Entry Seventy-five: Adam Mahoney, You Just Won!

[The next many entries are the current story I am working on. This is five of who knows how many will be posted. Enjoy it while it lasts...]

Adam was initially confused then amused as he read the note. It was handwritten but he didn’t recognize the handwriting, which was beautiful and meticulously rendered. He was convinced it was a joke but he was unaware of anyone in his life clever enough to come up with the idea much less pull it off. He checked the clock over the stove and realized it was too early to call anyone and see if they had been included in the ruse so he decided to take a shower and deal with it after he was clean and dressed. On the way to the bathroom he stopped to turn on his computer, wanting to check email before he had to leave for work.

After his shower, Adam lit a cigarette, walked over to his desk and sat down to see if he had received any emails overnight. He double-clicked his browser icon and was surprised how fast it loaded onto the screen. “It’s not that early,” he thought. “But I won’t complain about the traffic being light. Good for me.” His inbox flashed up on the screen almost before he had finished selecting the link. “They must have upgraded the lines recently,” he reasoned. “It’s never loaded pages this fast before.” He was finished checking his messages in less than five minutes and glanced at his watch to make sure it wasn’t too early to call someone and ask them about the prank letter he received. It was 7:30 so he felt comfortable calling a co-worker considering they all had to be at work at eight, just like himself. He tried Leslie first but she had apparently left for work early because he ended up talking to her answering machine. Blaine didn’t answer either, but he usually went to eat breakfast at the diner before work so there was nothing squirrelly about that. As a last resort he called his mother, sure she would be home because she never went anywhere. His heart rate began accelerating with each unanswered ring and for the first time a small finger of dread reached up and poked his belly. “This is ridiculous,” he said. “I can’t believe I’m feeling like this. Mom’s probably in the bathroom and can’t get to the phone.” He hung up the receiver and lit another cigarette.

All words and images ©2006/J. Colle