Chapter 4 Chapter 3 The Lucky Ones of the Roaring Camp

In the weeks following the theft, sales at Kojima Books increased slightly, which would be unbelievable based on historical statistics. AJ attributes the growth to a little-known economic indicator called "curious townspeople." A well-meaning townsman (hereafter referred to as a "good townsman") will quietly walk up to the desk. "Is there any news about Timur?" (meaning: You have personally suffered a great loss, can I use it for entertainment?) AJ would reply, "Not at all." (Meaning: life is still ruined.) Kind-hearted townsman: Oh, there must be clues. (Meaning: Since I have nothing to lose in the outcome of this situation, it doesn't cost me anything to be optimistic.) Is there anything I haven't read?

AJ: We have several new books. (Meaning: Almost all. You haven't been here for months, maybe even years.) Good Townsman: I read a book in the New York Times Book Review.Maybe it's the one with the red cover? AJ: Hey, that sounds familiar. (Meaning: That's not the usual ambiguity. Author, title, synopsis—that's more useful for finding the book. That book might have a red cover, it's in the New York Times Book Review, and those two Information helped me a lot less than you think.) Do you remember anything else? (Use your own words.) That's when AJ leads the kind townsman to the new book wall, where he makes sure to sell him or her a hardback.

Strangely, Nicole's death had the opposite effect on business.Despite his sensual opening and closing schedule, like a Nazi SS officer, sales in the three months after Nicole's death were the lowest in history.Of course, people sympathized with him then, but people sympathized with him too much.Nicole is a local, one of them.When the Princeton graduate (and Ellis Island Middle School's address student representative) and her stern-eyed husband returned to Alice Island to open a bookstore, they were moved.It's heartening to see young people finally returning to their hometowns looking for a change.And when she died, they felt they had nothing in common with AJ, except that, like him, they had lost Nicole.Do they blame him?Some people do blame him a bit.Why wasn't he driving the author home that night?They consoled themselves by whispering that he'd been kind of weird and weird (they swore there was nothing racist about it); but obviously this guy wasn't around here, you know. (He was born in New Jersey.) Back then they would hold their breath walking past the bookstore as if it were a cemetery.

AJ looks at their credit cards and concludes that theft is an acceptable and socially stimulating loss, whereas death isolates people.By December, sales were back to their usual levels before the theft. On Friday—just two weeks before Christmas—AJ kicked out the last customers and collected money for books just before closing time.A man in a puffy coat is chattering over the latest in the Alex Cross series: "Twenty-six dollars seems like a lot, you know I can buy it online for less, yeah Right?" AJ said he did know, and walked the man to the door. "To be competitive, you really should lower your prices," the man said.

"Price reduction? Lower. Mine. Price. I've never considered it before," AJ said softly. "Are you playing tricks, young man?" "No, I am very grateful. The next time the shareholders of Xiaodao Bookstore have a meeting, I will definitely bring up your innovative proposal. I know that we must remain competitive. Let's talk privately. For a period of time at the beginning of this century, We dropped the competition. I think that was a mistake, but my board of directors decided it was best to leave it to Olympic athletes, spelling bee kids, and cereal makers. Today, I'm happy to report that Kojima Books is absolutely Starting to compete. By the way, the bookstore is closed." AJ points to the door.

When the man in the bulging coat walked out the door grunting, an old lady pushed the door open again with a creak.She's a regular, so AJ tries not to feel bad about her coming in after hours. "Ah, Mrs. Cumberbatch," he said, "unfortunately we are closing now." "Mr. Fikri, don't stare at me with your Omar Sharif eyes. I'm very annoyed with you." Mrs. Cumberbatch forced her way to The book slammed on the counter with a "bang", "The book you recommended to me yesterday is the worst book I've ever read in my life to be eighty-two years old. I want a refund."

AJ looked at the book and then at the old lady. "What do you think of this book?" "Lots of opinions, Mr. Fikry. First of all, it's narrated by Death! I'm an old lady of eighty-two years old, and I don't think it's any good to read a tome of five hundred and fifty-two pages narrated by Death. Not pleasant. I find it particularly inconsiderate to have chosen this book." AJ apologized, but in his heart there was no apology.Who are these people to think that when they get a book, they have to be guaranteed that they will like it?He processed a refund.The spine was damaged and he could no longer sell it. "Mrs. Cumberbatch," he could not resist, "it looks like you've read the book. I wonder how much you've read."

"Yes, I read it," she replied, "and I literally read it, and it kept me up all night. I was so annoyed with it. At my age, I hate to be up all night, and I don't want to cry any more as this novel sometimes provokes me to burst into tears. I hope you will remember that next time you recommend any book, Mr. Fikry." "I will," he said. "My sincere apologies, Mrs. Cumberbatch. Most of our customers love this." As soon as the bookstore closed, AJ went upstairs to change into his running clothes.He went out through the front door of the bookstore, which he habitually left unlocked.

AJ has run cross country, first on the high school varsity team and then at Princeton University.He chose this sport mainly because he is not good at anything except studying hard.He never really saw trail running as such a big deal.His high school coaches hyperbolicly called him a "reliable middle man," referring to the fact that AJ could always be counted on to finish in the upper middle no matter who he was playing against.Now that he hasn't run in a while, he has to admit it's a skill.In his current state, he can't run two miles in one breath.He rarely ran more than five miles, and his back, his legs—basically every part of his body ached.It turns out pain is a good thing.He used to think about things while running, and the pain kept him from doing that kind of futile thing.

At the end it started to snow.Not wanting to bring mud inside, he took off his running shoes on the front porch.He leaned against the front door, which swung open.He knew he hadn't locked the door, but he was sure he hadn't left it open.He turned on the lights, and everything seemed normal, and the cash register didn't look like someone had touched it.The wind probably blew the door open.He turned off the light, and as he was about to go up the stairs he heard a cry, as high-pitched as a bird's cry.The cries started again, longer this time. AJ turned on the light again, walked back to the door, and walked up and down every aisle in the bookstore.He came to the last row, where there were very few books for children and young adults.A child sits on the floor with the only copy of Where the Wild Things Are in the store (one of the few picture books Kojima Books deigns to stock) in its lap, half-opened.This is a big baby, AJ thought.Not a newborn. AJ was unable to accurately estimate the age because he had never personally known any children other than himself.He was the youngest in the family, and it goes without saying that he and Nicole had never had children of their own.The kid was wearing a pink ski jacket, had very curly hazel hair, dark blue eyes, and tan skin, a shade lighter than AJ's own.The little guy is quite handsome.

"Who the hell are you?" AJ asked the kid. Somehow, instead of crying, she smiled at him. "Maya," she replied. Easy question, AJ thought. "How old are you?" he asked. Maya holds up two fingers. "Are you two years old?" Maya smiled again, and held out her arm to him. "Where's your mommy?" Maya began to cry.She kept extending her arm towards AJ.Seeing no other choice for him, AJ picked her up.She was at least as heavy as a case of twenty-four hardcover books, so heavy that it would have weighed him down.The kid had her arms around his neck, and AJ noticed that she smelled nice, like talcum powder and baby oil.Clearly, this was not a neglected or abused toddler.She's friendly, dresses nicely, expects—no, demands—love.Of course, at any moment the owner of the package would return with a perfectly valid explanation.Let's say the car breaks down, or that mom suddenly gets food poisoning.He will have to reconsider his practice of not locking the door in the future.He only thought that someone might steal something, not that someone might leave something behind. She hugged him tighter.Over her shoulder, AJ notices an Elmo doll on the floor with a note pinned to a safety pin on its shaggy red breast.He put the baby down and picked up Elmo, a character AJ had always hated because it seemed so poor. "Elmo!" Maya said. "Yes," AJ said, "Elmo." He removed the note and handed the doll to the kid.The note reads: Hell, AJ thought. Maya cried again. He picked up the child.Her diaper was soaked. AJ has never changed a diaper in his life, but he's adept at gift-wrapping.When Nicole was still alive, Kojima Bookstore would wrap gifts for customers for free at Christmas. He thought that changing diapers and gift wrapping must have the same way.There is a bag next to the baby, and AJ really hopes it contains diapers.Thankfully, it really is.He changed the kid's diaper on the bookstore floor while trying not to stain the rug or look too much at her private parts.The whole process took twenty minutes.Children are more active than books, and the shape is not as convenient as books.Maya looked at him with her head thrown back, her mouth pursed, her nose wrinkled. AJ apologized: "I'm sorry, Maya, but to be honest, this is not a very pleasant thing for me. You get off your body earlier, and we can end sooner." "I'm sorry," she said. AJ felt a little bad right away. "No, I'm sorry. I don't know anything about this kind of thing. I'm a fool." "Stupid!" she repeated, then giggled. AJ put on his running shoes again, then picked up the kid, took the bag and the note, and headed for the police station. Of course, Sheriff Lambias was on duty that night.This person seems destined to witness all the important moments in AJ's life. AJ showed the child to the officer. "Someone left this in the bookstore." AJ whispered, trying to wake Maya who had fallen asleep in his arms. Lambiase is halfway through his donut, trying to hide it because he's embarrassed to bump into AJ again.After Lambiase finished chewing, he said to AJ very unprofessionally, "Oh, it looks like you." "This is not my child." AJ continued to whisper. "Whose?" "A customer's, I think." AJ pulled the note from his pocket and handed it to Lambiase. "Oh wow," said Lambiase, "that mother left her for you." Maya opened her eyes and smiled at Lambiase. "Cute little one, isn't he?" Lambiase leaned over her, and she grabbed his beard. "Who got my beard?" said Lambiase in a ridiculously childish voice. "Who stole my beard?" "Sheriff Lambias, I don't think you're showing enough concern about this matter." Lambiase cleared his throat and stood up straight. "Well, let's put it this way. It's Friday night at nine o'clock, and I'm going to call Children and Family Services, but it's snowing, it's the weekend, and considering the ferry times, I'm afraid no one will be able to come over , Monday at the earliest. We will try to find the mother of the child, and her father, in case anyone is looking for this little rascal." "Maya," Maya said. "Is that your name?" Lambiase said in a childish voice. "It's a good name." Lambiase cleared his throat again. "Someone needs to take this kid for the weekend. Me, and a few other policemen You can take turns looking after here, or—" "No, it's fine," AJ said. "It doesn't seem right to keep a kid at the police station." "Do you know how to raise a baby?" Lambiase asked. "Just a weekend, how hard can it be? I'll call my sister-in-law. If there's something she doesn't know, I'll Google it." "Google," said the kid. "Google! That's a big word, huh," Lambiase said. "Well, I'll stop by your place on Monday to see how it goes. The world is interesting, isn't it? Somebody stole your copy." Book, and someone left you a child." "Huh," AJ said. Once they got back to the house, Maya was crying at the top of her lungs, somewhere between a New Year's Eve party horn and a fire alarm. AJ figured she was hungry, but he had no idea what to feed the two year and one month old.He pulled her lips back to see if she had any teeth.She has, and wants to bite him with her teeth.He Googled the question: "What should I feed my two-year-old and one-month-old?" Most of the answers came up that children at this age should eat whatever their parents should eat.What Google didn't know was that most of the food AJ ate was disgusting.He has a variety of frozen foods in his freezer, many of which are spicy.He called Ismay for help. "Sorry to bother you," he said, "but I was wondering what to feed a two-year-old and one-month-old?" "Why do you want to know this?" Ismay asked nervously. He explained how someone had left a child in the bookstore, and Ismay was silent for a moment, then said she'd be right over. "Are you sure you can?" AJ asked.Ismay was six months pregnant and he didn't want to trouble her. "I'm sure. I'm glad you called. Anyway, Daniel, the great American novelist, is out of town, and I've been having trouble sleeping for the last two or three weeks." Within half an hour, Ismay arrived, bringing a bag of groceries from her home kitchen: enough ingredients for a salad, a tofu lasagna and half a baked apple crumble. "That's all I can find for now," she said. "No, it's too good to be true," AJ said, "I can't see it in my kitchen." "Your kitchen is a crime scene," she said. Seeing Ismay, the child burst into tears. "She must be missing her mother," Ismay said. "Maybe I remind her of her mother?" AJ nodded, but he felt that the real reason was that his wife's sister was scaring the child.Ismay had stylishly cropped red hair in a fringe, light skin and eyes, and long, thin limbs.Her features are a little too big, her movements are a little too vivid, and she looks like a beautiful gollum when she's pregnant.Even the sound of her voice has the potential to scare a small child.Her voice is clear, precise, well-trained and always tuned to be heard by everyone in the room.In the fifteen or so years he's known her, AJ feels that Ismay has aged like an actress: from playing Juliet to Ophelia to Gertrude to Hecate. Ismay heated up the food. "Do you want me to feed her?" Ismay asked. Maya looked at Ismay suspiciously. "No, I want to give it a try," AJ said.He turned to Maya and said, "Do you use a spoon or something?" Maya didn't answer. "You don't have a baby chair. You need to improvise something so she doesn't tip over," Ismay said. He made Maya sit on the floor, built three walls with a pile of sample books, and then put pillows for the bed inside the sample book fortress. The first spoonful of lasagna he fed went into Maya's mouth without a problem. "Easy," he said. With a second scoop, Maya turns her head at the last moment and gets the sauce all over the place—AJ, the pillow, the side of the sample book fort.Maya turned her head and gave him a wide smile, as if she had made a clever joke. "I hope these aren't the books you're going to read," said Ismay. After dinner, they put the baby down on the futon in the second bedroom for her to sleep. "Why don't you just leave the kid at the police station?" Ismay asked. "It didn't feel right to do that," AJ said. "You didn't want to keep her, did you?" Ismay rubbed her belly. "Of course not. I'll only watch her until Monday." "I think the mother will show up then and change her mind," Ismay said. AJ shows the paper to Ismay. "Poor man," said Ismay. "I think so, but I can't do it, I can't just abandon my child in a bookstore like that." Ismay shrugged. "That girl probably has her reasons." "How do you know it's a girl?" AJ asked. "It could be a middle-aged woman who is really desperate." "I thought the tone of the letter sounded youthful, I thought. Maybe the writing too," Ismay said.She ran her fingers through her short hair, "How are you doing?" "I'm fine," AJ said.He realized he hadn't thought of Timur or Nicole for hours. Ismay did the dishes, though AJ told her to leave it alone. "I'm not going to keep her," AJ repeated. "I live alone, I don't have a lot of savings, and I'm not doing a great business." "Of course not," said Ismay. "The way you're going about it makes no sense to raise a child." She dried the plate and put it away. "It wouldn't hurt to start eating some fresh vegetables now and then, though." Ismay kissed his cheek. AJ thinks she is very similar to Nicole and very different.Sometimes it was hard for him to bear the aspects in which they were alike (face, body); "Let me know if you still need help," Ismay said. Although Nico was the younger sister, she was always worried about Ismay.Nicole believes that her sister doesn't have much experience in how to organize her life.Ismay chose to go to a college because she liked the pictures in the brochures; marry a man because he looked so good in a tuxedo; teach because she saw a film about an inspiring teacher movie. "Poor Ismay," Nicole said, "she always ends up being disappointed." Nicole would wish I had been nicer to her sister, he thought. "How's the play going?" AJ asked. Ismay smiled, which made her look like a little girl. "My God, AJ, I didn't know you knew about rehearsals." "The Witches of Salem," AJ said, "kids come to the store and buy the book." "Yeah, that would make sense. Actually the show sucks. But in the show where the girls can scream and yell, they like it, I don't like it that much. I always bring a bottle of Tylenol to the show Rehearsal. Maybe, amid all the screaming and yelling, they can learn a little bit of American history as well. Of course, the real reason I chose this play is that there are a lot of female characters in it - you know, when the selection was announced , there would be fewer tears. But now that my baby is coming, it’s starting to feel like there’s, well, a lot of drama.” Because she brought food, AJ felt that he owed her a favor, so he offered to help. "Maybe I can help with the paint or print the program or something?" She wanted to say "it's not like you", but held back.Besides her own husband, she considered her brother-in-law to be one of the most selfish and self-centered people she had ever met.If spending an afternoon with a small child can make such a difference in AJ, what will happen to Daniel after the baby is born?Her brother-in-law's small gesture gave her hope.She stroked her stomach.It's a boy, and they've already chosen a name, and an alternate name in case the previous name doesn't fit. The next afternoon, just as the snow had stopped and was just beginning to melt into the mud, a body washed up on a small strip of land near the lighthouse.The ID in her pocket identified her as Marianne Wallace, and it didn't take long for Lambiase to deduce that the body was related to the child. Marianne Wallace had no family on Alice Island, and no one knew why she came here, who she was looking for, or why she decided to kill herself and swim into the icy December waters of Alice Island Channel middle.That said, no one knows exactly why.They knew that Marianne Wallace was black, twenty-two, and she had a child two years and one month old.To these facts, they could add what she said in the note to AJ.A flawed, but already formed story emerges.The police concluded that Marianne Wallace had committed suicide and nothing else. Over the weekend, more information emerged about Marianne Wallace as the day progressed.She went to Harvard on a scholarship.She is a Massachusetts state swimming champion and an avid creative writer.She was from Roxbury and her mother died of cancer when she was thirteen.A year later, her grandmother died of the same disease.Her father was a drug addict.She lived with a foster family on and off while she was in middle school.One of her adoptive mothers remembers little Marianne always buried in a book.No one knew who the father of her child was, or even remembered that she had a boyfriend.She had been suspended from school because she had failed every subject the previous semester—a combination of being a mother and an intense academic program was unbearable.She was beautiful and intelligent, which makes her death a tragedy.She was poor, and she was black, which meant people would say they saw it coming. On Sunday night, Lambiase stopped by the bookstore, wanting to see Maya, and also to explain the latest situation to AJ.He has younger siblings, and he offers to babysit Maya while AJ is busy with the bookstore business. "Don't you mind?" AJ asked, "Don't you have to go somewhere?" Lambiase was recently divorced.His ex-wife was his sweetheart in high school, so it took him a long time to realize that she wasn't actually a sweetheart, and she wasn't a very nice person at all.When quarreling, she likes to say that he is stupid and fat.By the way, he's not stupid, although he doesn't read much or go anywhere.He wasn't fat either, although he was built like a bulldog—muscled neck, short legs, broad flat nose.This is a solid American Bulldog, not English. Lambiase doesn't miss his wife, but he does miss having somewhere to go after get off work. He sat on the floor and held Maya in his lap.After Maya fell asleep, Lambiase told AJ what he knew about Maya's mother. "What I'm wondering," AJ said, "is why she came to Alice Island in the first place. You know, it's not easy to get here. My own mom has only been here once in all the years I've lived here. You You really don’t think she’s here to meet someone special?” Lambiase adjusted the position of Maya sleeping on his lap. "I've been thinking about that. Maybe she didn't have a plan for where she was going, maybe she just got on the first train, then the first bus, then the first ferry and ended up here." AJ nodded politely, but he didn't believe there was anything gratuitous about it.He loves to read, and he thinks there should be an explanation.If there is a gun in the first act, that gun had better be fired in the third act. "Maybe she wants to die somewhere with a nice view," Lambiase added. "Well, the lady from Children and Family Services is coming to pick up this happy little package on Monday. Since the mother has no family, The baby's father didn't know who it was, so they had to find her a foster family." AJ counts the cash in the drawer. "Such an arrangement is not easy for children, isn't it?" "It's possible," said Lambiase, "but she's so young, she's probably going to be all right." AJ counts the cash in the drawer again. "You said that mother was placed in foster care?" Lambiase nodded. "I think she thought the kid would have a better life in a bookstore." "Who can tell?" "I have no religion, Sheriff Lambias. I don't believe in fate. My wife, she believes in fate." Just then, Maya wakes up and holds out her arms to AJ. AJ closes the drawer of the cash register and takes her from Lambiase.Lambiase thought he heard the little girl call AJ "Daddy." "Well, I keep telling her not to call me that," AJ said, "but she just won't listen." "Kids have a mind of their own," Lambias said. "Would you like something to drink?" "Of course. Why not?" AJ locks the door of the bookstore and goes up the stairs.He puts Maya on the mat and comes out into the great room of the house. "I can't raise a baby," AJ said firmly. "I haven't slept in two nights. She's a terrorist! She wakes up at a terrible time, 3:45 in the morning seems to be her day." Start. I live alone and have no money. I can’t support a child just by selling books.” "True," said Lambiase. "I can barely support myself," AJ continued. "She's more difficult than a puppy. People like me shouldn't even have puppies. No one has potty trained her yet. I don't know." What to do with things like that, and everything else. Plus, I've never really liked babies. I like Maya, but... have nothing to say to her at all. We talk about Elmo, by the way, I suffer Not Elmo. Other than that, the conversation is mostly about her. She's completely self-centered." "Babies are like that," Lambiase said. "As soon as she knows more words, it's easier to talk to her." "She keeps wanting to read the same book, and it's the most trashy picture book ever. The Monster Is at the End?" Lambiase said he had not heard of the book. "Well, sure. Her reading taste is terrible." AJ laughed. Lambiase nodded and took a sip of his wine. "No one said you had to keep her." "Yeah, yeah, of course. But don't you think I have a say in where she ends up? She's a really smart little guy. She already knows the alphabet, for example, and I even made her understand what alphabetical order is." I wouldn't like it if she ended up with some jerk who didn't appreciate that. Like I said before, I don't believe in fate. But I do feel a sense of responsibility towards her. That young woman does Leave her in my care." "The young woman went mad," Lambiase said, "and within an hour she threw herself into the sea." "Yeah." AJ frowned, "You're right." There was crying from another room, and AJ leaned away and walked away. "I have to go see her," he said. Towards the end of the weekend, Maya needs a shower.Though he'd rather leave this new intimate activity to the Massachusetts superintendent, AJ doesn't want to hand her over to a miniature Miss Havisham-style social welfare department. AJ googled and googled just to determine the right way to bathe: the right temperature for a 2-year-old's bath water, can a 2-year-old use adult shampoo, how a father washes a 2-year-old girl's private parts without getting caught Consider it perverted, how deep to put in the tub - toddler, how to prevent a two year old from drowning in the tub, general bath safety rules, etc. He washed Maya's hair in a bottle of Nicole's shampoo based on hemp seed oil.AJ donated or threw away some of his wife's other things a long time ago, and he still can't bear to throw away her toiletries. AJ rinses Maya's hair and she starts singing. "What are you singing?" "Song," she said. "What song did you sing?" "La la, cloth, la la." AJ laughed. "Well, it sounded like gibberish to me, Maya." She splashed water on him. "Mom?" she asked after a while. "No, I'm not your mother," AJ said. "Let's go," Maya said. "Yeah," AJ said, "she probably won't be coming back." Maya thought for a moment, then nodded. "you sing." "I'd better stop singing." "Sing," she said. This girl lost her mother, and he felt that at least he could fulfill her wish. No time to googling "songs for babies". AJ sang second tenor in the Princeton University a cappella choir "Footnote" before meeting his wife. After AJ fell in love with Nicole, the loss was "Footnote," who was cut from the chorus after missing numerous rehearsals in one semester.He thinks back to his last performance at "Footnote," a tribute to the music of the '80s.His tub-side performance was close to that playlist, starting with "99 Balloons," followed by "Get Out of My Dreams, Get In My Car," and conclude with "Love Is In an Elevator."He didn't feel particularly stupid. She clapped when he finished. "Sing again," she ordered, "sing again." "Only one show." He lifted her out of the tub and toweled her dry, drying every perfect space between her toes. "Ann balloon," Maya said, "ann you." "what?" "Love you," she said. "You are clearly captivated by the charm of a cappella." She nodded. "Love you." "Love me? You don't know me at all." AJ said, "Little girl, you shouldn't throw your love around so easily." He pulled her to him, "We got along very well and had a good time , at least for me, is an unforgettable seventy-two hours, but some people are not destined to stay in your life forever." She stared at him with large, suspicious blue eyes. "Love you," she said again. AJ towel-dries her hair and smells it. "I worry about you. If you love everyone, you end up emotionally hurt most of the time. I think you feel like you've known me for a long time for your short life. Your view of time is actually warped, Maya .But I am old, and soon you will forget that you ever knew me." Molly Klock knocked on the apartment door. "The woman from social welfare is downstairs. Shall I send her up?" AJ nodded. He pulled Maya into his lap, and they waited, listening as the social welfare worker came up the creaking stairs. "Don't be afraid, Maya. This lady will find you the perfect home, better than here. You can't sleep on a mat your whole life, you know that. You don't want to know someone who spends your life on a mat Sleeper." The staff member's name is Jenny. AJ can't recall ever meeting any grown woman named Jenny.If Jenny were a book, she would be a paperback fresh out of the box—no folded pages, no water spots, no creases on the spine. AJ would much rather see a social welfare worker who looks like he has been through many vicissitudes. AJ conceives the synopsis for the back cover of Jenny's Book: When fearless Jenny from Fairfield, Connecticut takes a social welfare job in the big city, she has no idea what's in store for her in the line of work. "Is this your first day at work?" AJ asked. "No," Jenny said, "I've been doing this job for a while." Jenny smiled at Maya. "You look so pretty." Maya buried her head in AJ's hoodie. "You two seem very close," Jenny wrote in her scratch pad. "Well, it is. I brought Maya from here to Boston. As her case manager, I will be there for her. Filling out some papers - obviously she can't do it herself lol. She'll be assessed by a doctor and a psychologist." "In my opinion, she's healthy and normal," AJ said. "It's good that you've observed that. The doctor will look for developmental delays, diseases, and other problems that the untrained eye wouldn't immediately see. Afterwards, Maya will be placed with one of the many foster homes that we have pre-approved a household, and—” AJ interrupted: "How does a foster family get pre-approved? Is it as easy as getting a department store charge card?" "Haha, of course not. There are a lot more procedures than that. There are applications, home visits..." AJ interrupted her again: "Jenny, I mean, how do you make sure you don't turn an innocent child into the hands of a total psychopath?" "Well, Mr. Fikry, we certainly don't presuppose that everyone who wants to take a child into foster care is a psychopath, but we do a thorough review of all foster families." “我担心是因为……嗯，玛雅很聪明，但是也很容易相信人。”AJ说。 “聪明，但也很容易相信人。观察得不错。我得把这点记下来。”詹妮记了下来，“好吧，我先把她安排到一个应急的非精神变态……”她朝AJ微笑，“寄养家庭，我会继续做工作。我会尽量去看看她的旁系亲属里有没有人想接纳她，如果没有，我就开始为玛雅找一种永久性的解决办法。” “你指的是收养。” “对，一点没错。很好，费克里先生。”詹妮并不是非得解释所有这些事，但是她想让AJ这样见义勇为的好人感觉他们付出的时间是值得的。“对了，我真的要感谢您，”她说，“我们需要更多像您这样的人，你们有意愿做好事。”她朝玛雅伸出胳膊，“准备好了吗，小可爱？” AJ把玛雅抱得更紧了一点。他做了次深呼吸。他真的要这样做吗？对，我要，亲爱的上帝。“你说玛雅会被安置在一个临时性的寄养家庭？我不可以是那样的家庭吗？” 社会福利工作人员噘起了嘴。“我们所有的寄养家庭都经过了申请程序，费克里先生。” “问题是……我知道这不合常规，但是她的妈妈给我留了这张纸条。”他把那张纸条递给詹妮。“她想让我养这个孩子，你看。这是她的遗愿。我觉得我养着玛雅才是对的。我不想在这里就有一个特别好的家的情况下，把她送到一个寄养家庭。我昨天晚上在谷歌上搜索了这事。” “谷歌。”玛雅说。 “她喜欢那个词，我不知道为什么。” “什么'这事'？”詹妮问道。 “如果她的妈妈是想让我养着她，我不一定非得把她交出去。”AJ解释道。 “爸爸。”玛雅似乎得到提示，这样叫了一声。 詹妮看看AJ的眼睛又看看玛雅的，两双眼睛都露出坚定的神色，真叫人头痛。She sighed.本来她以为这个下午会过得简单轻松，但现在开始变得复杂了。 詹妮又叹了口气。这不是她上班的第一天，但她一年半前才获得社会福利方面的硕士。她要么是太过热情，要么是经验不足，这使得她想去帮助他们。尽管如此，他是一个住在书店上面的单身汉，文案工作将会繁琐至极，她想。“那请帮我一个忙，费克里先生，跟我说您在教育或者儿童养育方面有经验。” “呃……我当时是要攻读美国文学的博士学位，可是放弃了，开了这家书店。我的研究方向是埃德加·爱伦·坡。《厄舍古屋的倒塌》是一篇挺好的入门作品，告诉人们不能对儿童做什么。” “不简单。”詹妮说。她的意思是那完全没有帮助。“你真的有把握你能胜任吗？这需要投入大量的金钱、感情以及时间。” “没有，”AJ说，“我没有把握。但是我觉得玛雅跟我在一起和跟别人在一起相比，会有同样不错的人生机会。我工作时可以照看她，我们互相喜欢，我觉得。” “爱你。”玛雅说。 “对，她老是那么说。”AJ讲，“要先赢得别人的爱才能付出，我一直这样提醒她，可是说实话，我觉是这是那个狡猾的艾摩带来的影响。它谁都爱，你知道吗？” “我对艾摩很熟悉。”詹妮说。她想哭，真的会有很多文案工作。这还仅仅是寄养安排这一步，收养手续办起来更是会累死人，而且每次儿童和家庭服务局的人要查核玛雅和AJ的情况，都得是詹妮花上两个小时来艾丽丝岛一趟。“好吧，两位，我得给我的上司打个电话。”詹妮·伯恩斯坦来自马萨诸塞州梅德福市的一个殷实之家，父母爱她，她从小就很喜欢看像《绿山墙的安妮》和之类的孤儿故事。她最近开始怀疑自己之所以选择以社会福利工作为职业，就是一再读那些故事遗留的恶果。总的说来，她发现这种职业并不像她在书中读到的那样浪漫。昨天，她以前的一位同学发现一位寄养母亲把一个十六岁的男孩饿得体重只剩四十二磅。邻居们都以为那是个六岁的孩子。“我还是愿意相信美好的结局，”那位同学说，“但是越来越难了。”詹妮对着玛雅微笑。真是个幸运的小女孩，她想。 那年圣诞节期间以及之后的几个星期，艾丽丝岛上都在热议这条新闻，即那位鳏夫——书店老板AJ费克里收养了一个被抛弃的孩子。这是一段时间以来——很可能自从《帖木儿》被盗以来——艾丽丝岛上最具八卦价值的新闻。而且特别让人感兴趣的是AJ费克里这个人。这个镇上的人一直认为他势利、冷漠，似乎让人很难相信就因为一个孩子被遗弃在他的书店里，这样一个人居然就会收养这个小孩。镇上的花店老板讲了件事，说他把一副太阳镜忘在小岛书店，过了不到一天他再去，却发现AJ把太阳镜扔了。“他说他店里可没地方设置一个失物招领处。那刚好是一副很好的经典款雷朋眼镜！”那位花店老板说，“你能想象出如果涉及到一个活生生的人会怎么样？”此外，有好多年，AJ都被邀请参与镇上的生活——赞助足球队，参加蛋糕义卖，在中学年鉴上购买广告——他总是一概拒绝，而且并非每次拒绝时都有礼有貌。他们只能总结说自从丢了《帖木儿》，AJ的心肠变软了。 艾丽丝岛上那些当妈妈的担心那个小孩儿会被疏于照顾，一个单身男人哪懂得什么养育孩子呢？她们把这当成一项事业，尽可能多地顺路去一趟书店，给AJ提建议，有时候也送小礼物——旧的娃娃家具、衣服、毛毯、玩具。她们惊讶地发现玛雅是个够干净、够快乐、够沉着的小人儿。只是在离开书店后，她们会叽叽喳喳地说玛雅的身世有多么悲惨。 在AJ这方面，他并不介意她们来看。那些建议他大都当成耳旁风。他收下那些礼物，不过在那些女人走了之后，事实上只是收着并将其消毒。他知道她们来看过之后的闲言碎语，不想自己为那些而恼火。他在柜台上放了一瓶普瑞来免洗洗手液，旁边还有个牌子，要求“在抱小孩之前请先消毒”。另外，那些女人也的确懂得一两样他原先不知道的事，关于训练孩子自己上厕所（贿赂是有用的）、长牙（奇形怪状的制冰盒）和注射疫苗（水痘的打不打都行）。事实证明，在提供养育孩子的建议方面，谷歌搜索出来的结果博而不深。 去看那个孩子时，有很多女人甚至买书和杂志。AJ开始进一些书，因为他觉得那些女人会喜欢讨论那些书。有一阵子，那个圈子对特别能干的女性被困在不如意的婚姻中那类当代故事感兴趣；她们喜欢看到她有外遇——倒不是她们自己有（有也不会承认）。乐趣在于评判这些女人。女方抛弃自己的孩子就太过火了，但是丈夫遭遇可怕的意外这种安排较受欢迎（他死掉而她又找到爱情，就会额外加分）。有一阵子梅芙·宾奇广受欢迎，直到玛吉妮（她另一个身份是一家投资银行的职员）提出抱怨，说宾奇的作品过于程式化。“在一个气氛压抑的爱尔兰小镇，一个女人太年轻时嫁给了一个长得帅的坏男人，这样的故事我能够读多少次？”AJ被鼓励去扩充他的书目。“如果我们要成立这个读书小组，”玛吉妮说，“也许我们最好丰富一下图书的品种。” “这是个读书小组吗？”AJ说。 “难道不是吗？”玛吉妮说，“你不会以为这么多关于养孩子方面的建议都是免费的吧？” 四月份是《我是海明威的巴黎妻子》，六月份是《可靠的妻子》，八月份是《美国妻子》，九月份是。十二月时，他找不到书名中有“妻子”的好书，她们就读《美声》。 “你给绘本区那里加点书也没什么坏处。”佩内洛普建议道，她总是一副特别累的样子。“孩子们在这里的时候，就也有书读了。”那些女人把自己的小孩带来跟玛雅一起玩，所以那样做也说得通。另外也不用说，AJ也读够了《怪物就在结尾处》，尽管他以前一直对绘本书不是很感兴趣，他决定让自己成为这方面的专家。他想让玛雅读文学绘本书，如果这种书存在的话。最好是现代文学的，而且最好是女性文学方面的，不要什么公主。结果发现这种书千真万确是有的。有天晚上，他忍不住说：“在形式上，绘本同样具有短篇小说所具有的雅致。你知道我在说什么吗，玛雅？” 她很严肃地点点头，然后翻动书页。 “这些作者中有些人真是才华横溢，”AJ说，“我以前真的不知道。” 玛雅轻轻拍了拍那本书。他们在读《小豌豆》，故事是说一颗豌豆得把他的糖全吃了，然后才能吃作为餐后甜点的蔬菜。 “这叫说反话，玛雅。”AJ说。 “熨斗。”她说。她做了个熨衣服的动作。 “反话。”他又说了一遍。 玛雅仰着头，AJ想还是以后再教她什么是反话。 兰比亚斯警长是书店的常客，为了使自己的到访理由更充分些，他买书。因为兰比亚斯不愿意浪费钱，他也真的阅读那些书。一开始，他主要买大众市场平装版图书——杰弗里·迪弗和詹姆斯·帕特森（或者替他写作的不管什么人）——后来AJ让他上了个台阶，卖尤·奈斯博和埃尔莫·伦纳德的平装书给他。这两位作家都让兰比亚斯一读钟情，AJ就又给他提升了一点，让他读沃尔特·莫斯利，然后是科马克·麦卡锡。AJ最近跟他推荐凯特·阿特金森的《尘封旧案》。 兰比亚斯一进书店就想谈论这本书。“是这样，刚开始我有点讨厌这本书，但是接着它吸引了我，没错。”他靠到柜台上，“因为你知道，它是关于一位侦探的。但是它的故事推进得有点慢，大多数案件到最后都悬而未决。不过我转念一想，那就是生活，这份工作实际上就是这样。” “还有续集。”AJ告诉他。 兰比亚斯点点头。“我说不准是不是能继续读下去。有时候，我喜欢一切都解决了。坏人受到惩罚，好人取得胜利。诸如此类。也许再来本埃尔莫·伦纳德吧。嗨，AJ，我一直在考虑，也许我和你可以为警察成立一个读书会？嗯，我认识的别的警察也许喜欢读点这类书，我是警长，所以我会让他们都来这里买书。也没必要仅仅是警察，也可以是对执法活动很感兴趣的人。”兰比亚斯往手上挤了点洗手液，然后弯腰抱起了玛雅。 “嗨，小美女，你怎么样？” “被收养了。”她说。 “那可是个很大的词。”兰比亚斯看着AJ，“嗨，是这样吗？真的有这事？” 办理收养手续的时间跟通常所需的一样，在九月玛雅过三岁生日前完成了。对AJ的主要不利因素，包括他没有驾驶执照（因为他会突然走神，所以一直没有拿到），另外当然还有他是单身，从来没有养过孩子，甚至没有养过狗或家庭盆栽。最终，AJ的受教育程度、他跟这个街区（即那家书店）的紧密关系，还有事实上那位母亲想让玛雅跟他一起生活，这些让他克服了不利因素。 “恭喜，我最喜欢的卖书人！”兰比亚斯说。他把玛雅扔到空中再接住她，把她放到地上。他从柜台上探身过来跟AJ握手。“不不，我得拥抱你一下，老兄。这是个值得拥抱的消息。”这位警察说。兰比亚斯从柜台后边走过来，跟AJ拥抱了一下。 “我们要干一杯。”AJ说。 AJ把玛雅背起来，这两个男人上了楼。AJ让玛雅上床睡觉，那费时漫长（她要上厕所，还要看两本绘本，曲折复杂），而兰比亚斯开了一瓶酒。 “你现在要为她安排受洗吗？”兰比亚斯问。 “我不是基督徒，也没有任何宗教信仰，”AJ说，“所以我不会安排。” 兰比亚斯考虑了一下此话，又喝了点葡萄酒。“你没问问我的意见，可是你至少应该办一次派对，把她介绍给大家。她现在叫玛雅·费克里了，对吗？” AJ点头。 “大家应该知道这件事。你还应该给她起一个中间名。同时，我想我应该当她的教父。”兰比亚斯说。 “教父到底是干吗的？” “嗯，这么说吧，这孩子到了十二岁时，她在CVS药店偷东西被抓到了，我很可能会用我的影响力去摆平这件事。” “玛雅绝对不会干那种事。” “父母们全是那么想的，”兰比亚斯说，“从根本上说来，我就是你的后援，AJ。人们都应该有后援。”兰比亚斯喝完了他那杯酒，“我会帮你开派对。” “一次非受洗的派对要怎么办？”AJ问。 “没什么大不了的，你就在书店里办。你从飞琳地下商场给玛雅买一件新裙子。我打赌伊斯梅会来帮忙。你去好市多量贩超市买食物。或许可以买那种大松饼？我妹妹说那种松饼每块就有一千卡路里的热量。再买点冷冻食品，好的食品。椰味虾。一大块斯蒂尔顿奶酪。既然不是基督教式的——” AJ插了句话：“话说在前头，也不会是一次非基督教式的。” “对，我的想法是你可以供应酒。我们邀请你的妻姐、姐夫两口子，你来往的所有那些女士和对小玛雅感兴趣的所有人，我告诉你，AJ，那差不多是镇上所有的人。我作为教父还要说几句好听的话，如果你同意让我当的话。不是做什么祈祷，因为我知道你不喜欢那样。可是你知道我会祝福这个小女孩在我们称为人生的这一路上顺顺利利的。然后你会感谢大家前来。我们都为玛雅而举杯。每个人都开开心心地回家。” “所以基本而言，就像是一场图书派对。” “对，没错。”兰比亚斯从未参加过图书派对。 “我讨厌图书派对。”AJ说。 “可你是开书店的。”兰比亚斯说。 “这是个问题。”AJ承认道。 玛雅的非受洗派对在万圣节前一周举行。除了参加派对的几个小孩穿着万圣节服装，这场派对跟洗礼派对或图书派对并无太大区别。 AJ看着穿粉红色礼服的玛雅，心里隐约沸腾着一种熟悉的、略微有点让他难以忍受的欢欣感。他想大笑，想一拳砸在墙上。他觉得自己醉了，或者至少是喝了太多汽水。精神失常了。一开始他觉得这是快乐，而后才知道这就是爱。要命的爱，他想。Really annoying.这完全毁了他打算把自己喝死、把生意做垮的计划。这其中最令人恼火的是，一旦一个人在乎一件事，就发现自己不得不开始在乎一切事。 不，这其中最令人恼火的是，他甚至开始喜欢艾摩了。折叠桌上放着有艾摩形象的纸盘子，盘子里装着椰味虾。这些都是AJ愉快地从各商店采购回来的。在书店对面畅销书那边，兰比亚斯在高谈阔论，都是些陈词滥调，但都发自内心，恰当得体：AJ怎样把坏事变成好事，玛雅如何绝处逢生，上帝关上一扇门却又打开一面窗的做法在这里确实如此，等等。他朝AJ微笑，AJ举起酒杯，回以微笑。后来，尽管事实上AJ不信上帝，他却闭上眼睛，全心全意地感谢起所有人，那种更强的力量。 AJ选了伊斯梅当教母，她抓住他的手。“对不起我要抛下你们了，但是我感觉不舒服。”她说。 “是因为兰比亚斯讲的话吗？”AJ说。 “我可能感冒了。我要回家了。” AJ点点头。“晚一点打电话给我，好吗？” 晚一点打电话过来的是丹尼尔。“伊斯梅在医院，”他口气平淡地说，“又流产了。” 这是过去一年时间里的第二次，总共已经五次了。“她怎么样？”AJ问。 “她失了点血，也疲劳。不过她像匹强壮的老母马。” “她的确是。” “这件事怎么说来都挺糟糕，可偏偏不巧的是，”丹尼尔说，“我得赶早班飞机去洛杉矶。拍电影的人在忙得团团转。”在丹尼尔的描述里，拍电影人的总是忙得团团转，却好像没有一个会伤心。“你不介意去医院看看她，确保她顺利到家吧？” 兰比亚斯开车送AJ和玛雅到了医院。AJ让玛雅跟兰比亚斯在等候室等，他进去看伊斯梅。 她的眼睛红红的，脸色苍白。“对不起，”看到AJ时，她说。 “因为什么，伊斯梅？” “这是我活该。”她说。 “别这么想，”AJ说，“你不应该那么说。” “丹尼尔让你过来，他真是个混蛋。”伊斯梅说。 “我乐意啊。”AJ说。 “他背着我偷情。你知道吗？他一直背着我偷情。” AJ什么都没说，但是他的确知道。丹尼尔在外面拈花惹草并非秘密。 “你当然知道，”伊斯梅嗓音沙哑地说，“谁都知道。” AJ一言不发。 “你确实知道，可你不想谈论此事。某种错误的男性准则，我想。” AJ看着她。病号服之下，她的肩膀瘦骨嶙峋，但腹部仍然略微鼓起。 “我的样子一团糟，”她说，“你在想着这个。” “不，我注意到你的头发长长了。那样挺漂亮的。” “你真好。”她说。此时，伊斯梅坐直身子，想吻AJ的嘴。 AJ侧身闪开。“医生说你想回家的话，现在就可以走。” “我妹妹嫁给你的时候，我认为她是个白痴，可现在我看出来了，你不错。看你对玛雅，看你现在，赶到了这里。赶到这里是重点，AJ。 “我觉得今晚我还是待在这里吧，”她说着一下子从AJ身边挪开，“我家里一个人都没有，我不想那么孤单。我以前说的一点都没错。妮可是个好女孩，是我不好，嫁的也是个坏男人。我知道坏人的下场是罪有应得，但是哦，坏人也真的不想孤独一人。”