My Journey in Writing, Ranting, and Woodworking

The night before had brought a storm down on the neighborhood with an unforgiving wrath.  There were trees down, his power was out, and the phone lines were dead.  He took a cold shower.  Henry didn’t feel much like eating, so he fumbled around in the early morning dark, found his keys, and stood at the door looking out into the bleak winter day.

Luna was expecting him at 8 am.  Normally he wouldn’t have left for another hour, but the mayhem of the previous night’s storm added some uncertainty to his travel time.  He pulled on his overcoat, grabbed his hat and gloves, and opened the front door, hoping this would be the day he could put all the pieces together.

Several downed trees forced a circuitous route out of the neighborhood.  Henry wondered what would happen to the trees.  He hadn’t had much time for woodworking of late, and the fallen lumber reminded him of that fact.  He hoped they would be sawed up and turned into something useful.  He drove on.  Thirty minutes later the sun decided to join him on the drive, the sky looked to be clearing up, and road crews seemed to have a good handle on clearing the mess.

He arrived at Luna’s place with two minutes to spare.  Promptness made Henry happy, especially when he did so under such circumstances, with so many unknown variables.  Luna hopped in the car, her hands wrapped around a basket with a gingham cloth wrapped around it.

“I didn’t know if you would bother with breakfast, so I brought these.”  Luna said, as she lifted the red checked cloth.  A wave of blueberry muffin goodness immediately filled the car.  Henry smiled, with his usually calm demeanor, while his mind was signing “yippee”.

He took the proffered muffin and took a bite, chewed it slowly, took another, and forgot about projecting his normal ‘tough guy image’, as he made what could only be described as a purring noise.

“Do you like them?”  Luna asked knowingly.

More purring with a hint of deep guttural grunting of approval.  Henry could take a punch and keep his cool, but he was powerless against baked goods.  He was sure that this day was on the right track.

The drove along in silence for a while, as both of them enjoyed the muffins.  Before Henry asked for thirds, he thought it best to discuss their plan.  “I have been thinking about what we should keep our eyes open for.  It could be anything.  If nothing jumps out at me, and I am sure it won’t, I may need to poke around more than the shop keeper would like.”

“It could be anywhere, in a drawer, under something….”  Luna said while staring off at the road ahead.

“Yes.  I may need you to distract him with your feminine charms.”  Henry said with an air of authority, as if he were talking to the troops before they stormed the castle.

“My feminine charms you say?  I didn’t think you noticed.”  Luna said, looking at him as she offered him another muffin.

Henry felt like a blush might be coming on, so he took a muffin, in part to hide from Luna, the fact that she had knocked him off his game.  Luna wasn’t fooled.

Henry ate the muffin and seemed to focus more intently than ever on the road ahead.  Luna wrapped up the basket and folded her arms across it.   She decided to have mercy on him and changed to a more serious tone.

“Do you think we will solve the code….and be able to put an end to all of this….I miss my father.”  she said in a low, now sad voice.

“I know we will!”  Henry said with confidence, though he had his doubts.  He had a nagging fear that they might not find the next clue, that this trip was just a snipe hunt.  That without the code to the journal, which ‘Tommy the Knife’ was under the impression had been destroyed, they would be out of luck.  As in chess, today’s move would be pivotal, one wrong misstep and all would be lost.

They drove past ‘Stowe It Forever’ gift shop, the one from the ad, and Henry checked his mirror.  Nobody had been following him, and everything had calmed down since the DA’s visit and the subsequent ‘journal’ incident, but he still favored caution.  Once more around the block, just to make sure, and he parked the car.  They walked slowly to the shop.  Luna took his arm to help steady herself on the icy sidewalk.  Herny reminded her, “Now it is going to be tough.  I don’t know what we are looking for, and I have no idea how we will find it.

A little bell over the door announced their presence, and a tiny man with a monocle, scurried from behind a curtain leading to the back room.  The shop was filled to the brims with boxes, cases, clocks, furniture, steamer trunks, lamps and possibly lost pirate treasure.  Henry whispered, “Oh god, this might take a while.”  Luna squeezed his arm in agreement, as she greeted the tiny man  behind the counter.

“Hello there, my name is Luna and this is my…friend…Henry…”  She said

“Excellent…good to meet you…I am Wolfgang the manager.”  He said with a slight German accent and a slight familiarity that struck them both as odd.  He spoke in short fast bursts with gaps too small to allow Henry or Luna to sneak a comment in.  “Wait right here…”  And off he went, though he continued to talk, “quite a storm last night….power just came back on…”  There was a rustling sound, then a loud wooden sound of a drawer being opened and closed, then another.  This went on for a couple of minutes, as did his ramblings.

Wolfgang reappeared behind the counter with a tiny box. There was a tiny red mat on the counter and he placed it in the center. “This is what you have come for.  I have, as instructed, not opened it.  It is paid for.  I hope you enjoy it for many years to come.  Good day.”  And he disappeared behind the curtain.

Henry and Luna looked at each other blankly.  Henry looked at the tiny box, then at Luna.  There wasn’t anyone else in the shop.  Luna reached over and took off the lid.  Inside there was a tiny folded piece of white paper.