And Good Will To All-4
557 Words
Sunday in the office tended to be slow, so I was usually able to catch up on paperwork and do inventory. Once I’d been assured of Lonnie’s comfort with the setup last night, I’d gone home and slept like the dead for the first time in weeks. My dreams had been of us as teenagers, messing around behind the bleachers in high school. When I’d arrived this morning, Lonnie had been tired but alert enough when he’d given me his report about the night’s activities before he left.
As I sat at my desk entering Lonnie’s pay information in the system, I realized in all the flurry of activity that I hadn’t gotten a copy of his driver’s license or social security card. Before I’d left last night, Lonnie had informed me that he would be in sometime today to access his storage unit. I’d corner him then.
I was standing at the front desk when I saw him pull up at the security gate. The back seat of his car was filled with all kinds of boxes and paraphernalia. I waited until he entered his access code and drove into the complex before I grabbed my jacket, put on my gloves, and followed.
Lonnie was in the middle of taking a folding chair out of the trunk of the car when I rounded the corner and said, “Hey, man.”
He jumped and dropped the piece of furniture he’d been holding before turning to me, red in the face. “f**k!” He rubbed his hands up and down his face. “Try not to sneak up on me, okay?”
“Sorry about that.”
The thing was, I hadn’t tried to be stealthy at all. The gravel made it hard to sneak up on someone. His mind must have been far away. I watched as Lonnie picked up the chair and leaned it against the wall of the unit before he spoke to me again.
“You need something?” He seemed wary.
“Yeah, driver’s license, social security card. And a checking account number for direct deposit.”
He squeezed the back of his neck. “I don’t have a checking account, so I’d prefer to get a paper check I can cash, please.” He dug into his wallet, found the items I needed, and handed them over to me.
Bemused, I took them. “Thanks. Shouldn’t be a problem cashing the check since it’s drawn on the bank in town.”
“Great. Anything else you need, boss?” He seemed a little on edge, even as he tried to appear indifferent.
I took the time to study him before answering. The Lonnie I’d grown up with wouldn’t have been caught dead looking anything less than perfect in public. So it was odd to see him still in the same clothes he was wearing yesterday. I glanced briefly at his shoes and saw there was a hole in the toe of one of them. Something was very wrong here, but I had no idea what it was.
“No, that’s it.” I waited for him to say more, but I could tell he wanted me to leave.
“Okay, then. I’ll see you this evening.”
“Great.”
He shifted back and forth on his feet, and I took that as my cue to go. When I got back to my desk, I finished entering Lonnie’s personal information for payroll—the address on his license listed Wisconsin as his previous place of residence—and then paused to ponder the man’s strange behavior. Why was he so tense? His hair stood up in tufts, too, and there were dark circles under his eyes.
Something was definitely going on here, and my worry grew.
- Writer
