Family at Booknook
by
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An Unwanted Guest October 1959 Dave Stanley had to get out of the house. With yesterday’s Adrian Daily Telegram tucked under his arm, he walked to his shop, Booknook. He had misplaced his belt again; his jeans, which had become too large, were riding low on his hips, hems skimming the cement. His shoulders were hunched, eyes unseeing. Winter Street was deserted, which suited him just fine—too early for church. He wasn’t going to open the store. He could work on accounts, but had no intention of doing so. At sixty-six Dave felt old, used, worn out and ready for the junk heap. Although not a handsome man, he had had a rough sort of charm. His once wavy silver hair, now a dull gray, hung uncut over his plaid shirt collar. Two bushy brows met and became one, accenting eyes dark with pain. He no longer smiled, and the straight line of his lips hid his almost perfect teeth. At the book store Dave pulled the key from his pocket. It slipped through stiff fingers and clattered onto the cement. “Damn!” Inside the store the phone rang. “It’s Sunday, isn’t it? Why the hell is anyone calling now? Oh, stop your bleating! I’m coming.” As he plucked up the key, his knuckles scraped against rough cement. He unlocked the door, hastened to his desk and grabbed the phone. “Booknook—not open!” “David, I tried to reach you at home. What are you doing at work today?” Clare Washington’s tone was accusatory. Bossy Clare, he thought. She may have been the youngest kid in the family, but she certainly made her presence known. “Where should I be? Sitting at home?” “No, David, you shouldn’t. You should be fishing, at church, here with me, anywhere, but not alone.” “You’ve got all the answers for everything, don’t you, little sister?” He would have slammed the phone into its cradle, but knew if he did she’d be pounding on his door in an hour. “I didn’t call to fight. I called because I need your help.” “You need my help?” “Yes…there’s a girl here, a really sweet girl. She needs a place to stay for a while. I was thinking of that little apartment above the store. The one you and Emily lived in when you were first married. She could earn her keep…clean, and wait on customers.” “Someone here in my store?” “Yes, and there’s more…she’s pregnant.” “No!” Clare continued. The girl was sixteen, a straight-A student, scared of her shadow. She was a good worker and wouldn’t give anyone any trouble. “But she is in trouble!” “She’s shamed and humiliated, needs to get out of town. She’d be much better off in Adrian, where people don’t know her.” “What are you talking about? Milan’s less than an hour away. She can’t hide here.” “No one knows, and she’s not showing yet. As soon as there’s space in the unwed mothers’ home in Detroit, she’ll be gone. You aren’t the only one in the world with problems. Can’t you think of somebody else for a change?” Dave held the phone from his ear and shook his scraped, raw hand. “Are you there?” asked Clare. “Yeah, I’m here.” Clare’s voice softened. She explained about the girl’s family, how they lived in Dick’s shack. “Our own brother rents that hovel!” Clare said that the girl’s face was swollen, that she may have been beaten. “How would you feel if something happens to her, when you could have helped?” “But I don’t even know her!” As though he’d not spoken, Clare continued. “Besides, Dave, you need help. Booknook is filthy. Why, when you pick up a book, you have to wipe off the dust before you can read the title.” Emily had cleaned every day, arranged the books and made displays. He knew that since she’d died he’d let things go, but he could barely put one foot in front of the other. Perhaps he should close the place and live on Social Security. He was exhausted and tired of arguing. He knew Clare wouldn’t let go of this. She’d keep at him. When she wanted something, she was like a dog with a bone. “Do her parents know she’s leaving? I can’t be harboring a runaway.” “Running away? Don’t you understand? They kicked her out. They don’t want anything to do with her.” “What kind of parents would kick a kid out because she’s pregnant?” “Abusive! That’s what kind.”
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About the Book
Family at Booknook By Brenda Humphrey Meisels A traumatized teenage mother, a cantankerous old man and a precocious child create an unlikely family. In 1959, date rape was not uncommon, pregnancy out of wedlock was shameful, and abortion was illegal. Sixteen-year-old Sparrow is pregnant. Banished from her home, she is left at Dave Stanley’s bookshop. Dave, grieving the death of his wife, is disturbed by her presence. However, an accident forces a temporary alliance. Withdrawn and seemingly unaware of her pregnancy, Sparrow remains and works at Booknook. With the birth of her daughter, Finch, she awakens and is determined to keep her baby Dave becomes a surrogate grandfather, protector of mother and daughter. Living life through her child, Sparrow secludes herself at Booknook. Finch grows up feeling the sting of being illegitimate. She longs for her mysterious, absent father who, she believes, can complete her family. As an adolescent, Finch hates her mother’s passivity and secretiveness. Only when Finch calls her mother a recluse does Sparrow confront her fears and embark on a terrifying journey outside the safety of the shop. When Finch announces that she will be leaving home, Sparrow’s world is again shaken. But when tragedy strikes, it is Finch who is desolate and Sparrow who attempts to comfort her. Finch is further devastated when her mother’s secret is revealed. Can Sparrow confront her past and ease her daughter’s pain?
About the Author
I grew up in the rural town of Imperial Nebraska where, as a child, I dreamed of traveling the world as a newspaper correspondent. Instead I became a clinical social worker and obtained my masters degree from the University of Nebraska in 1970. Working as a psychotherapist I have heard many personal narratives and have been privileged to play a part in helping people grow and change. My clients open their hearts and together we work to make sense of their lives. When I started Family at Booknook, I had in mind the characters and the journey they would take. But I found that, just as with my clients, as each character appeared all I could do was follow. The novel is set in southeastern Michigan: Milan, Adrian, Clinton, Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, an area that I am fond of and where I have lived and worked. There are also references to my home state of Nebraska. My husband, Murray Meisels, and I live in Ann Arbor. We have four children, eleven grandchildren and three great grandchildren. We have a condo that overlooks a wooded area, where we watch and feed the birds. Finches dine on our deck and some spend the winter. Perhaps that has something to do with my choosing Sparrow and Finch as my protagonists.