Plan
Harold winced. His house was at the mercy of a swarm of anklebiters. He loved this house, it housed his vast collection of rare collectables that he’d acquired over the years in his rather unique line of work: mirrors from Louis XIV, a wine cellar lined with bricks from the Berlin wall, potted plants from the Garden of Eden, a paperweight made from the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, and a dodo living in his backyard.
As each minute ticked by, he tried not to think about what would be left when he finally got of this predicament.
“Bob,” Harold whispered. Bob stirred slightly in his slumber. “Bob!” he shouted as quietly as possible.
“Mmmrgh…” Bob groaned and opened his eyes groggily. “I was just having the most wonderful dream where I was a butterfly—”
“That’s nice,” interrupted Harold. Bob’s enthusiasm drained. “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?” CRASH “Oh…that…yeah.”
“That’s the sound of my house going to ruins. This is not a good day for either of us.”
“You’re right. My superiors aren’t going to like it when I tell them we have to broker a new deal with Death since Time will soon be out of the picture.”
An idea began to take shape in Harold’s mind. “What if you didn’t have to do that?”
Bob looked puzzled, “I don’t understand. The girl said—”
“I know what she said.”
“And she seemed so determined.” Harold nodded in agreement.
“I have an idea, but first I want you to stay perfectly still.”
Meanwhile, Julie was having a chat with Velma, the school teacher. They were sitting out on the front porch. The house’s frequent ticking was loud enough to mask most of the kids noises coming from within. Several times, a very loud sound would ring true through the air, and Velma would make a motion to stand up and investigate, but Julie coaxed her to stay put each time.
“But the house?” Velma would say.
“It’s okay. To tell you the truth (Not exactly the whole truth, but truth nonetheless.), I didn’t much care for the stuff in the house, and I was thinking of throwing most of it out and starting over.”
“Oh. Then the kids?”
“Are being of some assistance.” Julie couldn’t believe how gullible this lady was.
They talked about several things, while waiting for the tow truck to arrive, none of which mattered since they were all topics engineered to simply pass the time. Julie didn’t care; she was having her fun by proxy (Several proxies, in fact.). Soon the truck arrived, followed shortly by a replacement bus to take the children back home. Velma opened the front door and called for the children to come out. One-by-one, they ran to the open door of the bus, eager to get home and destroy them as well. Velma turned to Julie and thanked her for her hospitality.
No, it is I who should be thanking you.
Bob heard the kids leaving and quickly ran back to Harold, “Should I free you now?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. Just go back to your corner and pretend that you’re still bound and asleep. This will all be over shortly.”
Bob did as Harold asked. He rubbed the sore spot on his arm. The next time Harold tells me not to move, I’ll take him a bit more seriously. Regardless, a little pain is fine when it comes in exchange for freedom.
Julie’s hand was on the doorknob to the basement when there was a soft knock at the front door. She sighed, feeling suddenly very tired, and trudged over to let in the next circus act. Who will it be this time Harold? The Easter Bunny? The Vienna Boys’ Choir? The President?
She peered through the peephole, and her heart sank. If it could have, it would have opened up a gaping hole in her chest and jumped out.
Julie panicked. It was Gloria. She had come back. Now what am I going to do?
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