Chapter 3: Madison's Meteor, Part 3

"A rock fell out of the sky and landed in a field next to me the other night while I was out on my tractor."

"Really?" Jennita's eyes widened. "That's amazing. Meteorites aren't really rare, but it is unusual for them to land near people."

"This was a big one. It took me most of the night to get it back to my shed."

"The big ones are rarer. I will bet that the observatory is looking for witnesses. They would love to see your meteorite."

"I don't know..." An echo of the warmth from the rock ran through him. "I don't think I'm ready to let the world come to my shed yet."

"Well, when you are ready we will let them know."

"Another new thing," Frank said.

"What's that?"

"Most folks I know would be trying to convince me to do the right thing, especially if it might mean money."

"I guess I'm not most folks."

"No, you're not." Frank said, "And I am appreciating it more every moment. Like this tea. It's subtle. It kind of sneaks up on you, then bang, you're thinking wow, this is great."

"Subtle? Lapsang?"

"Have you ever tried Alice's coffee?"

Jennita laughed, then took a sip from her own mug.

"That explains the books about meteors. I think the books about small towns are more obvious."

"I thought that if you had answers about falling rocks, you would have something about small towns."

"Only towns are a lot more complicated than rocks, even ones that fall from the sky."

"Yes." Frank sighed. "They certainly are."

"How are you getting along?"

"Slowly," he said, "I can see that this is going to take some time."

"I'll have to lay in more tea."

"I'd like that." A bell interrupted them.

"That's the door," she said getting up. "Go ahead and finish your tea."

Jennita left and her voice asking questions floated back through the door. He imagined her going still a moment and then leading the person to the shelf where they might find their answers. He took another long sip. Yup, this was most definitely growing on him.

***

"Maybe we can make this town what it once was again," Alice said as she refilled Frank's cup.

"Not what it once was, what it should be," Frank said. Alice gave him an odd look and went back to wiping the counter.

Frank finished his coffee and went outside. He decided with the sunshine that a walk would be nice. There wasn't much mail, but it was nice to chat with Jim's Mary who was the post mistress. He was glad to see her happy.

"I expect this office to be open on time," Bruce said as he came in. "I was here at nine o'clock and the doors were still locked."

"I'm sorry, Bruce," Mary said. "I got...delayed at home."

"Congratulations, Bruce," Frank said.

"What?"

"I was guessing the way that you were chewing out Mary that they'd gone and made you Post Master General."

Bruce turned red and opened his mouth, but no words came out. Mary behind him was hiding her grin behind a hand. He closed his mouth and glared at Frank before leaving.

"He's right though," Mary said. "I was late opening today."

"There's being right, and then there's being right the right way." Frank said, "Good to see Jim with some fire in his eyes again."

"You said it."

Frank decided to check the library again. The little vestibule at the entrance had a photograph of a Madison. Frank didn't know if it was a direct relation. There used to be a lot of Madisons. There used to be a lot of things in Madison that there weren't anymore.

"Hello," Jennita said.

"You were right about the meteor. Though when they land they're called meteorites."

Jennita's smiled sent crinkles dancing about her eyes.

"I'd forgotten about that."

"Funny how we use different words depending on where something is. You'd think that a thing was whatever it was no matter where it was."

"Words are more than labels: they talk about relationships between things too. Aren't you a farmer? A chicken on your farm is livestock, somewhere else it would be supper."

"The occasional chicken is supper on my farm too," Frank said.

"So what are you researching today?"

"I thought I'd do some reading on how to save a small town."

"Now, that is a big subject," Jennita said. She stood absolutely still for a long moment. Frank was sure that she was mentally scanning the bookshelves to decide where to send him. He found it fascinating.

"I think you should start with some recent history, then maybe some economics and perhaps some sociology. It will be a lot of reading."

"Won't be a bad thing to have a reason to come here every day."

Jennita's grin was more crinkly than the first one, and once again it felt like the warmth from the meteorite. She led him to the reading table and pulled a few books from the shelves.

"This should get you started. If you have any questions, just ask."

Frank sat down and picked up the first book. It was a history of Madison. He opened it and began reading.

Jennita interrupted Frank as he worked his way through the pile of books. He had developed a system of skimming through until a particular word or phrase caught his attention, then he would backtrack and read the interesting part.

"You must have been a go-getter at school," she said.

"Not really," Frank said. "Never liked reading." She laughed and looked at the pile of books that he had already gone through. Her laugh was as nice too. "I can read well enough, but I would always rather be doing than reading."

"I came over to ask if you wanted a cup of tea. I am making some for lunch."

"I don't know," Frank said. "I've never tried tea."