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going on all around us and I need you to trust me, okay?”
    “You’re being a cuckoo bird, but...go ahead.”
    “I need you to take your Book and search all the pages in this bar. Every single page. Most of the stories are public domain by now, so it should be free. Go to the corresponding page in The Book and check the writing on the wall. See if things match up. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m telling you that this page here,” Holden lifted the single sheet he had torn from the bathroom wall, “This is from my favorite book…and it’s different.”
    “What do you mean it’s different?”
    “It’s been edited. The Editors of the Publishing House have deleted things.”
    “So? Maybe there was some racism in there.” Marion chuckled to herself and noticed instantly that Holden wasn’t amused. “I doubt this is as big as you’re making it. But even if you’re right, so what? To be honest, I couldn’t care less. So, they deleted some stuff. What’s the big deal?”
    “What’s the big deal? Do you understand the implications of editing without approval? If an original printing is different than what we’re reading today, what does that mean? The Book is like…a hundred years old. When did the information change? And why? Who decided that something needed to be altered from the original? And that it was okay to do so…”
    “Holden, I care about you. Maybe more than I should. I know it’s not a secret. But you’re not acting like yourself and it’s a little scary. Do you think that maybe you might be getting worked up about something that’s not that important?”
    Holden exhaled and looked down at the torn page, realizing that she may be right. There were hundreds of reasons why the story could have been edited over time. What if the original copy of the book had been destroyed at some point and this page was from another draft? Maybe descendants of the author had decided to change some things.
    “I guess you could be right. I’m sorry I’ve been acting so…weird. I just…” Holden couldn’t find the right way to explain how finding the inaccuracy had made him feel. “It seemed to make the world…understandable.”
    Marion poured them a couple pints before bringing the invoice pad out to the delivery truck. Holden brewed in his thoughts as they sat silently at the bar for a half hour. He still felt a need to understand what had happened. Something was still incomplete and he was almost positive that if he could read the original manuscript, every question he couldn’t put into words would be answered.
    “Did you have a chance to talk to your mother last night?”
    She nodded through sips. “Could’ve gone without that. The conversation centered around all the men she’s been dating. How they’re half her age and yet I can’t find a decent man…da…da…da…”
    “What about the pages?”
    “It was my grandfather’s idea, I guess. He found all these books in the attic when he moved here and figured that he should recycle them because it was frowned upon not to. This was before the laws were changed, so everyone was lenient as long as you found a way to use the books for some higher purpose. He used a bunch of them on the walls of the bar. Rest of them he tossed. That’s it.”
    “So there’s no more pages left?” Holden muttered, crashing onto the cushion of the bar stool as he realized that he may never fully understand why the page was different. Accepting this reality was going to be hard and if he needed to start accepting it now, he was going to need some air. “Thanks Marion, I’ll pay you back for the wall. Can I just hang onto the page for a little while? I don’t know…I just feel like I need to…look over it again.”
    “Whatever klepto,” she joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Hey, relax. Things are fine. Okay?” She gave him a hug.
    Being that close to her, smelling the scent that was only hers, he was reminded of the night they almost kissed. Feeling