His name was Jacob Rice and he wasn’t really much of a librarian, since he didn’t carry many books or have any reasonable place to store them. He owned a large 1890’s suitcase, just like the ones first class citizens, of that time, would carry when they were traveling, but you could hardly call this man first class. He’d only fill the suitcase with the books he lugged, and seemed to own nothing else, but that and the clothes on his back, which was a ragged worn down leather jacket, black tie, loosely wrapped around the collar of his white button down shirt, and black dress pants. He was a tall man, with greying dark brown hair, though his face still looked fairly young because he lacked wrinkles under his eyes and around his mouth. The only visibly aged feature were in his eyes. They were dark green and dull, like the wear and tear of a beautiful but delicate gem, their shine dimmed over time.

Ten year old Adrian Lamb found him at the ‘Vintage Cafe’ when she went out into town for a walk. She had just moved to her Grandmother’s home, from San Francisco and LOATHED it.  Her Grandmother lived in a very small town, very few know about, called Jupiter, and its easier to count the stars in the sky than the many trees the town grew proudly. Though it wasn’t the trees she loathed, or her grandmother, it was the lack of culture she was sooo used to seeing every day when she left her apartment in the city. Let’s also not forget her lack of friends.

She found him when she decided it was time to explore the town a little more. Jupiter was an impossibly small town, which only resided 3000 people. When you first enter town, you see a wide long road behind the ‘Welcome to Jupiter’ sign. If you stood directly in front of the sign, the road looked as if it could go on forever. The first shops you see are on the right: a family owned Grocery Market, another family own auto shop, and the cafe which is also… family owned. About every store in town is family owned, even the electronics repair shop. Adrian turned corners on streets, followed street signs to places she’s never been, all in hopes she finds something different or exotic, but no matter where she went, the whole town pretty much looked the same. You could say, the only reason she even talked to this man was because of how dreadfully bored she felt. You wouldn’t be wrong.

She watched him unfold a table and place books, from paperback to hard cover, and read alongs. “So what do you do?” Adrian asked him as he placed an “open” sign on the table.

Jacob gave her a charming crooked smile, a handsome quality she didn’t expect. Widening his arms, he gestured to the stack on the table. “This.”

She scowled at him, irritated at his lack of a real answer. “Well yeah, but what is… this!” she asks, mocking him in that last part, even mimicking his arm motions.

His grin widened and he almost seemed to be laughing at her. She hated it when people laughed at her, it meant no one was taking her seriously. Nobody took her seriously. “Do you read?” he asks her, completely ignoring the previous question, but it was all forgotten, because books do capture her attention. Now she didn’t read much, because  every book she’s ever laid her hands on were too predictable. She can tell if a character was going to die, fall in love, or even betray someone, right when the character was brought up. Heck, she could guess what kind of characters would be added into the story, before they were even introduced. In her opinion it wasn’t much of a good book if she can guess what happens next. “You see I’m a librarian. I’m a traveling librarian.”

“Why do you travel?” she asks. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just stay in one place?”

Jacob shrugged and said, “I guess it would be, but if given the chance, wouldn’t you like to travel?”

“But libraries are about borrowing books.”

“Yeah?”

“Where’s the profit?”

He pauses, shoving his hands inside of his worn coat, making the small rips and tears more easier to find. “I don’t have a profit.”

“But you can’t call it a job if you don’t get paid.”

“Who says it’s a job?” Now she’s lost. Her eyes leave his as she’s trying to comprehend his motives, but she can’t think of anything. At church she’s told all the time, a lazy man doesn’t eat, which is more of universal truth but it makes her wonder. Does he not eat? He looks healthy and despite his obviously over worn clothes, he doesn’t look like a bum. “I’m a writer,” he admits.

That broke her out of her trance as she is now able to connect some dots. “What do you write about?” she asks becoming more comfortable with him. She likes him. He has a sort of charm to him, like her dad before he passed away and not wanting to admit it out loud, he was kind of funny even without meaning to.

“I write novels. Mostly love stories,” he says.

“Are you married?”

Her question surprised him and little taken back he leans on his table and eventually shakes his head, showing her his ringless ring finger. “Why do you ask?”

“I’ve read that the best writers write about what they most desire,” she answers, proud of herself of how mature she sounded saying it. It made her feel even better when he rose his eyebrows, clearly impressed with her. “So you want to fall in love?”

“Doesn’t everyone want to?” he counters. She blushes again. There was something about this man. Something odd by very familiar. It was as if she had met him before, as if he'd known her his entire life. Suddenly  his eyes move over her shoulder and his smile falters.  Adrian tries to follow his wandering gaze but doesn’t see anything worth ruining a good mood. “Okay kid. Time to go. Scram, before people think I’m trying to kidnap you or somethin.” He picks up a book from the table and tosses it to her, “Here, read this.”

The book is called: Legends and Folktales from Around the World

It does look interesting but Adrian wanted to keep talking to him. She knew he was trying to push her away, but she thought it was okay. She’ll just come back the next day, when she’s done reading it.

“You may not be able to really travel around the world, but this could create the illusion for you, which is good. Things tend to get boring around here,” he says, before winking at her and it was as if something shot her in the chest.

And please don’t misunderstand, it was not in a romantic sort of way (AT ALL!!), because that’s just disgusting, but it was in a crazy, he just did something impossible sort of way.

He knew she was bored, but how? Was it really that obvious?

Adrian made a mental note to try and do a better job at hiding some of her emotions. She didn’t want to be rude or look spoiled, so she nodded and did as he wished. Telling Jacob goodbye, she realized she hadn’t told him her name, “My name is Adrian Lamb, by the way.”

Jacob smiles and snickers, as if she had told some joke which only he would know the punch line. As Adrian turned on her heels, the last thing she see’s before racing down the old suburban streets of Jupiter, is Jacob tipping a non-existent hat, and she smiled, turning back around, never looking back.

With her new book tucked away in her backpack, she rode all the way back to her Grandma’s house, on her blue retro cruiser. Her grandmother lived at the edge of town. She was a wealthy woman with as much money to buy a small country, but she never babied Adrian, and always kept her on her toes. Adrian was trained: before she walked in the house she took off her shoes and placed them next the door on the outside. Gran always said, things that touch the dirt, belong on the dirt. Speaking of dirt, Adrian found her grandmother in the kitchen tending to her “garden”, oddly placed in various positions, like an inside edible jungle. In her kitchen she grows all kinds of seasoned vegetables. Doesn’t see a reason to spend any money on them if she could just grow them herself. Most of them were on the window seals. Others hung from the ceilings in large pots, and some grew to small trees on either side of the french doors, leading to the backyard. “Gran I’m home,” Adrian announced.

“Oh Adrian good!” she said picking two lemons from it’s tree, “Just in time. Do me a favor, Dear, and make some lemonade.” Adrian took the lemons from her hand and began scrubbing them in the sink. Once she was finished she took out a cutting board and began cutting them in half. “Where did you go?”

“Everywhere. Just explored town a little more.”

Gran smiled and replied while plucking some tomatoes from the window seal. “See any boys?” An incriminating sigh slipped her lips leaving Gran chuckling.