Room 218, Late Friday Afternoon
The knock on the door hadn't surprised Karla; with people leaving for break and her messages yesterday, she was half-expecting more people to drop by. It was the person at the door who surprised her: Thaddeus, one of the males who worked at the post office.
"Special Delivery," he said, giving her a glower. "This here is for you." In his hands was a small, potted tree. Hanging from the boughs were delicate greenish-gold fruits Karla instantly recognized.
"Honey-pears!" she squealed, clapping her hands with delight. She reached out to take the tree, cradling the pot gently in her arms. "A real, live honey-pear tree! Thank you, Thaddeus!"
Thaddeus's scowl remained firmly fixed in place, even in the face of Karla's holiday cheer. "So's the rest of this," he said, jerking his thumb behind him. Confused, Karla stood on tiptoe to look over his shoulder...at a veritable mountain of boxes. They took up all of the hallway up to several feet behind him.
"Urm..." she said, eyes wide. She'd known she'd gone a little crazy on the online-jungle site, but she hadn't thought she'd bought this much...
Thaddeus didn't appear to be concerned about Karla's wide-eyed trepidation. He just began hoisting things up and bringing them into her room. The first load was a large cedar chest that could only have come from Kaeleer, but the rest were all small cardboard boxes in large plastic bags. By the time he was carrying in his third bag, Karla had gotten her act together and started her own haul.
Joy turned to befuddlement when she set her tree down next to her desk. Out of the branches fell a CD. Odd, and definitely not anything she'd ever ordered. "Thaddeus," she said, turning around with the CD, "I don't think this is mine." She glanced at the name on the boxes that Thaddeus had just dropped at her feet. "Nor is my name Lorna Glass. And I certainly don't live in Scranton, Ohio. Not all of these are mine."
It took them almost twenty minutes to find and sort her boxes from the three or four other shipments they had gotten caught up with, none of which belonged to Fandom residents. Eventually, Thaddeus was loaded back up with all of the misshipped boxes and sent on his way. He didn't appear any happier leaving than he had when he'd arrived.
"Wait!" Karla called, noticing a small box that had gotten lost behind her tree. "There's another--"
"Keep it!" Thaddeus snapped. "I'm off the clock!"
Shrugging, Karla opened the box. Inside were two books, Opening Atlantis and The Breath of God. How very odd. What was she going to do with two Turtledoves and a Partridge Family CD in her pear tree?
[Establishy!]
"Special Delivery," he said, giving her a glower. "This here is for you." In his hands was a small, potted tree. Hanging from the boughs were delicate greenish-gold fruits Karla instantly recognized.
"Honey-pears!" she squealed, clapping her hands with delight. She reached out to take the tree, cradling the pot gently in her arms. "A real, live honey-pear tree! Thank you, Thaddeus!"
Thaddeus's scowl remained firmly fixed in place, even in the face of Karla's holiday cheer. "So's the rest of this," he said, jerking his thumb behind him. Confused, Karla stood on tiptoe to look over his shoulder...at a veritable mountain of boxes. They took up all of the hallway up to several feet behind him.
"Urm..." she said, eyes wide. She'd known she'd gone a little crazy on the online-jungle site, but she hadn't thought she'd bought this much...
Thaddeus didn't appear to be concerned about Karla's wide-eyed trepidation. He just began hoisting things up and bringing them into her room. The first load was a large cedar chest that could only have come from Kaeleer, but the rest were all small cardboard boxes in large plastic bags. By the time he was carrying in his third bag, Karla had gotten her act together and started her own haul.
Joy turned to befuddlement when she set her tree down next to her desk. Out of the branches fell a CD. Odd, and definitely not anything she'd ever ordered. "Thaddeus," she said, turning around with the CD, "I don't think this is mine." She glanced at the name on the boxes that Thaddeus had just dropped at her feet. "Nor is my name Lorna Glass. And I certainly don't live in Scranton, Ohio. Not all of these are mine."
It took them almost twenty minutes to find and sort her boxes from the three or four other shipments they had gotten caught up with, none of which belonged to Fandom residents. Eventually, Thaddeus was loaded back up with all of the misshipped boxes and sent on his way. He didn't appear any happier leaving than he had when he'd arrived.
"Wait!" Karla called, noticing a small box that had gotten lost behind her tree. "There's another--"
"Keep it!" Thaddeus snapped. "I'm off the clock!"
Shrugging, Karla opened the box. Inside were two books, Opening Atlantis and The Breath of God. How very odd. What was she going to do with two Turtledoves and a Partridge Family CD in her pear tree?
[Establishy!]