The pounding on the door should have startled Stevie, but she’d been tipped off. She took a slow, deliberate sip of steaming Earl Gray. Then she placed the chipped floral cup on its matching dish atop the side table. She picked up her cane but made no attempt at a speedy greeting. The people on the other side of the weathered door were not friends. They could wait.

“Open up, Old Lady. We know you’re in there. We’ve come for the books!”

Her bony fingers unclasped the chain at the top, next the deadbolt, followed by the dial on the patinaed handle.

Two burly uniformed men pushed past her.

“Where are they?” the first one demanded.

The second scanned the dusty living room.

A third, one she recognized, slunk in last.

“Chet, how’s your grandmother? Haven’t seen her since they cancelled children’s story hour at the library. What was that, like five years ago?”

“Ma’am, this isn’t a social visit,” said Second. “Hand them over—now!”

Chet shot her a pleading look.

Stevie brushed his shoulder as she shuffled back to her worn recliner. “I must’ve misplaced them. Like you said, I’m an old lady. Memory isn’t what it used to be.”

First pointed a rifle at her chest.

Second shoved a document in her face. “Here’s the list. You have until 5:00 pm this afternoon to summon your memory. Or we have orders from the Governor to take you in.”

Stevie pushed the rifle away. “Oh, how nice of the Governor to want to see me. I’ve never been to his mansion. That’ll be a nice treat.” She crimped her gray frizzy curls. “I suppose I should wash my hair for the visit.”

“Ma’am, this won’t be a visit to the mansion. It’ll be a permanent assignment to the jail,” said Second.

Chet broke his silence. “Ms. Stevie, please turn over the books. I don’t want…”

Before he could finish, First held his hand up signaling Chet to stop. “We’ll be back at 5:00. Those books better be in this room in a nice little stack.” The trio exited with a slam of her door.

Bennet and Darcy tip-toed into the room. “Are they gone?” Darcy asked.

“Yes, Dears. Come here.”

The twins wrapped their arms around their grandmother and sobbed.

Bennet asked, “Nana, do we still have to do it? I’m scared.”

Darcy answered her brother on Nana’s behalf. “Yes, we do. I’m scared, too. But we have no choice.”

Stevie hated that her twelve-year-old grandchildren would be left to pick up the pieces when she was gone. But they’d been raised for this. And someone had to do it. The alternative wasn’t an option. She wiped back a tear. “There’s not much time. You go on and get your things packed. I still have some preparations.”

She hugged them both one more time. Today would be the last day she’d ever see them. They all knew it to be true.

Stevie shuffled with her cane down the basement stairs. She pulled the chain on the single-light-bulb. Then she inserted the key and lifted the hatch on the secret door in the floor and hobbled down those stairs. It wasn’t a bad thing this was coming to an end. She was too old for this. Time to pass the torch.

Rows of shelves lined the dark cavernous hallway. She turned on a battery-operated lantern. Shadows filled the walls. She ran her hands down the spines of her beloved books. The banned books she’d secretly guarded and slipped to desperate readers.

My Heart is Hurting by S.E. Reed—the story of a teen girl whose neglectful sex-worker mother abandons her and how other adults and her best friends save her. Stevie remembered how hopeful it made her feel as a teen when she read it. Her own father was forced into sex-work when his job as a drag queen in 2023 became illegal. Even though her father wasn’t neglectful, she could relate a lot to Jinny.

Men Unlike Others by Johnny Wolf—a beautiful anthology of poems and stories that capture the human spirit, written by a deep-thinking, people-observing gay man. But in 2023, when a conservative-leaning Supreme Court upheld a website developers’ lawsuit to not create websites for same-sex couples, his book was banned.

Love and Rainbow Lattes by Dana Hawkins—an adorable lesbian RomCom about a writer and a café owner. She’d read this fresh and fun book in her early twenties. Months after its release, the Supreme Court reversed its previous 2015 decision and banned the rights of same-sex couples to marry followed by a decision to ban books containing LGBTQ+? relationships.

Worth It by Amy Nielsen—an issue-driven story about a homeless teen who ends up living in a trailer park with an abusive older man who impregnates her. After the fore-mentioned Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade restricting women’s rights to abortion, books discussing abortion were also banned.

Stevie wanted to relish in each story. But time was running out and much was left to do.

She turned off the lantern and ascended the stairs for the last time taking the memories of her favorite stories with her.

Bennet slumped puffy and red-eyed next to his bag of meager belongings.

Darcy stood stoic and poised—ready for Stevie’s last instructions.

Stevie dropped her cane and landed in her recliner. She sipped her now room-temperature Earl Gray. “The books are safe. They won’t find them.”

“How long?” Darcy asked.

Stevie pulled her thoughts together. “That’ll depend. When you reach the legal age—vote. It’s our last chance. Spread the word. Work grass roots to mobilize other voters. There’s strength in numbers.”

Bennet shuddered. “Nana, when they pick you up. What happens to us?”

She grasped his trembling shoulders. “Sweetie, the orphanage is safe. I’ve put provisions in place. You and Darcy will be together. You’ll be okay. I promise. The house will be yours when you’re eighteen.”

The three shared an afternoon meal of egg salad sandwiches and pickles.

Bennet sniffled.

Darcy nudged him. “I got you. We got this.”

A tap at the door ended their last meal as a family.

Darcy stood.

“Wait with your brother. Let me.” Stevie used her cane to reach a standing position and opened the door.

Chet greeted the family. “Ms. Stevie. Darcy. Bennet.”

“Well, hello, Chet. I was hoping they sent you.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Chet held out his arm to escort Stevie to his police car.

“Such a gentleman. Your grandmother always told me that.”

Darcy and Bennet grabbed their bags and followed the pair out the door.

 “Books change lives—definitely changed mine. Thank you for your service.” Chet said.

Stevie placed a key in Chet’s hands. “Yes, they do, boy. Yes, they do.”

Chet led Stevie to the front seat of the car.

Darcy and Bennet huddled together in the back seat.

As the house disappeared in the review mirror, Darcy said, “I guess this means I’m the new librarian now.”