North Carolina Boundary Lines Drawn on an Oak Desk

Jerry,” I said.

“I am sorry, Clara,” he repeated, his voice quiet as I turned back toward the stairs.

The state library reading room was nearly empty, the high arched windows letting in the gray light of the late morning. Elaine McAdams sat at a corner table beneath a green-shaded lamp. She had three large volumes of historical census tracts stacked continue reading …