**
Jack’s and Uncle Harry’s Office
A map can provide more than a location.
-Harry Finkle
After Jack unpacked his belongings, he decided to have a better look at his family’s new home. First impressions can be a bit deceiving, but he knew a little cleaning and organizing could go a long way towards improving things.
Jack walked through the shop, noticing that he could still hear Robert running up and down the hall right over his head. Jack walked through the open doorway behind the counter into a storage area that seemed to be well organized at first glance, although a bit dusty.
At the other side of the room, Jack saw Lizzy hugging their father with tears running down her cheeks. He shook his head.
“Typical girl,” he muttered under his breath, then pasted on a smile as his father walked toward him.
“Having a closer look at the old place, Jack?” William asked.
“Yes, Father,” Jack replied, looking toward Lizzy. “What was that all about? I’ve never known Lizzy to cry over books before.”
“Oh Jack, my boy,” William said with a chuckle. “One day soon you will come to find that girls tend to cry even when they’re happy.”
“That sounds a bit silly if you ask me. Crying if you are happy, that is,” Jack said, looking confused.
“You have much to learn about girls.” William shook his head and laughed. “How about I unlock these other two doors for you? You can explore them as well.”
“That would be wonderful, Father. Thank you,” Jack said.
“But I give you fair warning,” William whispered. “You might want to stay clear of the library. I don’t think Lizzy will be too happy if you enter that room anytime soon.”
“Nothing to worry about there. I have no desire to enter a room full of books.”
William laughed and unlocked the first door.
“Here we are, Jack. This was Uncle Harry’s office. I have no doubt you’ll find something interesting in this room. You can tell me all about it during dinner.”
Uncle Harry’s office was a disaster. Papers were scattered everywhere. Books and ledgers lay on the dusty floor in meaningless piles. Nothing was organized. It was as if a strong wind had blown through Uncle Harry’s office and overturned everything.
The small office was dominated by a huge desk and a big wooden chair with a leather seat cushion. Jack had heard it was a sign of confidence for a man to have a large chair. Its dark wood must have been polished on a regular basis to have been in such exquisite condition.
Amidst a mess of papers on the desk, Jack noticed a candle, an hourglass, a protractor, a small ball of string, an unusual clock, and ledgers.
Jack discovered the ledgers on the desk were the most recently used. He made a mental note to place them with the others on the shelves.
Jack also noticed many books about fruits and vegetables. These should be in the library, not the office, Jack thought. He started to place the books in a small pile so he could take them to the library later.
Three of the walls in the room were lined by shelves full of books and other items. One wasn’t, though—the wall located behind the desk. This wall was unique, as someone had drawn on it a complete and detailed map of Finkleton.
The map was crisscrossed by lines indicating each individual farm and the name of its owner. Not only did the map show precisely where the farm was located in Finkleton, but also what the farm produced, such as fruits, vegetables or livestock.
Jack noticed small dashed lines over the farm that belonged to a Mr. Andrew Cornerly. None of the other farms had the strange lines. Hmmm, Jack thought, I wonder what those mean.
Uncle Harry’s store was located at the center of the map. Each of the shops closest to it was listed with the name of the owner and what it provided: pies, tailoring, shoes, clock repair, and so on. There was even a small park for taking a leisurely stroll.
Jack was impressed. It looks like all the supplies and services a person could ever need can be found in Finkleton, he thought. Right now Finkleton is a village, but it has the makings of a town.
Jack took a closer look at the map and discovered an underground trench running alongside Uncle Harry’s shop. Curiously, the trench led to the large barometer in the center square.
Just then, Lizzy entered Uncle Harry’s office. “Hello Jack,” she said cheerily. “I do believe I am going to thoroughly enjoy living in Finkleton. Don’t you just love it?”
“What have you there, books?” Jack said, making small talk. Maybe if I’m polite, he thought, Lizzy will soon leave me alone and let me keep studying this map.
“Yes. They’re wonderful, don’t you think?” Lizzy said, holding out the books for him to see. She was obviously overjoyed.
Jack went back to rummaging through the desk, sorting through ledgers and papers.
“I just adore Uncle Harry’s library. It’s the most wonderful room,” Lizzy said, hugging the books a little tighter, and swaying back and forth.
“I’m glad you think so, Lizzy. Here are more books for you to take to the library, if you wish,” he said. Lizzy’s eyes grew wide with wonder. Realizing there were books in the office, she began to look around.
“They don’t belong in this room,” Jack continued. “This is Uncle Harry’s office. It’s no place for silly little books.” He waved his hand toward the heap of books piled on the floor near the door.
Lizzy gasped. “They’re not silly little books, Jack. I will have you know that knowledge is a sign of a one’s true intelligence.”
Jack cocked an eyebrow, but said nothing. Lizzy is so condescending on the subject of books, he thought. She acts as if she’s the protector of every page.
Lizzy lifted her chin. “It is obvious to me, dear brother, that you are far from being intelligent. You cannot possibly comprehend a word I’m saying. I will not continue this foolish conversation with you.” Lizzy walked out in a huff, leaving the books on the desk.
That didn’t take long, Jack thought, and giggled.
“I will return for those books later, Jack!” Lizzy shouted from the shop as she stomped up the stairs.
Jack rolled his eyes and laughed out loud. He enjoyed getting a rise out of his sister. It helped pass the day.
Why doesn’t Lizzy do anything productive with her time? Jack wondered. She could do needlepoint, or play the piano, or perform more chores.
Jack thought some more. Actually, Lizzy does her fair share of the chores, and helps Mother in the kitchen too. Still, all she does with her spare time is read books. A young lady should spend her time doing more than just read.
“You can have all the silly books you want, Lizzy!” Jack yelled back. “I have no need for such nonsense!” Jack didn’t know if she heard him, but he didn’t really care, either.
“I know for a fact that I don’t want to read any books in Uncle Harry’s library,” Jack mumbled, as he continued to organize papers and ledgers on Uncle Harry’s desk.
This place is in shambles, Jack through. It’ll take me days to go through everything in the room. But it’ll be time well spent. An office needs to be organized for proper bookkeeping.
“You’ll be a wonderful room for Father,” Jack whispered to the walls.
Jack suddenly heard his father’s voice coming through those walls. “Jack! Dinner is ready if you would care to join us!”
“I’m coming, Father!” Jack replied. He stacked some ledgers on the shelf under the window just before he left.