Cassandra couldn't find Jenkins anywhere. He'd disappeared right after lunch, telling her that he had to go look up some books he needed for research he was doing. That was three hours ago, without so much as a peep from him and she was beginning to worry. Jenkins had been doing this a lot lately, disappearing at least once a week for hours at a time, saying he had research to do. But yet he rarely had anything afterward to show for all those hours of work. Something was up with her secretive husband, and the Librarian was determined now to find out what it was.
She searched the Annex, the lab, the Main Reading Room of the Library, the various hallways, the attics, the lower levels—all the places where he could usually be found. No Jenkins. It was maddeningly easy to lose someone in the Library, especially if they were on the move; if only Jenkins would carry a cell phone! But he steadfastly refused, grousing one time that he was not some migrating wildebeest that needed to be fitted with some infernal tracking device.
She was just about to give up when she remembered the Solarium. It was in the high upper levels of the Library and seldom used, but she didn't know where else to look. So she took the elevator to the Third Upper Level and stepped out of the car into another of the Library's seemingly innumerable dark hallways. She hurried along the row of doors until she found the one she was looking for.
Turning the knob, she pushed the door open and went inside the pleasantly warm, brightly-lit room. It was painted a soothing light shade of blue with honey-colored oak wainscoting, a matching honey-colored hardwood floor at her feet. Comfy, overstuffed chairs and couches with side or coffee tables and lamps were scattered around the room. There was an entire wall of windows that allowed sunlight into the whole room and overlooked the entirety of Cathedral Park. One of the windows was open, letting a soft, cool breeze into the room, the sheer white curtains flanking it fluttering gently.
As Cassandra drew closer to the open window, she was startled by a sudden snorting sound coming from the oversized cream-colored sofa that sat perpendicular to the window, its back facing Cassandra. The Librarian approached the sofa cautiously, and as she walked she was perplexed to see all kinds of dog toys littering the floor nearby—chew toys, puzzle toys, a length of old rope, a can of tennis balls, pieces of badly mauled stuffed animals, a box of dog treats, some small cakes of tea and a box of chocolate-chip cookies. When she was closer to the sofa she suddenly noticed a pair of large, argyle-stockinged feet dangling over the armrest of the too-short piece of furniture. As soon as she was near enough, she peered over the backrest; her hands flew to her mouth to smother the burst of laughter that instantly leaped to her throat.
Sprawled on his back along the length of the sofa was Jenkins, sound asleep, shoes and jacket off, bow tie undone, shirt sleeves rolled up, silver-white hair messily haloed around his pillowed head. Also sprawled on his back along the length of the Caretaker's chest and stomach was Franklin, also asleep, the head of one the stuffed animal toys clutched in his tiny paws. On Jenkins's forearms and hands Cassandra noticed several small, fresh scratches from his rough-housing with Franklin. Both man and tea dragon had tiny, contented smiles on their faces as they napped in the gentle spring sunshine. Occasionally one or the other would issue a little snort as they slept, Franklin sometimes twitching a leg or his tail in his sleep as he dreamed of chasing things through the Library.
Biting her lower lip to keep from giggling, Cassandra quickly slipped her cell phone out of her pocket and took a few pictures of this priceless moment. She also made a short video of the dozing pair.
"Awww! A boy and his dragon!" she whispered mawkishly into the phone as she shot the video; she would need this and the pictures as proof of her having been there when she teased Jenkins later about it, not to mention for future blackmail purposes. She then slid the phone back into her pocket, bent to give her husband a light kiss on his forehead, then turned and crept quietly from the room.
