A Modern Love
Page 22
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Jennifer's first day at Daviess County Public Library was as you would expect in a library; quiet and enriching. The library is only about two and a half minutes from The Villa so the commute was nothing to speak of except to think how great it is to have no traffic in a small town. If the city folk knew how great small town life really is then they'd all move there. I guess that wouldn't make them small towns then though, duh. Anyway, where was I, oh yah Jennifer met with her supervisor, Head Librarian Mrs. Ella James, a nice if somewhat cold lady with white hair and spectacles on a chain that would hang around her neck when she wasn't reading. Mrs. James, as she like to be called, smelled a bit too strongly of perfume and wore long dresses and heels that over emphasized her already imposing stature. Authoritarian in nature she appreciated social graces and etiquette. Both of which Jennifer Holmes had in spades. Mrs. James appreciated this and liked Jennifer immediately. Interviews are one thing, Mrs. James thought, but working together is another and I'm sure Jennifer will follow my instructions smartly.
After meeting with the six foot one inch, in heels, Ella James, Jennifer was off to the reference area to begin her training. Being trained by someone you will later supervise is a bit awkward but Wanda made it pretty easy. A simple girl with her only ambition being to get acquainted with as many books as possible; well that and someday being swept off her feet by a fair haired prince that seeks out a simple library assistant in a small town. He would walk right around the reference desk and take her in his arms, carry her out and they would live happily ever after. Luckily for Jennifer, on this day Wanda focused on reference area training.
Lunch was a healthy sandwich on the front steps of the library. It was a beautiful day and Jennifer was keenly aware of how this could be the start of something really good in her life. She felt content and enjoyed the sunlight on her face.
The afternoon was filled with getting the little things in order. Jennifer located all the necessary items in her area and toured the entire library several times to work on memorizing where all things were. Initially she told herself to take it easy, it's just the first day after all, don't burn yourself out girl. But, she decided to go ahead and push herself thinking if you have the energy then best use it. Jennifer was never one to waste an opportunity to learn, grow or improve. The extra effort put out on her first day at work ensured her a peaceful rest that night.
The next morning Jennifer prepared for her jog. Some girls wear those tight little short shorts and a half tank top or just a sports bra when running. That's always nice. However, Jennifer is not just some girl. She wears less revealing clothes; less flattering as well, in my opinion. Loose tan shorts hanging down almost to her knees, those little anklet style socks, your standard white running shoes, and topped off with a purple tank top that sways in the running wind. I do have to admit the tank top accentuated her lovely shoulders. Her slim build and fitness level gave her those thin, yet tightly muscled, shoulders woman that run often have; very nice. They reminded me of Elizabeth. While she doesn't run, I'm not sure if I've ever even seen her sweat, she has those shoulders; must be genetics or something.
Jennifer chose to stretch out next to the gazebo closest to her apartment. First some twisting of the upper body then toe touches ending with those things where you lie on the ground and stretch all the way over and grab the bottom of your foot; ouch. Then she was off and gone. Just a thought, I think she was running a different route than David does but I did note that she runs early in the morning like him. Oh, and upon her return she wasn't sweating profusely like David does. Jennifer was glowing, ya know, pretty girls don't sweat they glow. That's what I've heard anyways.
While Jennifer does enjoy running and even more so the way it makes her feel afterwards, it's not really her "hobby" per se. Her true hobby is reading. To Jennifer work is library stuff but reading is for fun. She's quite well read and her favorite author's include a bunch of names I can't pronounce. She enjoys authors that talk of whimsical tales of dragons and castles to modern authors that detail imaginary social scenes and her beloved tea parties. Some of her reading tastes are a bit above my head but I also think she's picked up some Hemingway or Faulkner as well, I can handle that. She especially enjoys those quiet Sunday afternoons when she can curl up in her chair with a good book, blanket, hot cup of tea and immerse her mind in another world.
This all brings me to my thoughts about how well Jennifer will fit in here in Owensboro, KY. Normally someone like her, so smart and reserved, would struggle a little, but running in the library crowd she's bound to find people with similar interests like herself and make fast friends. I suppose some might refer to Jennifer as a ? well a "nerd", but I don't even think she would mind, she might agree. She knows who she is and likes herself. Self confidence in a young woman is very appealing. Jennifer enjoys her time to think and read and run and take deep breathes and let the sun shine on her face and smell flowers and roam the halls of author's minds and so on.
Ya know, I've found peer pressure, especially in smaller town culture, can cause a person like Jennifer to either give up or at least hide her intellectual, and at times, dreamy thoughts. She's not allowed these things to happen to her. This makes her personality and her entire being seem ? free. More free than most anyway; it's quite refreshing.
I think back to my late teens and early twenties and realize how weak I was at times. Once Elizabeth came into my life she did a good job of lifting me up to accept who I am. After all if she loves me I must be OK. But before I met my wife I was a slave to the pressures of society. Whether it be the clothes I wore, the style of my hair, the cadence of my voice, the places I frequented, the books I read, the friends I somewhat made, the dreams I allowed myself or even the future I planned for myself; it was all driven by the pressures of expectations. Particularly the peer pressures at that time. I'm sure the peer pressures today are just as bad, or maybe even worse with the decay of our moral society I see, but Jennifer seems to show the strengths to not allow them to drive her. She's a leader in that way.
When it comes to leadership some people think of it as the ability to get people to follow you, but I think it may be quite different. Leadership in its purist form is more by example and I think more about taking the correct path, at least for you, regardless of what everyone thinks. Jennifer wouldn't want to be a leader in the modern sense. Of that I'm sure. But, she is when it comes to living a life that makes her happy and letting that impress upon others to do the same. Her lifestyle is like something out of her books.
It does seem that in books the characters run up and down the hills of their lives and learn how to coast down and climb up along the way. In real life I often wonder if that learning takes place. Perhaps it takes a person with a conscious effort in this regard to achieve that learning. I often wonder if people ever learn or even want to. Observing most people it seems like they are so wrapped up in themselves, their wants and desires, at any given time that they hardly give a thought to learning about their lives, let alone themselves. Jennifer is different. She's self aware; she's content with who she is. My observations of her are positive; she's a good solid human being. I'm glad she's moved into The Villa.