The Waiting Part Two

You can read “The Waiting (Part 1)” here: https://vocal.media/fiction/the-waiting-j0fhai0xlb

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"Wait!" the woman shouted out. "You can't leave the box like that." The man agreed, "This is not part of the plan. You cannot leave. This does not compute."

I am not looking back. I'm just going to keep on walking toward the exit, and I'm leaving.

Right as I opened the door to step outside, the woman shouted out again. This time with a loud, angry growl, "You will never make it home if you do not put the box in the hands of its rightful recipient."

I stood there at the door frozen. What did she mean? Will I die? I must ignore their threats and leave.

But what I don't understand is why is Julie involved? Julie's a good guy. Maybe he's being blackmailed or threatened somehow. What kind of mess has Julie gotten himself into?

I want to leave but for some reason my legs aren't moving. I'm afraid to leave. I'm afraid to stay. Remaining in this doorway seems to be my only safe place right now.

"You can't just stand there forever, boy," the lady spoke in a calm yet stern voice. "You're going to have to make a decision. Are you going to leave, or are you going to come back in and finish the job that was assigned to you?"

Okay, okay. I promised Julie I would deliver the box to the hands of Mr. Cooper. The problem is, I'm not sure who Mr. Cooper is. But I think I'm getting an idea. The lady seems to be in charge here. She's the one giving the orders.

But then again, maybe Mr. Cooper isn't an authoritative figure. Maybe Cooper is a janitor.

Could it be that neither one of these two is Mr. Cooper? Maybe Mr. Cooper hasn't shown up yet? But why would these two say they're Mr. Cooper?

Right at that moment the man made a dash for the box.

"Don't you dare!" the lady yelled at him. "I will tell your wife what happened at the company picnic last summer."

The man retreated and went back to stand by his door.

The box! I need to get it back. It's obvious something very valuable is in it.

Okay, I'm going back in. But I need a plan. I have to figure this out. I've been here for two hours now, and it's time to get this done.

"Listen," I said to the two Mr. Coopers. "I don't know who you are. But I do know that you both can't be Mr. Cooper." The woman interrupted with, "Who said we can't?"

I was annoyed at the woman’s comment and said, "Enough with the games and tricks. You're both trying to trip me up and confuse me and I'm done with that. I'm taking control now."

I walked over to the box and picked it up. "From the behavior you two have displayed the only conclusion I can come to is that whatever is in this box is valuable."

"It's not so much what's inside the box that's valuable," the man said.

"There you go again speaking in riddles. Shut up! I'm getting to the bottom of this."

Both the man and the lady were shocked by my aggression. They just stood there not knowing what to say.

The woman spoke. "Listen, okay, this is the deal. Neither of us are Mr. Cooper. Mr. Cooper is obviously running late. He gets this delivery on the first and third Wednesday of each month. He usually picks it up by 4:15 pm. I told your friend, Julius, to have the package delivered no later than 2:45 pm."

"Why so early if Mr. Cooper doesn't get here until 4:15 pm? And anyway, it's 4:35 right now," I asked.

"I'm getting to that now," the woman continued speaking. "I had you come in early so I could get the package from you before Mr. Cooper arrived."

"But why?"

"Well, Mr. Cooper gives a $500 tip to the person that delivers the box. I can really use that money right now."

"Julie never told me about any tip."

"He didn't know about it. I figured he is new, and I could get the box from him. The only problem is my colleague here, Jackson Parrott, caught on to my plan.”

"All the things you said really had me scared."

"I apologize for that," the lady said. "How about you and I cut a deal? Let me give the box to Mr. Cooper, and you and I split the $500, fifty-fifty, $250 each.”

Jackson jumped in and said to me, "I will give you $300 if you let me hand the box to Mr. Cooper."

"Well, that's just absurd," I replied. "I am going to hand this box to Mr. Cooper and keep the entire tip for myself."

Right at that moment the automatic entry door opened, and a tall, stately, elderly man walked in.

The automated greeter spoke and said, "Welcome, Mr. Hart. Will Mr. Cooper be accompanying you today?"

"Oh yes," Mr. Hart said jovially. "He's a few steps behind me."

About a minute later the entry door opened again. But from my vantage point I didn’t see anyone there. Hmmm... is Mr. Cooper the Invisible Man?

The automated greeter spoke, "Greetings, Mr. Cooper. It is such a pleasure to see you today."

Next, I heard a dog bark.

I can't believe it! Mr. Cooper is a dog! A perfectly groomed, snow-white, standard poodle.

I had the box in my hands as they walked in.

Mr. Hart greeted me, "You must be Mr. Julius Atonal?"

"No sir," I answered. “I am his roommate, Rick Phelps. Julie's, uh, Mr. Atonal's mom is sick today. He is caring for her."

"I see," said Mr. Hart. "Thank you for delivering Mr. Cooper's package. He will be delighted. You see, Mr. Cooper belongs to the CEO of this company, Mr. Johnston. I am his man Friday.”

Mr. Cooper sat near my feet looking up at my face and barked.

Mr. Hart commented, "Mr. Cooper wants you to open his package."

"Certainly,” I said.

With much anticipation, I took the small, Swiss Army knife out of my pocket and carefully cut the tape at the top of the box. What could be in the box? Maybe a new dog collar?

No, the box is filled with several bags of Blue Buffalo Tender Beef Bits.

"These are Mr. Cooper's favorite treats," Mr. Hart commented. "Go ahead, open a pack and feed him a few. You'll make a friend for life."

I opened one of the packs and poured a few of the treats into the palm of my hand and fed them to Mr. Cooper. After he was finished, he licked the top of my hand. An action that I took as a thank you.

Mr. Hart thanked me for delivering the treats, "For your gracious time and patience, I am giving you a $1,000 tip today. $500 for you and $500 for you to give to Mr. At... um... Julie."

After Mr. Hart paid me the money, he and Mr. Cooper left the building with the box of treats.

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Many thanks to Irene Economou for proofreading and editing. Your help is much appreciated.