Chapter 4: Madison's Meteor, Part 4

"The day is full of surprises. I find a fellow who dislikes reading surrounded by books, and he has never tried tea. You didn't visit any maiden aunts who forced tea with milk and sugar on you?"

"Never had any maiden aunts. The Madisons were always big on getting married. My Dad was immensely disappointed I didn't. I'll come and try your tea."

"OK then, just leave the books and come this way." The librarian led him to a plain door behind the desk. Frank was surprised that there weren't more books in the room. There were a few, but they were all about library science.

"Library science?"

"Don't get me started," Jennita said. "I could talk all day about how libraries are organized." She pulled out a couple of pottery mugs from a cupboard and set one in front of Frank. She poured it full of a dark amber liquid. Frank smelled it.

"It's Lapsang Souchong, a black china tea. It has a rather smoky flavour."

"I'm guessing you could talk awhile on tea too."

"Guilty as charged," Jennita smiled and took in a long breath over her mug. For a while they sat quietly. Frank sipped at the tea, and found it so utterly different from coffee that he took a while to decide if he liked it or not. He rather enjoyed the feeling. There weren't many truly new things in his life.

"So what brought you into the library all of a sudden?"

When he arrived home he went out to the shed and uncovered the meteor.

"What do you think?" he said as he perched on the bucket of his tractor. "I think she's like her tea: subtle but full of something. I was never one for talking to the girls. That's why I live by myself with the animals and talk to rocks that fall from the sky." Frank looked out the window at the white of falling snow.

"Don't know what you did to me, but something is different. I never talked back to people before, but I seem to have lit a fire under Jim, and I certainly got Bruce mad enough at me. This librarian too, if I ever said two words to a girl without turning red I can't remember, and here I am drinking tea and chatting like old friends." He pulled the tarp back over the meteorite. "Whatever you did. I think I'm liking it."

Frank patted the rock and went to do his chores and have supper. It was going to be a long night on the tractor.

It was a long night, but Frank didn't feel as chilled as usual when the tractor chugged back into his shed. He climbed off the seat and stretched before patting the meteorite.

"Not a bad night, but we'll need a lot more snow to buy the plant. Then we need to figure out how to run it and how to sell the stuff we make. This co-op thing might save the town or finish it off. Now Jennita was saying that you were rare. I'm thinking rare might mean valuable. What do you think about me selling you to buy that plant?" He adjusted the tarp carefully. "I think I need to wait for the right time."

After chores and clearing his own lane, Frank headed into town. The coffee shop was filled with regulars and some other townsfolk he recognized, but couldn't put a name to.

"Hey Frank." Jim waved him over to a table at the back. "We're having a meeting to talk about the plant."

"Here?"

"Why not? Coffee's hot."

Frank sat at the corner of the table.

"This is Herb's son, John. He's a real estate lawyer." Jim said

They shook hands.

"I've been telling the guys that from what I can find out, the company that bought the plant just walked away from it. That was cheaper than closing it down properly. The bank seized it while it tries to squeeze more money from the holding company."

"So we should be able to buy the place?"

"The title is still up in the air, while they may have seized it to cover outstanding debt, that doesn't give them clear title to sell."

"They sold Bob's farm quick enough."

"They were the only ones holding paper on the farm I would guess. Here there are probably half a dozen creditors arguing over the place."

"So it is complicated and impossible or complicated and doable?"

"I think it is worth putting out a proposal. No one will get richer letting the place rust."

"What about running it and finding buyers for the product?"

"I've been thinking about that Frank," Jim said. "We have someone in town who knows everything there is to know about that plant."

The door of the coffee shop slammed open and Frank heard his name called.

"Good morning Bruce." He said as he turned around.

"My drive wasn't cleared last night."

"You fired me."

"Well, I'm un-firing you. I need that drive clear."

Frank shrugged.

"Do you want it done now, or can I finish my coffee?"

Bruce looked ready to explode, then all the air went out of him and he dropped into an empty seat.

"It probably doesn't matter," he said, "I expect it's too late anyway."

Alice came and put a coffee in front of Bruce. He poured milk and sugar into it and drank it down.

"I'm trying to sell the place," Bruce said, "With the plant gone I don't have the money to pay the bills. Marg didn't want to move, but I wanted to be as good as the newcomers up on the hill."

"You are as good as them," Frank said, "Annoying at times, but that don't matter." He looked over at Jim who shrugged his shoulders. "Jim and the boys have been doing some thinking about the plant." Bruce looked up at him while Alice topped up his cup.