Novus Ordo Seclorum

              Dale came home to a warm house full of those he loved most. He reminded himself that he couldn't ask for anything more than this. As long as they were safe, money was coming in, and everyone at home was happy, he would do what was necessary to fill John Stull's shoes to the best of his ability. That was why they moved here: so that his family would have a comfortable home with peace and quiet.

“Hey, Dad.” Megs eyes didn’t even raise from the thick tome (in which was nestled what she was really reading) as Dale entered.
            “Hey, Princess.” In one arm he carried the Principia Divinica through the kitchen where his wife busily spread mashed potatoes across the top of a cast iron skillet loaded with hearty beef stew. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

            “Kids! Dad’s home,” Jan announced.

             “My dogs, my dogs,” he declared, taking his belt and shoes off, stepping down into a wide living room. “They are barking.” He dropped the parcel beside his favorite chair and flopped down.

             “Well don’t get too comfortable, dinner’s just about ready.” She poked her head out of the kitchen. “How bad is it?”

              “Bad,” he admitted. “I’ve got over twenty thousand pieces still cluttering up the office, Old Man River as an assistant, and jack squat from the main office.”

              “What on Earth is this town doing with that much mail?” Jan asked.

              “Exactly!” he nodded. “It’s crazy! These people write more letters to more people than anyone in Topeka ever did. It’s ridiculous.” He rubbed his feet a moment. “I did get all the local delivery done for today, so that’s good. Plus we sorted about eight thousand pieces between the two of us for out-of-town, today, meaning that we’re probably about a quarter of the way through it all.”

               “Wow,” fawned Jan. “Color me impressed.”

               “I’m pretty certain that everyone in this town is going to need to get their own bag for the backlog, though.” He sighed heavily. “The twins doing their Bible study?”

                “Of course,” Jan answered.

                “God bless ‘em.”

                “Oop--, they must have heard you talking about ‘em,” she warned. The twins raced around the corner toward their father, clamoring up on him, each one talking a mile a minute. He opened his arms and hugged them as they crawled all over his lap.

                “Daddy, I went to the library with Meg and we met Joe and Gam-Gam…”

                “Daddy, I built a fort in the back right along this wall and it’s real neato…”

                “Whoa, whoa, okay, okay!” he urged, laughing. “One at a time, one at a time!” The children fell quiet. “You kids are getting too big to be doing that to me, you’re gonna break me! First-- First, did you get all unpacked?”

                  “Uh-huh,” they answered.

                  “What do you think of your new rooms?”

                   “Me and Meg’s room is huge!” Greta exclaimed.

                   “I got all my stuff put away and I still got room,” Trey offered. “Plus I’m building a new fort!”

Dale looked up toward Jan. “A new fort, you say… Kid, you hear that?”

                   “He didn’t get too far this time,” she admitted. “It should be all right.”

                   “Well, you just gotta be careful when you go on your adventures, Trey,” his father suggested. “We don’t want you getting lost out there.” Trey frowned a little. “I tell you what, how about this: You can spend as much time as you want out there, if you promise to take your sister out there with you.” He thought a moment.

                   “Kay,” he said.

                   “And you,” he looked at Greta, “need to keep track of your big brother. Just because he’s two minutes older than you doesn’t mean that he’s any braver, either.” She smiled.

                  “Okay,” she agreed.

                  “So what did you do today?”

                  “Me and Meg went to the liberry and met Joe and Gam-Gam!”

                  “Gam-Gam?”

                  “That’s Joe’s Grandma. She works at the liberry and she smells funny.” She wrinkled her nose.

                   “Well, that’s not very nice of you to say that,” Dale offered. “The library, I didn’t think this town had a library.”

                   “It’s not really a liberry, but they did have a bunch of books. Meg got one.”

                   “Really,” Dale scoffed. “What’d she bring home this time?”

                    “I dunno,” Greta mumbled. “They didn’t have any children’s books, so it was kinda boring.”

                    “Sounds about right,” he answered. “Who’s Joe?”

                     “He’s a police man.” In the back of his head, Dale reminded himself that he absolutely had to make contact with Jimbo. That was one of the reasons he took this job, anyway, and he hadn’t even done it. He clicked his cheek in frustration.

                     “Officer Joe. I bet his last name is Shmo, too.”

                     “Nope, it’s Masters.”

                     “You sure? I’ll bet it’s Shmo,” he insisted, tickling their ribs. “Hey, come on. Let’s get washed up, dinner’s almost ready.” They hopped out of his lap and scrambled off to the bathroom.

His hands flopped down at his sides, one of them landing on the satchel of books. He had almost forgotten about it. He carefully unbuckled the leather strap and briefly examined each one. No names on the spines, none on the covers. Each one was bound in rather plain leather, but they appeared to be old and worn. He opened the first one as a small coin slid neatly out of the cover.
                    He picked it up, recognizing it as a Catholic talisman. It looked like a coin with an engraving of a saint on one side, and a strange Greek cross with letters all over on the other. A small metal loop was affixed to the side so the talisman could be put on a rosary or necklace, and the item appeared to be very well made.
                    Dale looked at the first page with writing on it. On one side, there was Latin text, and on the other, an English translation:

Ultima Cumaei venit carminis ætas;               Now comes the final era of the Sybil’s song;

Magnus ab integro sæclorum nascitur ordo.   The great order of the ages is born afresh.

Iam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna,    And now justice returns, honored rules return,

Iam nova progenies cælo demittitur alto.       Now a new lineage is sent from high heaven.

                                                           

After the passage, the words “Novus Ordo Seclorum” were centered, as if this may be the title to the tome. Weird. These words seemed somehow familiar, though he wasn’t quite sure why. He put the books down, mystified.

            “Dinner’s ready,” Jan announced, entering the dining room with the crusty-topped stew. She placed the skillet on the table and looked over at her perplexed husband. “Something wrong?”

            “Do the words ‘Novus ordo seclorum’ mean anything to you?” he asked.

            “My Latin's not as good as it was in Sister Mary Agatha's class, Hon," she kissed his cheek. "I do know that it's on the back of a one dollar bill.” She paused in thought, retrieving the last of dinner from the kitchen. “New Order of Times, maybe? I thought it had something to do with prosperity. It’s on that seal thing on the one dollar bill. Why?”

            “There was a strange package waiting for me in the office at my desk, today.” He walked over to the dinner table. “A bunch of books that were wrapped up. Postage from all over the world, mostly Europe. There was a note with it that was downright spooky.” He showed her the coin. "And this," he posed, handing her the talisman.

            "What is it?" she asked.

            "Don't know," he shrugged. "Looks Catholic, I think," he offered.

            She examined the token closely, recognizing it about as much as her husband. “Just what we need, more creepiness.” She dropped the talisman into a dish by the sink listlessly. The kids all approached the table and sat. Dale stood behind his chair for a moment.

            “More creepiness, what do you mean more?” he asked.

            “Well, it’s probably nothing,” Jan went on, “but there’s this house out by where Trey was building his fort. Big stone wall around it.”

            “It’s the perfect spot for it, Mom,” Trey whined.

            “I know, and that’s fine,” she stated. “I’m not arguing, Hans. I will tell you right here, right now, though, that no one in this house is to set foot near that house.” She looked around the table at each child. “Not anywhere near it. It gives me the creeps, it looks abandoned, and I don’t want anyone getting into trouble or getting hurt.”

            “Okay, Kid,” Dale softened. “I’ll stay away from the place, gosh!” he winked at her as she frowned. Dale took his seat, they all joined hands, and said grace.