Zobostic Corwin's - Tales from the Blog

 

It was a day not unlike any other day, except maybe last Wednesday.  It was a little like that day.  I remember, it all started in the wee hours of the morning.  Still somewhat half asleep I made my way down the hall, and as I passed the front entrance, I noticed a shadowy figure standing on the other side of the frosted glass.  Of course, my first thought was, it must be darn cold for that glass to frost up like that, but then the shadowy figure knocked on the door.  I knew right then that I had a choice to make, answer the door, or continue on to the bathroom.  I decided the front door would have to wait.

Anyway, that was last Wednesday.  This is now – today, and except for all that other stuff, today, so far, is different.  Don’t get me wrong, my neighbor is still standing at my front door, but today I opened the door to see what he wanted.  He was holding a shovel and asked me to join him in digging a hole.  He said he needed to dig a big hole in his back yard and that it was a two-man job.  I told him I would have to go to the hardware first and buy a shovel, unless he had an extra one.  He didn’t.  

We knew the hardware didn’t open until 8 am, so we sat at my kitchen table and looked through the day’s newspaper for a shovel coupon.  We didn’t find one.  My neighbor suggested we take turns using the same shovel, but I said that would defeat the two-man aspect of the task, as one of us would always be just standing there watching the other guy dig.  He was quick to volunteer to be the guy standing and watching, but I wasn’t falling for that one.

I made us some coffee, and as we sat waiting for 8 am, I thought I’d ask him what he was going to use the hole for.  He strangely changed the topic.  He asked me what kind of coffee beans I used.  I showed him the little pods.  “I don’t know.  They come bundled up in these little pods.  I have never cut one open to see what they look like.”  He said that was very trusting of me, and that he would never consume something, not knowing what it was.  “I know it’s coffee.  It smells and tastes like coffee.  If I drink it too late in the day it keeps me awake at night, and it goes good with doughnuts.  What else do I need to know?”  He clammed up and we just sat there quietly, until he asked if I had any doughnuts.  I didn’t.

***

We found the shovels on the back wall of the hardware.  He picked what he thought to be a good one, and I suggested that he should pay for it.  That way, after the hole is done, he could keep the shovel and the next time someone asked if he had an extra shovel, he could say yes.  When we got to the checkout, he discovered he’d left his wallet at home.  I had to pay for the shovel.  Then, just before leaving the store he says, “You should buy some work gloves too.  You don’t want to get any blisters.”  After learning that he didn’t have any gloves either, I ended up buying two pair.

We were both quiet on the ride home, until I broke the silence.  “So, what is the hole for?”  As he was the one driving, he didn’t want to take his eyes off the road, but quickly shot me a glance and cleared his throat.  I kept waiting, but he wasn’t saying anything.  Then finally he said, “Once we start getting too deep, we’ll have to prop a ladder against the side wall to help us get back out.”

“Are you telling me I needed to also buy a ladder when we were back at the hardware?”

“Of course not.  I have a ladder.”

“So, what’s the hole for?”

“It will all become clear after a while.”

I didn’t like the sound of that and started to think of ways to get out of this whole thing.  “Is what we’re doing legal?  We’re not burying a body, or anything like that, are we?

 He mumbled something, but I didn't understand him."

 

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to be continued