The Strange Life of Jonas Marks - 11. Chapter 11

I woke early, but wasn’t really hungry. I figured I had better get a move on, so I wouldn’t hold up Jenny or Mrs. Meyers if they had to go into work.

I’d just finished slipping on my shoes when my cell rang. I didn’t even bother to look who was calling - just grabbed it off the table and hit to connect.

“Morning. This is Jonas. What’s up?”

“You got a bill yesterday. I am leaving it on top of the garbage can. You better have your mail forwarded. After this I burn it.”

The phone went dead as I looked down at it. My father hadn’t even used my name at all, or done anything but make me feel small. I was sort of lost in thought, and jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Whoa. Sorry there, Jonas. I wasn’t expecting to see you up and dressed. I thought Kroger’s was closed on Sundays.”

Mrs. Meyers was already dressed. I guess I didn’t hear her shower, and I wasn’t feeling my best.

“Yeah, it is. My boss called and we got a delivery. He asked me to come in today to help get it organized.”

“What’s wrong? You don’t look so good.” She reached out and felt my forehead. “No fever.”

“Dad called.” It was barely a whisper, but I was still trying to process how much he really loathed me.

Mrs. Meyers sighed. “Jonas, what did he want from you?”

I felt her sit down beside me, and she gently rubbed my back. I refused to cry. I was going to have to put him out of my life, because it was clear I wasn’t a part of his life any longer.

“Jonas?”

“Sorry. Evidently I got some mail. He told me he put it on the garbage can. Which means, he put the garbage out for Monday pick up and he set whatever I got on top of it.”

“Alright. I will swing by and pick it up. Work for you is in the opposite direction. Besides, I want to have a word with your father.”

I looked up at Mrs. Meyers and just shook my head. “Thanks, but I’ll get it. I don’t want you to have any problems with him.”

Mrs. Meyers smiled. “Oh, don’t worry, Jonas. I won’t have any problems at all.”

I was about to object when my phone rang again. This time I looked, but the number was unlisted. I was really cautious answering it this time.

“Jonas? I’m glad I caught you.”

The deep voice of Mr. Openseter immediately got my attention.

“Oh, hello, sir. I will be there shortly. Promise not to be late.”

There was a deep laugh, and again, I had a hard time picturing Mr. Openseter laughing. Mrs. Meyers patted my knee and got up to go to the kitchen.

“Not worried about you being late. I know things are taken care of there. Would you be able to do me a favor?”

I’d never thought of Mr. Openseter needing a favor from anyone. “Sure. What do you need?”

“I never realized that us going in on a Sunday meant that they needed to have a Security Guard and a member of the Custodial staff on, too. Seems Charlie and Daniel drew the short end of the straw. I guess the extra pay will be nice, but they still are losing their weekend. Anyway, would you stop and pick up coffee for four? Oh, and if you get it at The Little Blue One’s Bakery, pick me up a cruller. Ah, if you stop, just get a dozen donuts. The whole group can snack while they might not have much else to do. I’ll have the money to reimburse you when you get here.”

“Sure thing.”

“See you soon, Jonas.”

Mrs. Meyers wandered over with a cup of coffee in her hand. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I just have to stop and get coffee and donuts. Guess I really am the secretary.” I shot her a small smile as I stood up.

“Well, you better get going then. Don’t worry. I will get your mail.”

I knew arguing with Mrs. Meyers would be useless. I just nodded, instead, and headed out to my car.

The Little Blue One’s Bakery was the in spot at the moment. A really sweet woman ran the shop with a few of her friends. She was new to the area and spoke with accent, but her bakery had some of the sweetest things I’d ever heard of. In addition to the cakes and donuts most people were used to, she also made specialty cookies that even Mrs. Meyers raved about. There were things like Pebber Nodder, Havrekniplekaker, and Danish Cherry Bonbon Cookies. She made Danish Kringle and Kermakakku. The specialty cakes and cookies could only be found there, so unless you got there early, chances are, the shop would be sold out.

I managed to get a spot nearly in front of the store, and was surprised to find it wasn’t packed to the rafters yet.

“Hi there. Can I help you?”

I turned to find an older woman all dressed in blue standing behind the counter waiting to take my order. I smiled and quickly asked for four coffees, black with cream on the side. I also asked for a dozen donuts and told her to mix them up.

“Would you like one of the cakes? The sour cream cake just came out.”

“Which one is that?”

“This one. It is the Kerman … uh Berkak….” She stood there looking really ticked off.

“I think you mean my Kermakku, Joan.” Another woman arrived speaking with an accent. I took her to be the owner.

“I can’t see why we can’t simply call it sour cream cake, Catherine. It describes it, and is a hell of a lot easier to say.” Joan shook her head, her small heart earrings flashing in the light, as she moved over to begin pouring the coffee.

“You can call it whatever you like,” Catherine winked at me as she spoke, “but only when you own the shop. Till then, the cake is called a Kermakakku.”

A moment later, I was handed a large blue box with the name of the bakery and Joan placed my coffees with the fixings on a tray. She rang up the order, and I handed her the only bill I had left in my wallet. I was glad to know Mr. Openseter was going to be paying me back ‘cause, otherwise, I was officially broke.

I got back to my car and managed to get everything in without a problem. It seemed funny to pull into Kroger’s parking lot and not see all the expensive cars. As a matter of fact, when I pulled in, there were only two cars in the lot, and both were parked right in front of the store. I pulled alongside them, and walked around to the passenger side to get the coffee and donuts.

As I balanced the lot, I paused to figure out how I was supposed to get into the building. As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. As I walked up toward the door, Christopher’s smiling face appeared, and he held the door open.

“Come on, Jonas. I got the door.”

“Thanks, Chris. I got you coffee. Where is Daniel?”

“He’s sitting with me. We both have to be here, but there isn’t much to do.”

“Follow me to my office. I have a table and couches there. You guys can have your coffee and donuts. I just have to get Mr. Openseter. He asked me to pick this up for us all.”

Chris stopped and stared at me. “He did?”

“Yup. He called me this morning, and asked that I get coffee for the four of us and donuts. Even told me where to go.”

“Is that from the Little Blue One’s?” He ran his tongue over his lips while looking at the huge blue box in my hand.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah. Here take the coffee and donuts, and go to my office. I’ll meet you guys there in a few moments.”

I followed Chris down the hall, but while he continued on, I stopped and knocked at Mr. Openseter’s door.

“Come in.”

“Morning. I have the coffee and donuts. Chris took them to my office.”

Opie just nodded and kept reading whatever it was he had in front of him.

“Um, something wrong?”

Opie was digging with one of his silver fingernail’s into his desk. I saw the tension in his arms and the way he was reading the paper before him.

“Opie?” I stopped when I realized I had just called my boss by the nickname I’d heard Mrs. White use and that I’d been calling him in my own head.

Opie looked up and it took a moment for him to say anything. “Jonas?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Oh.“ Opie’s face turned orange and he curled his hands into fists. He looked down for a moment and then took a deep breath. “Sorry. Just need to get some things taken care of.”

“Okay.” I know it wasn’t the brightest thing I could have come out with, but I really didn’t know what to say to him.

“Come on. Let’s go to your office. I want that cruller, and coffee sounds good about now.”

I led the way down the hall, and tried to think of a way I might get Opie to tell me what was wrong. I barely was paying attention until I opened my office door, and was stopped by the disaster that greeted me. There were boxes and strange looking bags all over the desk and floor. I couldn’t believe that much had already arrived in just three days.

“It might actually be easier if we actually entered your office, Jonas.”

Chris and Daniel began to laugh from their seats on the couch.

I moved into the office, and Opie moved past me and straight for one of the coffees. Then he opened the box of donuts and smiled. “Oh, good, you remembered the cruller.”

I nodded numbly. Christ, what am I going to do with all that stuff?

“Here, Jonas. I think you need your coffee.” Daniel offered me the last cup from the tray, and then lifted the donuts toward me. I knew by rights I should try to stay away from all the sugar, especially since I hadn’t been going to the gym, but the mess my life had become and the piles of stuff behind me made me want the sugar more than curling weights. I reached in and took a Boston Crème.

“Um, thank you sir.” Chris nodded at Mr. Openseter nervously.

“Uh.” Opie swallowed his donut quickly. “Not a problem. Figured if I had forced you guys to come in, the least I could do was get you coffee.” He stopped and his odd eyes looked me over before he smiled. “Or, to be correct, made Jonas go get us all coffee.”

Daniel laughed and picked out a donut. Chris nodded and suddenly seemed very interested in his coffee.

“Jonas, finish your coffee and then you can begin,” Opie stopped and looked at the disaster around my desk, “trying to get through that. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how much had come in already. Oh, well. I am sure you will have it all in hand in no time. I’ll be in my office.”

I watched him head to the door and he stopped suddenly, looking back at me.

“Oh, and Jonas, if any of the packages state to give directly to me, just do that. I don’t want you hurt.”

I looked back at the piles, and when I turned back, Opie was gone.

“Your boss is a little strange.” Daniel shook his head and took another sip of his coffee.

“That man is not normal. I got here an hour earlier so I could let everyone in. When I went to check the hall, I found him already in his office. No one is supposed to have keys to this place except the owner and the security guys.” Chris set his cup down, and looked back and forth between Daniel and me. “When I called the owner and told him, he just laughed and told me not to worry. This whole thing is just weird. I will give him credit though. He does know the best place for donuts.” Chris reached over and grabbed a jelly donut that looked like it was going to burst with all that was in it.

“Yeah.” I took a sip of my coffee, and then realized it was still black. I reached over and grabbed some of the creamers. I figured with the donut there would be enough sugar so I didn’t need to add to it.

We sat around and snacked on the donuts. I finally found out a bit about both Daniel and Chris. Daniel was getting engaged to his girlfriend at the end of the month. He had picked out a ring and the overtime was going to allow him to pay for it, instead of putting it all on his credit card. Chris and his wife were looking into buying a house. It seems Mr. Openseter stated that there would be a few Sundays in the near future, so Chris had talked with him, and agreed to come in whenever there was a need outside of the normal work day. It meant that he wouldn’t need to find a second job, and was happy he would still get to see his wife regularly.

“So what about you, Jonas? I remember you saying you had a blind date the other night. How did that go?” Daniel turned and smiled at me, while he picked at the remainder of his chocolate donut.

“It didn’t go so well.” I looked down and hoped they would let it go, but my luck was running like it normally did - all bad.

“Aw. She was a dud, huh?” Chris shook his head sympathetically. “My sister used to set me up with her friends till I met Tianna. Most of those dates were the most painful things to go through. You hate to say so, but most of them just were so not my type.”

“Well, he wasn’t my type either.” I nearly dropped my cup when I realized what I had just said.

“He?” Daniel stopped and stared at me.

I hadn’t planned to come out at work, but my mouth decided it for me. I swallowed and looked up. “Yeah, he. Is that going to be a problem?”

Daniel laughed. “No. Just didn’t think you were gay, is all.”

Chris’s hand landed on my shoulder. “This isn’t the dark ages, kiddo. Two of my cousins are. Hell, I was the best man in Terrance’s wedding. You have nothing to worry about from me.”

I took a breath and looked at them both. “Good. Yeah, I’m gay.” I felt myself blushing.

“I take it this is your first time telling someone?” Daniel leaned back and watched me.

“No,” I began to say a little shaky. “Well my best friend and her family have known for years. I came out to my father, and … it didn’t go well.”

“Terrance’s mom was the same way. I swear I thought my grandmother was going to smack Aunt Karen when she saw how her daughter was treating Terrance. My grandmother is not a woman to mince words. She turned to Aunt Karen and said, ‘I didn’t raise any of my children to be stupid. You’ve loved that boy until now. Now that you know his deepest secret, you should be loving him more, not less. Don’t let me ever catch you treating your child like trash, or you will find yourself on the outside looking in at him and the love he deserves.’ Aunt Karen took a week before she could bring herself to face grandma or Terrance, but when she did, she was a changed woman.”

I nodded and could feel myself tearing up. I swear, it was like I’d lost the ability to do anything but cry when things went wrong lately. I felt like an idiot.

“Well, while I would love to keep talking, the boss figured if I was coming in, he was going to leave a list of things to get fixed.” Daniel stood up and headed toward the door. “See you guys for lunch?”

“Sounds good to me,” I piped in.

“Hold up, Dan. I have nothing to do but be here today. Let me see if I can at least lend you a hand.” He glanced at my desk before he spoke again. “I have a feeling I don’t want to know what is in those. See you later, Jonas.”

The two guys headed out and closed the door, leaving me alone with the rest of the donuts and the mess at my desk.

“Guess I shouldn’t put this off any longer.” I shook my head and walked over to the desk. There were packages all over the desk and floor. Some were wrapped in cloth, others in paper, and a few looked like they were in wooden boxes.

I began by moving everything off my desk. Then I began to arrange the packages, gathering the small ones to the left and the larger ones on the right. Once that was done, I took the smallest package and set it on my desk.

I opened the cloth and lifted the paper that had been wrapped around a ring. It took me a moment, but I remembered that a ring had been ordered. I sat looking at the directions that had been included.

Place Terriba on your finger. She will adjust to fit you. Clearly picture where you want to go and say “Terriba, my ring, take me to … wherever you want to go.” Terriba will work only twice during a day cycle. If a third time is attempted, Terriba will drop you off halfway there and never work for you again. When you are done with Terriba, simply say “Our day is done. Thank you, Terriba.” Terriba will then release you and you may take her off.

I shook my head. I knew these things had to be tested, but I felt like an idiot. The ring looked like it might fit around my weight bar, but would be far too big for my fat fingers. I sat there tossing it back and forth between my hands and finally slid it onto my ring finger. Immediately it shrank to fit me. Where would I go? I didn’t want to pop up someplace with a lot of people, but I didn’t know a lot of places to begin with. I looked at my desk and saw the picture of my mother. I closed my eyes, picturing where I wanted to go.

“Terriba, my ring, take me to my mother’s grave.”

I didn’t even get to open my eyes, because the next moment I was falling onto my ass. I opened them only to see the dark grey clouds above me. As I looked around I found myself laying across my mother’s grave.

“Shit.” Then I looked at the gravestone. “Sorry, Mom. Um, I guess this ring works. I really didn’t expect to come here, or I would have brought you flowers, Mom.” I stood up and looked down at the grave, and felt the familiar tightness in my chest. It happened whenever I came here to talk to her. “I’ll be back soon to catch you up on all I’m going through. I promise.”

I walked a few feet away, took a deep breath and closed my eyes again.

“Terriba, my ring, take me back to my office.”

I knew it worked when the gentle wind that had been blowing stopped. I opened my eyes to find myself in the middle of my office.

I walked over to my desk and picked up the instructions again. I read them over and then looked at the ring. “Our day is done. Thank you, Terriba.”

The ring grew back to its original size and slid right off my finger.

I sat down at my desk, flipped through the orders till I found the one for the ring. I noted in the computer that it was in, slipped it into a clear plastic bag, and set the whole thing into the top drawer of the file cabinet by the wall.

I looked at the pile on the floor and shook my head. This was going to be an all day task.