The Mop in the Museum: Octavius Henderson
Octavius "Tav" Henderson cranked the handle of his mop-wringer for the fiftieth time this shift. He had once counted this action out of curiosity, wondering how many swipes it took to mop the floor of the august Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Laboratory's walkways and offices.
He didn't mop the platform six stops above him, where the gleaming stainless steel examination table stood, on this go-round. That area required special cleaning procedures, which he had already taken care of earlier in the afternoon; first thing after his shift began.
The precise science conducted in this area to glean clues, particulates and specimens from the bodies of crime victims, necessitated careful janitorial attention. The maintenance protocols and standards for this department of the Jeffersonian had been developed specifically to protect the integrity of legal evidence found here. Drs. Temperance Brennan and Camille Saroyan reviewed them periodically, making changes to keep pace with the latest forensic 'best practices'.
Henderson had been working at the Jeffersonian for thirty-six years and was proud of his contribution to their accomplishments. Thanks to his Uncle Oscar already working there, Tav had been hired on the trash crew at age 16, working evenings, after classes at Booker T. Washington High School had ended.
Once he'd completed his stint in Vietnam, Tav had rejoined the Jeffersonian cleaning crew and remained ever since. His Uncle Oscar had long since retired, but enjoyed hearing from his nephew about the 'Jeffersonian folks' latest doins" as he called them, and visiting the place occasionally.
Both men were especially fond of Dr. Brennan, who had encountered the elder Henderson her first late night at the Jeffersonian. She noticed the care he took cleaning her office, after inquiring what special precautions her artifacts might require, which she wanted left untouched, and what other preferences she had regarding her belongings. When the next biennial procedures audit took place, Brennan asked Mr. Oscar for his opinion and suggestions for improving dust control and air filtration.
Oscar had showed Hodgins the 'secret' passage from the janitor closet into the FBI exhibit, which he used when Mr. White's team locked them into the lab to examine JFK's likely remains. The old man such took great delight in trading conspiracy theories with the entomologist, that continuing to do so had become a standing joke and tradition between Hodgins and Tav.
After his coffee break, Tav found Dr. Brennan in bone storage examining a Spanish American War veteran with Christine coloring on the floor nearby. Tav was surprised the child was in Bone Storage with her mother, but kept his opinion to himself. The anthropologist had to reach a little further when she bent over the lighted table. Her distended abdomen bumped its edge as the baby within squirmed vigorously. "Dr. Brennan, I think you've got a prize fighter in there. His heel or fist conked that table pretty good," Tav chuckled.
He turned from mother to daughter. "Missy Chrissy, what are you drawing there? You're getting a lot better about staying inside the lines. Is that a T-Rex or a Brontosaurus?"
"This is an `Allosaurus, Mr. Tav," the little girl responded with a grin, and asked a question of her own. "How was Mahalia's dance recital? Mine is next week!"
Tav's first-grade niece went to the same dance school as Christine, and was in the next older class. Her mother Mahonia, Tav's youngest sister, worked at the Library of Congress. Brennan had noticed her volunteering as a high school senior in the Jeffersonian gift shop, and directed her to the Library with a glowing recommendation. There were thirteen children in the Henderson family; Tav being the eldest while Mahonia was second to last.
Who are you trying to identify tonight, Dr. Brennan? "Isn't it past this littlel monkey's dinnertime?" Tav inquired.
Brennan straightened up, placed her hand on her lower back, and pressed hard, stretching her aching muscles. She gave the janitor a pointed look.
"Booth is interviewing someone at the Hoover, and my car is in the shop for some minor repairs. Due to us sharing a car, Christine and I are engaging in worthwhile endeavors until her daddy is ready to drive home. The day care closed early today for staff in-service training, and my dad is out of town visiting my brother, so Christine is keeping me company here.
"Mr. Tav, did you know that everybody has two patellas and two fibulas, and two tibias?" Christine suddenly asked.
The janitor looked at her in amazement, then glanced at the proud smile on Brennan's face.
"I knew your kids would be smart, Cr. Brennan, but shezam! She already knows bone names?"
Brennan grinned. "I found a children's song about bones on the internet, and it seemed to entertain Christine when we were stuck in traffic to hear me sing it. She picked up the scientific names, and was curious, so we bought her a plastic model."
"When Parker was younger, we traced his outline on paper taped to the floor and filled in the bones together. He learned them quite easily, too. I believe people underestimate how adept young children are at absorbing information when correctly presented in an entertaining manner without any pressure."
Tav suppressed a chuckle, thinking to himself for the thousandth time since meeting her, that Dr. Temperance Brennan often sounded as though she had swallowed an encyclopedia.
The lanky custodian glanced at the wall clock behind Brennan. "Well, I've gotta get back to my cleaning, Dr. Brennan, or I'll get 'way behind. You and Christine have a good evening, and tell Agent Booth I said hey."
"Good night, Tav. Give my best to Mahonia, your mother, and Oscar," Brennan replied.
"G'bye, Mr. Tav. Tell Mahalia to come to my recital if she can. Mommy, can we go to hers?" Christine asked with her father's trademark smile stretching from ear to ear.
Brennan gently chided her daughter. "We'll see, honey. You need to quit bothering Mr. Tav. Check my messenger bag; I packed you some cheese cubes, celery sticks, and apple slices to munch on until Dad is finished at work."
"G'nite, ladies….till next time!" Tav called as he disappeared around the corner, and they heard his rolling bucket rattling down the hallway.