Chapter 40: Simon
The rest of breakfast went smoothly. Jared and Greta would chit chat while I was sucked up in my thoughts of Violet. Was the basket a good idea? I hoped she would like it. After everyone had their fill of breakfast, Jared and I walked to the office with Greta in tow.
“I’m just going to hang around until that basket comes and then I can go to do my afternoon perimeter checks.” Greta said and flopped down onto the sofa that was in my office.
“That’s fine.” I said, I was not really paying attention to her. Jared pulled out his laptop and showed the screen to me. We looked over each and every new hire and cross-matched them with a position they would do best in. Time sped by as we went through the entire roster. I looked up at the clock, it was a quarter to twelve.
Jared followed my gaze to the clock. “It should be here any moment.” He nodded in solidarity. “Everything seems squared away. The foreman will make sure the new hires get the proper training and hopefully this works out and we can hire more. These jobs were really needed by the other packs.”
“Yeah, you are right. If we continue to grow, we will need to make even more hires. We already have a list of potential candidates that we can filter through again as time goes on.”
Jared continued to talk about statistics and how the metrics were for the workflow. I wasn’t paying attention to the details. Even if I was paid attention, I would only get about ten percent of what he said anyway. I was too distracted by the ticking clock. It was now one minute to twelve and I couldn’t sit still.
“I’m going to see if it has arrived yet.” I got up and walked to the door.
“We would have heard a doorbell.” Greta said listlessly on the couch as she flipped through a magazine.
“Maybe, maybe not.” I said as I went through the office door and made my way to the front in only a few moments. I pulled the door open, and the front was completely empty. I looked on either side of the steps, but nothing was there. I slammed the door behind me. “Where the hell is it?” It was now past twelve and the basket was supposed to be delivered by now.
Jared and Greta make their way to the front door as well. “Nothing yet?” Jared asked.
“No!” I paced in front of the door. “What happens if it doesn’t arrive. Then I’ll really be fucked. I can’t show up empty handed. I just can’t.”
“Si, just calm down!” Greta said. “If it doesn’t arrive today, we could go get some flowers or something. We could always come up with alternatives. Or you could wait until the basket arrives. If it doesn’t arrive today, it will probably arrive tomorrow.”
I stopped mid stride and glared at her. “I cannot possibly wait another day to go see her.” I continued to pace. “It has to be today, or else I’m going to explode.”
“Ok, we can come up with a game plan if it doesn’t arrive. It’s only twelve. It could arrive later, and you can still go over there and deliver it. Let me check the tracking number to see where it is.” Jared pulled out his phone and started to type something in. “Hmmm, it says it’s been delivered.”
“It hasn’t! I just looked. It’s not there.” I pointed to the door. “Fuck!”
A light knock came at the front door. Even being so close, it was hard to hear. I looked at Jared and Greta unsure of what to do. The knock caught me off guard.
“Well open it!” Greta yelled at me.
I pulled the door open to reveal a large gift basket the floated in the entrance with all the items placed in an appealing assortment. “Hello?”
“Uh, hi.” I could hear someone grunt. “I have a delivery for Simon Bishop.” The gift basket started to shake under strain.
I grabbed the basket away from whoever carried it and handed it to Jared.
“Thank you. I have to say that was the biggest basket I have ever delivered.” A short, older man said as he pulled out his tablet for me to sign. “Someone must have done something wrong. The last time I had to deliver a basket like that, the person cheated and was trying to get their lover back.” He laughed.
“I can assure you; no one has cheated.” I said as I signed and handed back the tablet.
“Gotcha,” he said as he winked.
I turned and slammed the door behind me. “Fucker.”
“Damn, Si. That basket is huge. It’s almost as big as I am.” Greta said as she circled where Jared stood holding the basket.
“It had to be perfect.” I said and shrugged my shoulders. “You can set it down Jared so Greta can take a look.”
Jared placed the basket in front of him. Greta looked through the plastic that covered the entire basket.
“Damn, Si! All of this looks amazing. I’m a little jealous that she is getting this huge ass basket. Can I take that salami at least?” Greta said and pointed at the two-foot-long salami roll that stuck up from the basket.
“No.” I said as I picked up the basket.
“I’m sorry I doubted you boys.” Greta laughed. “If someone showed up with this huge ass thing, I would be head over heels.”
“Ok, good.” I took a deep breath. “Jared, I don’t know how long I’ll be over there, take care of things until I get back. And if it’s an emergency call me. But only if it’s an emergency.”
“Understood. Don’t worry Si, I got things here. Go get your mate.” Jared said and slapped my back as I walked out the front door.
“This is so exciting.” Greta squealed behind me.
I made it off the stairs without falling. The size of this basket made it difficult to walk, but after a few steps I found my stride. I wanted to run all the way to her cabin. If I sprinted, I could get there in a matter of minutes. I took long strides and walked around the lake. Thunder crashed in the distance. On the horizon, the storm clouds were making their way. Soon, it would be storming here. It was a good plan to walk. Hopefully if it were storming, I would be able to hang out with Violet longer.
I made it to her back porch. I took the stairs two at a time. This was it; this was the moment I would talk to my mate. I awkwardly put the giant basket in one arm and knocked. I tapped my foot as I waited. I looked around, wondering what took her so long. As soon as I thought that, the door opened, and she was there. I smiled. “Hi.” Was all I could get out.