OPEN for Business

Day 288

Through my rain splattered windshield I see the CLOSED sign posted by the front door.  That’s not right, I think, looking down at my watch that reads a quarter after ten. 

“You want to wait?” I ask I. who seems content to do just that from the warmth of the backseat as I run into the library to return books.  He nods that he does and I jump out of the car and sprint up the front steps to dodge the rain. 

Through the clear glass doors, I see the lights and people browsing through the shelves.  The library is clearly open. 

Pulling back the front door, I step in and unhook the sign and flip the five-foot, vinyl sign to OPEN.  

“Oh, good, fixing the sign,” says a passing mom entering through the front door with her little girl and an armful of books. 

I drop our books at the returns desk, turn and dash back to the car and my waiting fourth grader.

When I tell him about the sign flipping he tenses up.  “Are you supposed to do that?” my by-the-book kid asks.  

I tell him I was helping but he’s not buying it.  “I don’t think you’re supposed to do that,” he repeats, clearly not impressed with my quick thinking or act of random kindness.