CHAPTER 4

“Why would a newcomer want to see me?” Brian frowned and cast a confused look in the biker’s direction. “Aren’t you guys at the gate supposed to direct them straight to boss Elias or Mister Fergus?”

“You’re right, man, but…” Lawrence paused, scratching the back of his head. “I don’t know, I think the fellow in question has all the answers, why don’t you ask him?” The biker stepped aside, revealing Albert.

Brian stared at the newcomer in shock, and, for a few good seconds, wasn’t able to emit any sound. “It’s…you,” he finally managed to articulate. “Light, my best friend ever!” The librarian exclaimed and wanted to stand and greet the newcomer, but his legs didn’t listen, so he plopped back in the chair.

“I…I…” Albert stuttered, then, with hesitant steps, headed to the counter. “I can’t believe it’s you, Night!” The man inhaled sharply “When I first saw your name on that list, I instantly thought about you, I wanted it so badly to be you who was librarian, I hoped and prayed for it all night long, and now…” His voice died down. “What if this is not real?”

Finally gathering his strength, Brian left his seat and started to close the distance between him and his long-lost friend, until only a few inches separated them. “It is, Light. This is as real as it gets” He wrapped the other in a tight, brotherly embrace. “I missed you so much!”

“I missed you, too, more than I can tell.” Albert clung to the librarian’s shirt, like he was afraid not to lose him again. “I didn’t want to leave like that, but I had no say in the matter, so…”

“Well, guys, time for me to get back to my duty and leave the two of you to catch up.” Lawrence was deeply moved by the scene he just witnessed, his voice was thick with emotion. “I’m sure you have a lot to tell each other.”

Brian nodded and gave the biker a warm smile. “Thank you for bringing Light back into my life, I owe you big time.” He waved as the guard stepped out of the library, then turned to his friend. “And now, time for questions: why did you leave, where have you been all this time, what did you do, how is your life now?”

“Whoa, not so fast, Night!” Albert let out a short laugh, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender, then he cleared his throat. “Okay, here’s the ultra-abridged version. After we left, we moved across the state, into a small town, but only stayed a few months, then moved again and again. When I was seventeen, Miss Julia passed away, and I was left alone in the world. Not long after that, I met my husband Clayton, and, three years into our marriage, we adopted two siblings, boy and girl. I’m a widower now.”

The tinge of sadness in his friend’s voice when he said the last part made Brian’s heart ache. “Long story short, I love my work here, I’m happily married and a father of seven children.”

“Seven kids?” Albert stared at the librarian in disbelief. “You’re joking, right?”

“No, I’m not.” Brian accompanied his answer with a smile that melted the other one’s heart. “Blaise, the oldest, will be seven soon; the twins Alana and Antoinette are two years younger, and so are their brothers, Dane and Jeremy, born in the same year. Last, but not least, Breanna and Simon turned two three weeks ago.”

“Whoa, Night, four children in one year?” Albert let out a long whistle. “You really kept your wife busy, didn’t you?”

“You are right about the busy part, but wrong about the rest.” Brian grinned at the sight of the confused expression on the other one’s face. “I’m married to a wonderful man named Bart, who’s an English teacher here at The Base.”

Albert slowly nodded, but didn’t reply for a few seconds, then looked at the librarian, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “I knew it. You have been gay since fourth grade. When you started to ignore girls and only sought the company of boys. Miss Julia also made some pretty unpleasant comments in this direction.”

It was the second time Albert referred to the woman who raised him as Miss Julia, which made Brian curious. He was about to ask his friend what happened to make him not call her mom anymore, when a first-grader from The Base’s school came to return an illustrated book on sea creatures and ask for another one on the same subject.

Some things never change, Albert said to himself, as he watched the librarian interact with the child, listening to them talking about their favorite parts of the book, feeding the young mind with pieces of interesting information, and smiling encouragingly. He is perfect father material, the man continued his trail of thoughts.

Also, the one person in the whole world you can trust with all your secrets without being afraid that you’d be judged. Come on, relax and tell him everything; this is your friend Brian, who won’t laugh at you for liking to mix batters and stir creams, knead doughs or decorate cakes. He won’t say baking is a woman’s job, not in a million years.

Brian would also understand the Rick situation, even if not right away, Albert continued his internal monologue, frowning at a thought that crossed his mind. For some reason, he had the feeling the librarian experienced firsthand the same ordeal as the one he was put through by that violent, deceitful, greedy bastard.

Albert intended to find out everything about Brian’s life during the twenty-three years that passed since their ways parted so unexpectedly, in a long, honest, heart-to-heart conversation. He will also pour his heart into his old friend’s hands, just like it used to be back when they were kids. However, this will have to wait.

Finding a job and a place to live were Albert’s top priorities. He needed both so he could get his children to live with him at The Base. Leaving them in Brei-Ayn’s care, especially after Mike’s unexpected, brutal death, was a good idea, because they offered her comfort and affection, but now, maybe she would want to move on with her life and start dating again. Besides, he couldn’t bear to stay away from them for such a long time.

Albert let out a long, heavy sigh, as he realized getting a job was going to be much more difficult that he anticipated. There was a lot of work at The Base for a man with strong hands, Old Jim’s male relative after the tattooist’s funeral, when he gave him the list. What the guy didn’t know was that those were the hands of a baker, used with kneading the dough, not with hard materials and heavy tools.

As a child, being a baker was all Albert dreamed about, in spite of being constantly discouraged by the one who raised him, who wanted him to choose a manlier career, like law enforcer, accountant, or financier. He wasn’t interested in any of those fields, secretly hoping his only living relative would change her mind.

When he met the man who later became his husband, and he encouraged him to follow his dreams by attending the courses of one of the most prestigious baking schools, Albert became focused solely on how to ace at what he did. The thought of having a side career never crossed his mind, especially after he opened his own bakery and cake shop.

Sure, Albert possessed some basic accounting knowledge, just enough to keep his small business’s registers in order.He was also a neat freak, cataloging not only the bakery’s documents, but also all the papers from Clayton’s office, which made his late husband joke, saying he would have been a very efficient secretary.

Albert sighed softly, his shoulders slumping. None of those skills would be very helpful in finding a job, because he was sure the foundation, person, or whoever was behind The Base had much more capable employees filling the positions of accountant and secretary. And, even if it wasn’t so, there were a lot of people, way more qualified and experienced than him, they could choose from.

Caught in his thoughts as he was, Albert didn’t pay much attention to what happened around him, especially at the conversations Brian had with those who came to the library. From the corner of his eye, he saw children of all ages and adults, alone or in groups, coming and going. Most of them were there to return the books they borrowed and take others, while a few asked for some parcels the postal service dropped for them at the library.

At some point, the place emptied and became quiet, with no one inside except Albert and Brian. The silence was broken when a lady in her early forties, but looked much younger, stepped inside and headed straight to the librarian’s desk. Looking from time to time at the piece of paper she was holding in her hand, the woman started a conversation about a festival or fair that was going to be held at The Base in a few weeks.

Suddenly, familiar words like frosting, cream, marzipan, cupcakes, cookies, and many others coming from the lady’s mouth got Albert’s attention, and he became focused on the conversation she and Brian were having.What he heard gave him hope for a good future there, at The Base, together with his children.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like to bake and even decorate my creations, but the result doesn’t compare to what a professional baker would do. Plus, think about how helping a professional would boost the kids’ self-esteem.”

“I understand you, Bianca, I really do.”Brian gave the lady a sympathetic look. “You do a lot for the arts and crafts club as it is.” He sighed in defeat. “No one I know here or in the town is a baker; Lawrence and the other guards asked around, too, but nothing.”

From where he stood, Albert cleared his throat. “Um…sorry to interrupt, but I think I can help you.” When the librarian and the lady turned their heads in his direction, he continued. “I am a baker, used to have my own small business back when my husband was alive.”

“And here you are, coming to the rescue, just like you used to do back when we were kids.” Brian exclaimed, giving his old friend a warm, bright smile, then shook his head. “A baker, huh? I should’ve guessed, you loved to help mom when she baked and even volunteered to clean the kitchen afterwards.”

“I’m sorry, but this gentleman is…” Bianca’s voice sounded hesitant, laced with suspicion and a bit of hostility. “I haven’t seen him around until now,” she continued, looking between the two men.

“Excuse my bad manners,” Brian gave the other two an apologetic smile. “Bianca, this is Albert Finkel, my best friend from childhood.Albert, this is Bianca Bloom, kindergarten teacher here at The Base and, together with her sister Martha, the one behind the arts and crafts club.”

“Nice to meet you.” The other man extended his hand with a smile. “What you ladies do with the arts and crafts club is amazing,” he spoke in a warm, enthusiastic voice. “The one who told me about this place said it was originally meant as a sanctuary for victims of child prostitution and pornography, and only recently its founders extended their protection to the victims of domestic violence, too. Making these poor souls forget about the hell they endured by encouraging them to explore their creativity and hobbies is something worthy of admiration.”

“I deeply apologize for earlier,” Bianca spoke, deeply moved by Albert’s words. “We are permanently alert here, because evil has many faces, but a friend of Brian’s can only be a good, selfless, helpful man, like he is.” She stopped a bit, then continued in a warm voice. “My sister and I are not alone in this; Brian and the other few volunteers who constantly support us in so many ways are the heart and soul of this project.”

“What project? I want to be in it, too.” A man’s voice coming from the door made the three turn their heads in that direction.