The Book (25 page)

Gripping back the dog, Eve opened the front door without unlocking the screen. “What do you want, Holden?” she barked through the glass.

He laughed in surprise. “Uh…to see you. To see my daughter. Can you let me in, Eve?”

His reaction was a lie. He expected this. Actually, Holden expected worse. He had been more than distant lately, nearly unreachable for weeks. Eve had left him numerous messages, threatening to file for custody, and he never called her back. He wanted to, but he didn’t really know what to say. When she unlocked the screen door and returned to wherever she had come from, apparently telling him it was alright to come on in, he released a yawn of relief.

Home again, home again.

Jiggety Jig
.

“Thanks for the warm welcome,” he said sarcastically, entering the place that he had once called home.

Standing in the entry way, he couldn’t stop scratching the back of his head. The place looked great. It was clean and organized. The furniture that he had gotten from his cousin’s condo actually looked new. Eve’s entire life seemed to be more in order since they’d split. Even with a humongous, overly-friendly dog that pawed at his pantleg, the smell and presence of freshly laid, lush, white carpeting made him look at his ex-wife differently. He even removed his shoes.

Where has this woman been my whole life?
he thought, stating the long-established mantra of the divorcé.

After the dog was harnessed and he was standing alone in the living room with Eve, her jet black hair shining, her round face softer than he had ever seen it, her body trim and healthy, Holden walked slyly around the couch to search for evidence of his daughter. He normally found it in the form of shoes or tousled bags, but nothing was there.

“Where’s our daughter?”

Eve laughed. “So predictably unreliable.”

There it is
, he mused.

“Jane’s on her way home, Holden. She left school less than five minutes ago. You would know that if you ever paid any attention to her. What are you coming around here for, anyway?” Her voice was thick with attitude and although he knew he deserved it, there was a part of him that was glad he didn’t have to hear such disappointment every day. “I hope you didn’t come here thinking you’re taking her for the week. I’m filing for custody. I told you that.”

“I know you did.”

“You look terrible,” she griped. “What’s happened to you?”

Holden continued to gaze around the room as if Jane hadn’t been at school. He forgot how hard it was to talk to Eve, especially when she looked at him as if he were the stupidest ape on the planet. When he glanced up to speak, he saw it on her face, plain as day. The look he hated. “Well, I was hoping to talk to both of you about this. There has been a new development in my life. It’s kind of a big deal and…uh…”

“
What in all of God’s green goodness…?
” Eve’s face drew back to the expression of a woman walking toward a train wreck, viewing the carnage and the rubble with revulsion. He had been expecting her usual look with pinches of disbelief, disregard and disappointment blended in and poured out through half a grin, under wrinkled eyebrows, but this was unexpected. It was at that point that Holden realized he had been speaking with cordiality and gesturing with open arms. Because he was nervous, the branding iron was exposed.

“
You
did that? It’s all over the news. A bunch of different buildings across the country have that stamp. You’re a part of that? You’re a terrorist? And the bean? Were you involved in that too? We took pictures there on our wedding day!”

“This…uh…I did not want it to start this way.”

The door opened. The dog erupted in excitement and Eve caught the animal mid-stride, yanking him back by the collar.

“Dad!” Jane hollered, dropping her bag and racing up to her father. He gave her the tightest hug he could without harming her and lifted his daughter into the air, being careful to guard her from the branding iron that was cupped in his hand. “Are you staying? Are you staying?” Her legs fluttered up in newfound contentment.

He nestled his nose in her cheek and kissed her. “Yeah, honey. I’m going to be here for a while, I think.”

“Jane,” Eve blurted, chewing on her tongue. “Get your stuff and go to your room. Your dad and I need to talk.”

It hadn’t been that long since her father had left and Jane knew what that voice meant. She wanted to gripe about it, but she also knew what action would follow if she didn’t listen and obey. So Jane smiled up at her father and lifted her bags from the floor. “Don’t leave without telling me, okay?”

“I won’t, sweetheart,” he said, noticing the sheer innocence in her eyes.

His daughter had grown up so fast. He wished he could slow things down and just enjoy her. He wanted to sit beside her on the couch and mumble about many unimportant things, but Eve’s discomfort reminded him of why he had come. So, with apology, he let her go. The moment Jane was out of earshot, Eve clamped her teeth down on her tongue, took three long strides up to Holden and jabbed a finger into his gut.

“What are you up to?” she growled, unfairly. “Whatever it is, don’t you dare bring it into this house. That girl trusts you. She believes in you. There is so much I would just
love
to tell her about who you really are, but I’m allowing her to see you as a responsible man, no matter how make-believe it is. Do not make that for nothing and do not make me regret it.”

“Eve, listen. What I’m a part of…it’s huge. What I’ve seen and realized over the past few weeks...” He reached for her hand, but she drew it back. He had forgotten about the branding iron again. He had also forgotten that divorced couples don’t hold hands. “I’ve brought this log book here to show you. You’re favorite book is still
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
by Baum, right?”

“What? What does that have to do with –”

“Just answer the question.”

“Sure,” she replied, adjusting her composure at the distressing reminder that he still knew so many of her most intimate secrets. Eve didn’t like realizing that, while she could erase him as much as possible from her future, he would always be a crucial piece of her past. “Of course it is, Holden.”

“Well, think back to the brand you saw on the news,” he began, on his way to the kitchen counter where he powered up the ancient log book. “What saying did we brand into the building?”

“
Don’t Read The Book
,” she recalled. “Makes no sense.”

“Wait, let me explain.” He spun the screen and waved her over. “This is a digital log I…got…from an Editor of The Publishing House.”

“You don’t know any Editors.”

“A lot has changed and those details don’t matter. I want to read you something, okay? Will you let me read you something?”

“Fine,” she huffed reluctantly, pulling up one of her taller stools as he struggled to navigate the log book without a sharpened fingernail.

Holden stared into Eve’s wide-arcing eyes and waited for her fullest attention. After making the decision to reach out to her, he had searched the logs for any alterations Winston’s mother had made to Eve’s favorite book. What he found was surprising.

“Here we go
. ‘January fifteenth. Harold asked me to search the contents of another book by Lyman Frank Baum, THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ. Reason was more obscure than last time. Instructed to remove all references to character named Hip Hopper denoting himself as a ‘Champion’. Articles removed from pages 267 to 291, including chapter title from page 17. Red was recruited to assist in removal of the word ‘Champion’ from decorative chapter art drawn at the start of chapter 21 on page 267. Project scheduled for completion by January seventeenth. Sample recorded from personal collection. Click here for sample.’”

“Holden, what is this?”

“Let me get through a little more,” he urged, before continuing.
“‘July the twenty-fourth. Returning to PATCHWORK GIRL by L. Frank Baum. Ann O. consulted on addition of green as main color in self-description provided by Patchwork Girl on line four of page 69. Sample recorded from personal collection. Click here for sample.

“‘
January fifteenth. Revisiting PATCHWORK by Baum one year after initial alterations. Red recruited once more to augment illustration art from page 107. Supplement circular sketchy representations of the ground surrounding the tree beside cobbled path to resemble the vertical words NO JURISDICTION. Project schedule for completion by February the first. Original page scanned from personal collection. Click here for original.

“‘
May. One too many edits to dictate. Will be concise and detail structure and purpose of augmentations versus content of THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ by L. Frank Baum. The entire setting of the story from pages…’”

Holden felt a tender hand on his knee and he glanced up from the screen of the log book to find Eve looking frightened and confused. Without a word, she urged Holden to stop.

“Just one more. It’s long, but I think it will make everything come together for you.” Eve bit her bottom lip. She pulled her hand from his knee and looked away. Holden continued.
“‘August thirtieth. Sudden drastic edit of THE PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ by Lyman Frank Baum after six-year hiatus. Completely unexplained deletion of chapter ending between pages 198-201 as well as references to laws of fictitious world being declared as ‘Foolish’ from pages 229 and 230. Ann O. sub-contracted to generate smooth transition between words. Project scheduled for immediate action. Sample recorded from personal collection. Click here for sample.’”

Holden tapped the screen, heard the hesitation in Eve’s breathing and read the sample passage that Winston’s mother had recorded.

“‘
Ojo was much astonished, for not only was this unlike any prison he had ever heard of, but he was being treated more as a guest than a criminal. There were many windows and they had no locks. There were three doors to the room and none were bolted. He cautiously opened one of the doors and found it led into a hallway. But he had no intention of trying to escape. If his jailor was willing to trust him in this way he would not betray her trust, and moreover a hot supper was being prepared for him and his prison was very pleasant and comfortable. So he took a book from the case and sat down in a big chair to look at the pictures.

This amused him until the woman came in with a large tray and spread a cloth on one of the tables. Then she arranged his supper, which proved the most varied and delicious meal Ojo had ever eaten in his life.

Tollydiggle sat near him while he ate, sewing on some fancy work she held in her lap. When he had finished she cleared the table and then read to him a story from one of the books.

‘
Is this really a prison?’ he asked, when she had finished reading.

‘
Indeed it is,’ she replied. ‘It is the only prison in the Land of Oz.’

‘
And am I a prisoner?’

‘
Bless the child! Of course.’

‘
Then why is the prison so fine, and why are you so kind to me?’ he earnestly asked.

Tollydiggle seemed surprised by the question, but she presently answered:

‘
We consider a prisoner unfortunate. He is unfortunate in two ways – because he has done something wrong and because he is deprived of his liberty. Therefore we should treat him kindly, because of his misfortune, for otherwise he would become hard and bitter and would not be sorry he had done wrong. Ozma thinks that one who has committed a fault did so because he was not strong and brave. When that is accomplished he is no longer a prisoner, but a good and loyal citizen and everyone is glad that he is now strong enough to resist doing wrong. You see, it is kindness that makes one strong and brave; and so we are kind to our prisoners.’

Ojo thought this over very carefully. ‘I had an idea,’ said he, ‘that prisoners were always treated harshly, to punish them.’

‘
That would be dreadful!’ cried Tollydiggle. ‘Isn’t one punished enough in knowing he has done wrong? Don’t you wish, Ojo, with all your heart, that you had not been disobedient and broken the Law of Oz?’

‘
I – I hate to be different from other people,’ he admitted.

‘
Yes; one likes to be respected as highly as his neighbors are,’ said the woman. ‘When you are tried and found guilty, you will be obliged to make amends, in some way. I don’t know just what Ozma will do to you, because this is the first time one of us has broken a Law, but you may be sure she will be just and merciful. Here in the Emerald City people are too happy and contented ever to do wrong; but perhaps you came from some faraway corner of our land, and having no love for Ozma carelessly broke one of her Laws.’

‘
Yes,’ said Ojo, ‘I’ve lived all my life in the heart of a lonely forest, where I saw no one but dear Unc. Nunkie.’

‘
I thought so,’ said Tollydiggle. ‘But now we have talked enough, so let us play a game until bedtime.’”

Holden switched the log book off and stood from the table to get a drink of water. He opened the cabinet where the glasses used to be and found it stocked with cans of soup and vegetables. Allowing Eve a chance to process what just happened, he walked the square of his old kitchen in search of the glasses and eventually discovered them in the cabinet above the sink.

“What,” Eve attempted, over the splash of tap water. “What are you telling me? The Publishing House is changing the stories without telling us?” Holden sipped from his glass, nodding. “But why?”

“Why do you think, Eve?”

She knew why, but she didn’t want to say. From the moment Holden walked into her house, she had been off guard. In fact, she had been folding laundry when the doorbell rang. Eve hadn’t been expecting such mind-shifting knowledge and especially to come from him. The man standing in front of her, the one with concern on his face that looked too happy to be worried, was not the same man she had married. He was different. He was confident.