No Coincidence

The familiar yet still annoying ding-ding, signaling the bus to stop, woke Alex. He sat up, as the bus pulled over, and looked out the window to make sure he hadn’t missed his stop. Several passengers got off at the rear door as others boarded at the front. Alex noticed a very cute redhead that had got on and sat in one of the side facing seats. She gazed out the window. He stared at her gorgeous red hair and the archipelago of freckles across her nose. “She has the most perfect nose,” he thought to himself and just then she looked right at him. It was one of those strange instances when you don’t realize that someone you’re staring at has suddenly taken notice and you forget to look away. In that split moment when he realized she had caught him staring, she smiled. He immediately smiled back but a fearful look suddenly replaced her smile and she shoved her right hand into her jacket pocket. The dread evaporated instantly as she let out a sigh of relief and looked away.

Alex assumed she was relieved she hadn’t lost her cellphone. He was happy she’d found it but sad that their silent exchange had ended so abruptly. As the bus moved along, he looked her way several times hoping to get another smile but she was deep in thought. At the next stop, she stood and headed toward the rear door. As she passed Alex she gave him a sweet yet melancholy smile. He beamed back. She stepped off the bus and as the door shut he regretted not having got off the bus with her.

When his stop approached, Alex walked to the rear door and as he stepped off the bus, saw a small black notebook on the bottom step. He reached back and grabbed the notebook just as the door closed. Not wanting to be late for his job interview he tucked the notebook into his backpack without looking inside.

That evening when he got home, Alex removed the laptop from his backpack and checked his emails. The company he had interviewed at was interested and wanted to schedule a second interview. Alex was ecstatic, responded to the email and after a celebratory beer fell asleep on the sofa.

A few weeks later Alex was enjoying his new job at a small yet successful city newspaper. His journalism degree had paid off. His parents had attempted to push him into law, to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather but he followed his heart and was pleased with his success. The first few days were mostly filled with getting acquainted with the office and his co workers but by the end of the second week he was already making friends and was invited to a party. Although he was enjoying the new job, Friday could not come soon enough.

It was raining that Saturday evening but wasn’t going to stop Alex from going to the party. He took a Lyft and knocked on the door of his coworker’s apartment. A striking woman answered, “Hello, I’m Brigid and you are?”

“I’m Alex,” he said as Brigid welcomed him in.

“Let me take your coat. Are you a friend of Shawn’s?”

“Yes, I just started working with Shawn a few weeks ago,” Alex replied.

“Oh you’re that Alex,” Brigid mused while giving him a wink.

“Wow,” Alex said with a grin, “I’m already being talked about.”

“Don't worry. You’re being talked about in a good way.”

“Well that’s a relief.”

Just then Shawn came up behind them and put his hand on Alex’s shoulder, “Glad you made it buddy.”

Alex turned around and putting his hand out said, “I wouldn’t miss it. I need a good distraction after the last few weeks of intense focus on not screwing up.”

Shawn laughed and shaking Alex’s hand replied, “You have nothing to worry about. Everyone at The Jupiter is really happy with you. You are fitting in just fine. We have an open bar. Brigid’s friend Tommy, a bartender at The Raven downtown agreed to work the party tonight. Grab yourself a drink and enjoy.”

Just then Alex spotted the girl from the bus on the other side of the room. “Shawn, who is that redhead over there?”

“I see you are serious about needing a good distraction,” Shawn quipped.

“Her name is Sara,” Brigid interjected, “You should introduce yourself. Be aware though, she just lost her grandma a couple weeks back. Tough on any family but very tough on Sara. They were really close.”

Alex frowned, “That’s terrible. Alright, well thanks for the heads up.”

“Enjoy yourself,” Shawn said as he grabbed Brigid’s arm, “we’re going to go check on the appetizers.” and they disappeared into the kitchen.

Alex walked over to the bar and asked for a beer. “I have several bottles but I’d go with the Machine House Pale if I were you,” said Tommy the bartender.

“Machine House it is,” Alex said with a grin.

Tommy popped the top and handed Alex the bottle, “Cheers.”

Alex took a sip, smiled at Tommy and turned around. Across the room Sara was chatting with another young woman. As he approached Sara looked up and recognizing him said, “Well hello stranger from the bus.”

Alex smiled broadly and stuck his hand out, “My name is Alex and Brigid tells me that you’re Sara, so I guess we’re not strangers anymore.”

Sara shook his hand and introduced her friend, “This is my friend Trixie.”

Alex and Trixie shook hands, “Nice to meet you Trixie.” Alex said.

“Likewise,” Trixie replied, “I’m going to scope out the food. Talk to you two later.” Alex and Sara both gave her a nod and a smile.

Alex turned to Sara and said, “I have to confess that I have been regretting not having spoken to you on the bus, asked for your number or something. It probably would have seemed creepy though. I’m really happy that you're here.”

“That’s sweet. Thank you,” Sara said tilting her head shyly, “yeah it probably would have been creepy to ask a stranger, on a bus, for their number.” They both laughed and sat down on a couch in the living room. They chatted for what seemed like hours. Sara mentioned the passing of her grandmother and Alex gave his condolences but that was as serious as the conversation got and they laughed a lot.

“Okay you two,” Shawn interrupted, “you are having too much fun and the rest of us are telling the same old boring stories.”

“Well, I guess maybe we should take this elsewhere,” Sara said grinning at Shawn, “Alex, my new friend, would you like to go get a coffee, tea or maybe a drink?”

Surprised but excited Alex stood up, “Would you mind if we took off Shawn?”

Shawn reached out to shake Alex’s hand, “Alex my boy, you and Sara go right ahead. You have my blessing. Thanks for coming and I’ll see you Monday.” Shawn winked at Sara, “Now you be careful with this one Sara. He’s a nice guy and all but you never know.”

“I’ll be just fine but thanks for your concern,” Sara said giving Shawn a hug. “Shall we,” Sara said to Alex. He nodded and they walked to the door waving goodbye to Trixie as they left.

Before they knew it, their chance encounter at the party, had turned into a full-on romance. Sara and Alex had become the it couple in their circle of friends. They were enjoying the newness and constant discovery that comes with a budding relationship. They were happy and life was good. Sara was still grieving her grandmother’s death but was happy to be falling for Alex.

One Tuesday morning as Alex got off the bus, on his way to work, he was drawn to a flyer on the bus stop shelter. In large red letters across the top it said, REWARD $20,000. Below that it read, Lost: Black leather notebook measuring 5 by 8.25 inches with an elastic band. Please call the number below, describe the notebook in detail and if returned undamaged the reward is yours, no questions asked. Alex suddenly remembered the notebook he had found on the bus months ago. He’d been carrying his laptop with him daily because he was looking for work. With the new job he had no need to carry the backpack anymore and had hung it in the closet, completely forgetting about the notebook inside. He saved the number in his phone and headed to the office.

Alex was distracted thinking about the notebook. “Imagine what I could do with twenty thousand dollars,” he thought. He wanted to text Sara to tell her but she was in class and he’d promised not to text her during class. At lunchtime, he pretended to not feel well, and left for the day.

When he got off the bus he ran to his apartment. Upon entering he threw his keys on the kitchen counter and headed for the bedroom. He opened the closet and took down the backpack. He sat on the bed, pulled out the notebook and felt it. “Yup it’s leather.” he said out loud, “There’s the elastic band.” He removed the band from the front cover and opened it. Printed on the first page were the words In case of loss, please return to: handwritten was an address, 2274 NW 23rd Ave. Below the address was printed As a reward: $ and the word NEGOTIABLE was written. Could this really be the notebook from the flyer he thought.

He grabbed his phone, took a deep breath and called the number from the flyer. A deep male voice answered, “Hello.”

Alex paused. Anxious, he struggled to get the words out, “Um…hello…I’m, I mean…I’m calling about the notebook. I saw the flyer this morning.”

“Well that’s wonderful,” the man on the phone said, “Can you tell me where and when you found it?”

“Yes,” Alex said feeling less anxious, “I found it on the number 7 bus a few months back.” Remembering it was the day of his interview he added, “It was the 11th of February.”

“Very good. Can you tell me what it says on the first page?” the man asked.

Alex drawing a blank opened the notebook up and said, “There’s an address, 2274 NW 23rd Ave written under the in case of loss section and it says that a reward is negotiable.”

“Excellent,” the man said, “It seems you have indeed found my notebook. The reward is not negotiable. It is twenty thousand dollars and if you can return the notebook to me, I will have a cashier’s check for you.

“I can come now,” Alex said without hesitation.

“I will be waiting,” the man said, “you know the address.” and hung up.

The Lyft dropped Alex off at 2274 NW 23rd Ave. It was more a mansion than a house. He walked to the front door and before he could ring the bell, the door opened. An elderly man with snow white hair ushered him in, “Thank you for coming so quickly. My name is Harold LaFleur,” the man said extending his hand.

Alex shook the man’s hand and said, “I’m Alex. Alex Garza.” Alex handed Harold the notebook.

Harold opened the notebook, flipped through a few pages and said, “Thank you so very much for returning this.” Harold handed Alex an envelope, “I hope you don’t mind but I have requested my granddaughter come to thank you in person. It is her notebook and she is thrilled it was found. She didn’t know I had those flyers posted but I’m glad I did. She is on her way. Would you mind waiting?”

“Not at all,“ Alex replied. Just then the front door swung open and in walked Sara.