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“Thank goodness. I’ll go grab those cloths to clean your desk and chair.”
When I returned to Neil’s office bearing cloths and tea towels, he had gone. I cleaned up the mess in his absence. How could one small splash wreak so much havoc?
Neil returned shortly in a clean pair of trousers. He held the stained pair in his arms and thrust them towards me. “Take these to the dry cleaner.”
“Now?”
My response surprised me. It wasn’t like me to argue about the urgency of stain removal.
“Yes. Now.”
“But what about the meeting?”
“Forget about the meeting. You don’t need to come.”
“Oh. All right then.”
I tried not to look so dejected. Why should I be upset? It’s just a stupid meeting. I’d rather not go, anyway.
By the time I returned from the dry cleaner, Neil had already left. Two hours later, plodding footsteps drifted from the corridor. Not Neil. Neil didn’t plod. I watched the open doorway as the sound grew louder, then James poked his head in. “Knock, knock,” he said.
“Come in.”
He entered carrying a giant dog plush toy.
“What in the world?” I asked, staring at the oversized toy.
“Delivery for Neil.”
“That’s for Neil?”
“Yep.”
I scratched my head. “Who would send him that?”
“No idea. But the card is clearly addressed to Neil Kingston.” He flashed me the gift tag attached to a blue ribbon around the dog’s neck.
“Oookay. Well, I’ll put it in his office, then.”
I took the soft toy from James’s hands; a German shepherd with shiny black eyes and a pink felt tongue. “It’s pretty cute,” I said, stroking its brown fur.
James grinned. “Yeah. I love stuffed toys.”
“More than Neil, I’m sure. What was the person who sent him this thinking?”
“Who knows?”
“Well, thanks for bringing it here.”
“No problem. By the way, feel free to get stuff delivered to work. I know all the courier drivers. They leave the packages for this floor at my desk, and I’m usually around to sign for them.”
“That could be a good idea. Sometimes there are package thieves at my apartment building.”
“Package thieves? That’s the worst! Definitely get your deliveries here—and I promise I won’t rag on you for ordering loads of stuff. I do it too.”
I chuckled. “Okay. Sold.”
That solved the package-thief problem.
