Let me tell you a little something about this guy. You see him, right? Look just to the left of the copy machine. See that bald him. That's him.

The International Man of Mystery.

I feel like I can blog about this now that I am no longer an agent of the public library. Which by the way, was the best job ever and I miss my job, ever so much. I wonder if I could telecommute?

Anyway... Back to the guy.

For months, this guy came in every morning, just after I would unlock the doors. He never used the computer. He never checked anything out. His reading material was either the newspapers and magazines or a book he brought in himself. Every now and then he would say Good Morning, if I caught his eye, but mostly he just did his own thing and didn't really address anyone.

At about 8:30 he would go to the bathroom. Then he would go to his mini-van (which had a large red stuffed heart on the rearview mirror) and drink from a water bottle. It did, indeed, look like water that was in the bottle. Then he would come in, read again, look at the phone books, read some more, go to the bathroom again. When my shift ended, he would still be there.

I once went to the car to see if he lived in it, but he didn't. He was also always clean and had a fresh tshirt on. He had a limp. He was just okay looking. Not handsome, but not ugly. He looked like he ate regularly.

I never really got a chance to talk to him because he never checked anything out, which is the only way I could have gotten his name, but I did ask him what he was reading once, and it was Odd Thomas, which I liked. He also told me that he switched between fiction and non-fiction, so he would not be reading the whole series back to back, which is they way I always do series.

So, a couple days before my last day at work, I decided I was going to get some dirt on this guy. I would just walk right up and ask him for his story. I might add here, that I never did get a creepy, weird feeling around him. He was just a guy.

On my second to last day, he did not show! This guy had not missed a day in MONTHS! But that was okay, because I still had another day to corner him.

But it was not to be. He did not show on my last day, either.

I feel like I did not get the closure I need to put the best job ever behind me.

I have some theories. They are:

1) He was out of work. He did not want to tell his wife so he got up and spent the day at the library in order to keep up appearances.

2) He was an independently wealthy person who was bored and lonely and didn't want to read alone in his apartment.

3) He worked the night shift and needed something to do until it was time for sleep.

4) He was an undercover agent, protecting the library from library crimes.

5) He was a guardian angel and he didn't show up anymore because his mission was over.

Okay, I will stop now, because I could let myself get even more carried away.

So, what do you think? Do you have a theory? And if you know who that is, by all means, speak up!