Okay for Now

The following Saturday, Doug waited outside on the steps of the library for it to open. When Mrs. Merriman, the librarian, arrived and found him there, she shooed him away and told him to “find some other place to be rude” (34). He gave her a snarky but clever reply, leading her to slam the library doors in his face. He continued to wait when a jovial older man named Mr. Powell arrived and let him in. Doug was suspicious of his upbeat attitude but accepted the invitation and was happy to see that his presence in the library before hours irked Mrs. Merriman to no end. The man suggested Doug check out the biography section and then left him to wander.

Doug didn’t take Mr. Powell’s advice, but he did dally among the stacks for a bit, not wanting Mrs. Merriman to follow him up to the image of the arctic tern he had been waiting so long to see again. Once she started helping other guests, Doug went upstairs to look at and trace the tern. After a few minutes, Mr. Powell, who came to turn the page in the display book, startled him. He offered to turn the page later so Doug could spend more time with the tern. Doug asked who drew the tern, and Mr. Powell pointed to a picture of John James Audubon. He asked Doug if he was interested in drawing, to which Doug responded, “I don’t draw” (39). When Mr. Powell continued to push this point, Doug walked out on him, insulted that Mr. Powell mistook him for someone who draws.

The following Saturday, Doug showed up at Spicer’s Deli for his first day of work. He was slow and kept getting lost. He ran into Ernie Eco, who got him even more lost. After his first two deliveries, Doug was sent to Mrs. Windermere’s, the woman Lil warned him about. She often tried to get out of paying, and now it was going to be Doug’s job to secure the payment. 

Mrs. Windermere lived in a mansion, where Doug knocked and rang the doorbell several times before she answered. She cussed at him, told him to come back later, and slammed the door in his face. He waited a few minutes then tried again. After several more attempts, she came back to the door and asked him “Do you know what Creativity is?” (47). She then filled him in on “the muse” and her need to answer his call immediately. Doug suggested she feed the muse some of the lemon ice cream he brought. At the mention of the ice cream, she sent him to unload the groceries in her kitchen, reminding him not to bother her again.

The kitchen presented its own set of challenges, but Doug was sweaty and determined, so he bypassed them all, as well as helped himself to some of Mrs. Windermere’s refreshing water. When he finished, he walked through the house to find her and get the money he knew he was going to have to fight to get. He found her typing wildly, a sight he enjoyed seeing. She ignored him at first, but after some persistence, gave in and went to find some cash. She let him keep the change, filling Doug with joy and pride, as this was the first time he had ever had money of his own.

On his way out, Doug got lost and found himself in a room with a giant painting of a mother bird and her three babies. One of the babies was separated from the group and looked scared. He stared at the painting, clearly by Audubon like the one at the library, before heading back to Spicer’s Deli. Lil tried to prod him about what happened at Mrs. Windermere’s, but Doug took his tip and the Coke her father gave him and told her it was “not a thing” (55). He then went to the library to see the drawing of the tern again. Waiting next to the display book were colored pencils, an eraser, and some paper. Doug turned right back around and left the library, refusing to use them.

At home, his father and brother made fun of him for not receiving his full salary yet. Over the next week, he saw Lil three times. The first time, she made fun of him for running through sprinklers like a “little boy” (57). The second time, she made fun of him for allowing himself to get covered in bird poop just so he could hide from Christopher and his friends. The third time, Lil came to his house to deliver some daisies her mom wanted to send Doug’s mom. This worked out well, since Doug spent the whole morning trying to create a garden plot for his mother. Lil and Doug planted the daises together, making Doug feel good and happy for the first time in a long time. As they relished their handiwork, Doug’s brother pulled up and spit on all the. Lil got on her bike and sped away, leaving a dejected and embarrassed Doug behind.

At dinner that evening, his father complained about his new boss and the strict rules about being late. Doug knew his father should shut up and do his job, but he also knew that saying something would result in a beating, so he silently ate his food and watched his mother gaze “out the window” (63). After they finished eating, his dad and brother left while he helped his mom do the dishes.

The following Saturday’s delivery went much smoother, since he wasn’t as lost. One of the customers along the route noted that he looked “so skinny,” then fed him donuts and milk; a meal he was thrilled to enjoy (64). Another customer tipped Doug a dollar to change all his lightbulbs, making his trip extra lucrative. When he got to Mrs. Windermere’s, he let himself in her kitchen, put all her food away, then wandered into her house to obtain the money for the bill. On the way, he stopped to look at the Audubon painting on her wall again.

Lost in thought, Doug barely noticed Mrs. Windermere suddenly standing beside him. She identified the birds in the drawing as red-throated divers and commented on the beauty of the image. Doug remarked on how lonely the mother bird looked. She told Doug to look again, that the mother was more hopeful than lonely. Doug looked again and was surprised to find that he agreed.

After Mr. Spicer paid him, Doug headed to the library to check out the Arctic Tern again. He arrived to find both Mr. Powell and the drawing supplies sitting next to the drawing of the tern. Mr. Powell asked Doug his name and then offered him the supplies. This time, Doug took the colored pencil and could not help but feel anything but “spectacular” with the utensil grasped firmly in his hand (70).

Mr. Powell offered gentle guidance as Doug tried to draw the tern. After a while, Mrs. Merriman interrupted by telling Mr. Powell to help other guests, not just Doug. Mr. Powell took his leave but not before challenging Doug to draw in the tern’s feathers at home.

Back at his house, Doug hid in his room, sure that if Christopher found his drawing that he would destroy it. He sat on the floor and tried to draw in the feathers, and in the end, felt pretty good about his accomplishment. He continued to go to the library every Saturday for his lesson with Mr. Powell until school started.

Doug and his mother attended Doug’s school orientation, where they both felt uncomfortable. Everyone knew everyone except for them. They met Principal Peattie, an intense man with a fake smile and an annoying habit of referring to himself in the third person. After the meeting in the auditorium, Doug was separated from his mother and told to join a group of kids who would go over the rules with Principal Peattie. Principal Peattie called on each kid and asked them to state their name and read one of the rules. When Doug’s turn came, Doug mocked Principal Peattie, causing the other kids to laugh.

Principal Peattie took Doug’s rabble rousing in stride, however, and sent Doug to the bathroom with a reminder to cut his hair and learn to dress properly. These reminders caused the other kids to laugh at Doug, causing him to feel dejected. As he wandered the halls, he heard one of the teachers talking to another group of kids and telling them that junior high was the place to “dream dreams” (83). He said the students there today would go on to accomplish great things, just like the men who were about to land on the moon for the first time. Doug waited for his mom to get out of her meeting, then they left, and Doug bought her an ice cream, a moment he was endlessly proud of.

That night, he lay in bed feeling happy about Lil and his job and Mr. Powell’s drawing lessons, when Christopher interrupted him to make fun of him for going to the library and not being able to read. Doug knew he should fight back, but instead, he lay there and wondered what Lucas was doing right now.

The next Saturday, Doug cautiously entered the library, afraid Christopher would be there waiting for him. He wasn’t, but Mrs. Merriman was, and even though he tried to be cordial to her, she responded by admonishing him and telling him “You’re not always going to get everything you want, you know” (86). Upstairs, Mr. Powell was waiting for him, but the arctic tern wasn’t. The page now displayed a group of Large-Billed Puffins, whom Doug immediately considered to be unintelligent “chumps” (87). Mr. Powell admitted they were “a little bit different” from the tern, which Doug thought was a huge understatement (88). Mr. Powell then looked over Doug’s drawing of the tern, asked him about his process, and helped him make a few adjustments. He asked Doug if he could keep the drawing, a request that made Doug swell with pride.

Shortly before school went into session, Spicer’s Deli was robbed, and Doug’s brother was the main suspect. Doug and his mom spoke to the police and assured them it wasn’t Doug’s brother, but as soon as they left, his mother began to question what really happened. Doug hoped to reassure his mother and reminded her that Christopher was home all night on the night in question, so there was nothing to worry about. His father got wind of the accusation late that night after drinking with Ernie. He came home, rushed up the stairs, and beat Doug’s brother before Christopher could even speak.

At the library, Mr. Powell continued to challenge and help Doug, often commenting on Doug’s ability to “think” like an “artist” (93). One day, Lil came up the stairs to see his drawing, which Mr. Powell told her was “pretty good” (94). She made fun of the way Doug held his body while drawing and then asked him about the lines he was making. He dismissed her interest, causing her to get angry and to tell him that her father thought it was him who robbed the deli. She started to exit, but after a second, Doug stopped her. He apologized for the incident with Christopher and the daisies, and she responded by saying “Mr. Powell was right,” insinuating that Doug was in fact a good artist (95). This filled him with joy as he rarely received positive reinforcement. 

The cops continued to come to Doug’s house to question his family about the break-in. His father was uncooperative, so they threatened to throw him in jail. Eventually, with only a hunch and no evidence to go on, they dropped the case against Christopher and left Doug’s family alone.

Though there were no legal ramifications, there were social ones, and Doug bore the brunt of most of them, having lost the trust of Mr. Spicer as well as many of the people on his delivery route. He was no longer given the task of getting Mrs. Windermere’s money or given tips by those who had previously taken him under their wing. In school, every teacher singled him out as the bad kid, some refusing to even let him speak. His only salvation was Mr. Ferris, the physical science teacher who wore a lab coat and glasses on a chain, just like the glasses Mr. Powell and Mrs. Merriman wore. On the first day of class, Mr. Ferris asked Doug to stay after. When all the other students were gone, Mr. Ferris assured Doug that “in this class, you are not your brother” (101).

That Saturday, when Doug went to the library to work on his drawing, Lil was there waiting for him. She apologized for the way the teachers were treating him. He told her “It doesn’t matter,” which she quickly agreed with and asked to shake on it (101). For a second, Doug was so stuck on Lil’s “beautiful green eyes” that he forgot to shake her hand, but he quickly regained composure and shook her hand before starting to work on his drawing again (102). He decided to add his own flair this time, which Mr. Powell immediately noticed, commenting on how it seemed like the large-billed puffins in his drawing “like each other” (103). Doug mentioned one of his assignments—to read the abridged version of Jane Eyre—to Mr. Powell. Though Mr. Powell offered to help, Doug refused it, saying he wasn’t going to bother with the assignment.

After he left the library that Saturday, he found his mother at home, cooking enough food to feed an army. She held up a letter with the “U. S. Army insignia in the left-hand corner” and asked Doug to open it (105). In it was a letter from one of Lucas’s friends, saying that Lucas was injured and would be home soon. He said Lucas “couldn’t wait to see” his family (106). His mom broke into tears, beyond happy that her son wanted to see her.