise saw the way he looked at a perky graduate student at one of the few English department parties she managed to attend and she planned to confront him about it. But before she worked up the courage, she realized that her period was late. The pregnancy test showed a plus. Brendan was out that night, supposedly with his English department colleagues. Louise collapsed on the bed and cried herself to sleep alone. She wanted another baby, but not with Brendan. Those days were over.
    Three months after Zoe was born, Brendan told her that he wanted a divorce. Louise lacked the energy to throw his books and clothes out the window. She didn’t say anything, just watched him walk out the door, suitcase in hand. At that moment, she vowed not to be dependent on anyone again.
    She wrote two more articles, applied for jobs, and received an offer from Louisiana A&M. Even though it was spring and the job didn’t begin until school started, she left Max with Brendan and brought Zoe to Saint Jude to house hunt. A few months later, she and the kids moved into their new home and endured their first stiflingly hot and humid Louisiana summer together.
    That was a year ago, but Louise still hadn’t realized her dream of independence. She needed Brendan’s child support check, and to make things worse, he was a slow pay. Living in Louisiana was cheaper than somewhere like Chicago, but library science professor salaries were even cheaper. Add student loans and diapers, and the result was hand-to-mouth living.
    Just thinking about it all—the physically and mentally taxing relocation halfway across the country, the late nights working on articles and the book that was