Stuck at Work

It was finally 5:00. Rebecca sighed of relief as she took off her chef’s hat and gloves and headed for the exit. She couldn’t wait to go home to eat some more of that kugel.

“Bye, guys,” she called out to her friends. She grabbed her coat from the rack.

“Becca, wait!” Will called out as he and Martyn rushed from the kitchen.

She huffed as she faced them, her arms already in the coat’s sleeves.

“Listen to the news.” Will pointed to the television which showed a weatherman explaining what is going on with the town’s whether.

“That’s right folks. It’s going to be a huge storm tonight in Eastown.” The television displayed a gust of snow fly across the atmosphere. The man continued his forecast. “The roads are very slippery, and it is highly recommended for anyone that is not out in the snow to either stay inside, or be cautious while driving.”

Rebecca looked to Will and Martyn. “So, that means we’re stuck here?”

“Well, see for yourself.” Martyn pulled up the blinds to reveal half of the snowfall covering the windows, only showing the upper half of the view. The ground was covered with a thick layer of snow, with flakes continuing to cover it. The iciness of the cold surface was no match for the bitterness of Rebecca’s heart.

 “Don’t worry, guys,” Will reassured. “We’ll get out of here in no time.”

“And how will we do that?” Rebecca crossed her arms.

Will hesitated. “I have no idea, but we’ll come up something.”

The lights began to flash. Suddenly, everything went dark. Panic rushed through Rebecca’s body. What else could go wrong? She tried dialing her friend’s number, but no signal was found.

“You guys got any service?”

“Nope, no bars,” Will said.

“Same for me.” Martyn said with a sigh.

“Great, what do we do now?”

“We could play tiddlywinks together,” Martyn suggested.

Will rolled his eyes. Martyn and Rebecca would always play the game ever since they were kids, but Will never found the purpose of the game.

“Come on, Willy. It’ll be fun,” Rebecca pleaded.

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Or maybe…” Martyn looked around the store and leaned in. “…we could explore for a little bit.”

“Dude, this restaurant is only 30 feet wide,” Will told him.

“It may be small, but you may never know. First stop, Mr. Glisten’s office.”

Rebecca and Will exchanged worried glances once more.

“Relax,” Martyn chuckled. “The big guy won’t know.”

“But Mar, the door is locked,” Rebecca pointed out.

Mar held up the set of keys.

“Where did you get-“

“I know a way.” He unlocked the door and segued inside with the two anxious friends trailing behind.

Martyn switched on his phone’s flashlight, revealing a peek of the disorderly office. The papers were scattered about on the floor, the coffee stains on his desk wreaked of stale coffee, and the paintings were either improperly hung, or broken and on the floor.

“Yeesh, when does the old guy ever clean this place?” Martyn asked, picking up one of the pictures.

“The question is whether he has ever cleaned it or not,” Will remarked.

“Come on, guys. Let’s get out of here.” Rebecca looked around the place with disgust.

Martyn ignored her and picked up a statuette of a horse from a shelf. “Whoa. Wonder how much this cost.”

“Mar, put that down. You might break it.”

“Relax, I’m not clumsy.”

“Seriously, man,” Will continued.

“Fine. Buzzkills.” Martyn put down the figurine and transitioned his focus towards the desk.

Rebecca decided to leave. She wanted no part in Martyn’s mischief. She turned on her flashlight and the first thing she noticed was a curtain which was never opened. There were stacked crates blocking it. With curiosity striking, she peeked to find a stairwell. In all of her four years of working at David’s Diner, she never realized that it had two stories. She returned to the office.

“Welcome back, Rebecca.” Martyn slowly swung the desk chair back and forth with his feet against the desk. Will just sat down in another chair, staring into space.

“Guys, check this out!” They followed her to the dining area. She pointed toward the curtain. “Do you guys know what’s behind that curtain?”

“No, and we don’t need to know.”

“Why not? No one else is here, but us.”

Martyn cautiously removed the crates and set them aside. “Let’s go.”

Will groaned as he followed his two friends to the stairwell, allowing it to guide them to the upper floor. There was an empty hallway with a wooden floor covered by a vintage rug. There were doors on each side. The passageway somewhat looked like it belonged to an old inn. Rebecca attempted to open one of the doors, but to her unfortune, it was locked.

“Martyn, you still have the key?” She stood by the first door. The door was labeled STORAGE.

“Yep.” Martyn handed her the set of keys.

“What’s so interesting about storages?” Will asked.

“You’d be surprised, my friend.”

As expected, the closet was filled with files and boxes. Nothing much was stood out. It was just appliances and Christmas decorations. Martyn suggested that they find the money, but the other two immediately rejected the idea.

“We’re not robbers,” Rebecca corrected.

They went to the second door and it was already unlocked! The crew stepped in and took in their surroundings.

“Why are there so many vases?” Will asked.

Rebecca couldn’t take her eyes off of one particular vase. It looked like the one that her grandmother used to have before he passed away. She remembered giving it to him as a birthday gift, a gift that he cherished for the rest of his life. Ever since his death, the sight of a single vase would be a painful reminder of her grandfather’s death. She placed the vase back on the table and walked out. She would never forget the time when he taught her how to knit a blanket, or the time when he taught her the Hebrew language.

“You alright, Becca?”

“I’m fine,” she choked. “I just miss him.” Now, she had wished she didn’t find out about this floor. She wouldn’t bother look at other rooms.