Alright, today we are exploring Day Three of the Reader's Digest Boot Camp of Writing Prompts. Again you can find more information about it and the document on their website. You can also find more details on each prompt. I am providing just the overall theme in these posts, there is more information that goes with them, but I want to encourage everyone to support them and check it out for yourselves. Today's prompt was: Mystery Cookie.
Emilia was running late. The kids were in slow gear that morning and being outnumbered three children to one, she was having a hard time getting them out the door along with herself. Ever since her husband had walked out on her six months ago, Emilia felt like she was part of a never-ending juggling performance, constantly in fear of dropping the ball. She had gone from a successful law clerk who made good enough money, married to a doctor who was fortunate enough to be able to drop their young children off at daycare and school before work. Now she was trying to do it all while still staying employed.
When her two daughters and son were finally where they needed to be, she raced to her office. It was already ten minutes after eight and she could practically hear her boss’s lecture as she took the elevator up to the fifth floor. “Late again, Mrs. Evans.” She had been late often since she had to become supermom. At first, he was very supportive but after a while, everyone just seemed to resent her and her shortcomings.
When she finally got to work, she noticed a small package sitting on her desk. Not sure what to make of it, she put her briefcase down and opened it. There was no note, no indication as to where it came from or from who. It was simply a chocolate chip cookie in a kraft paper bag. She wasn’t really sure what was going on. She looked around the office and from the cubicle, she could see into, no one else had a similar package. Maybe they just ate theirs already. This thought put her mind at ease a little as she settled into her office chair and fired the computer up.
She had all but forgotten about the cookie until later in the afternoon. She had been so caught up in work, she hadn’t even noticed the time. It was well past noon and she still had a few things to finish up in one file. As she worked, she decided to eat the cookie that had been waiting for her. She continued to break off pieces as she typed away and by the time she was done, the cookie was done also.
When she finally took a break to grab a drink of water from the water cooler, Emilia was exhausted. She had been working straight through since she arrived at work and it was almost two. As she sipped the cool water, Emilia couldn’t help but think of her children. They would be finishing school right now. Thankfully they were all into groups and clubs that kept them busy until she could sneak out for the day and pick them up.
Emilia was lost in a daydream when her coworker joined her for a drink. They exchanged pleasantries and mostly drank in silence. As Emilia threw the cup in the garbage, she was about to head back to her desk when the cookie came to mind. “Karen, do you know who brought those cookies in today.”
Karen gave her a confused look, “What cookies?” As her words sank in, Emilia’s heart pounded. “I didn’t get any cookies, and I don’t think anyone else did either.”
Emilia mumbled a quick thanks as she hurried back to her desk. I was the only one that got one? Now she started to panic. Once she was back at her cubicle, Emilia started to turn everything upside down. She dumped out her trash bin, she looked in every drawer she had, she even looked under the desk. There was no trace of anything unusual except for the wrapper she had thrown away. What if it was poisoned? She was a simple legal clerk but law offices were always getting threatening letters and phone calls. Just simply working for a lawyer made her a target.
As she hyperventilated she started to feel faint. It’s all in your head. But she didn’t believe even herself as she tried to calm down. As she put everything back in order, she tried to tell herself that if it was really poison, she would probably be dead by now. Again, she tried to remind herself that she simply had an overactive imagination and went back to work.
The next day Emilia had chalked it up to just a kind jester. She felt fine all night and there was no sign that the cookie was anything more than just a chocolate chip cookie. She smiled and said hello to her coworkers as she passed them and thought about buying a couple dozen cookies for them. She was sure one of them must be behind her little treat and since she couldn’t figure out who it was, treating everyone sounded like a nice way of saying thank you. She was practically on cloud nine until she saw it.
Again, right where the cookie had appeared yesterday, there was another one. Emilia examined this one also, but it was the same as yesterday. There was no note, no trace of where it came from, the only thing was the kraft paper bag again. Today it was a peanut butter cookie with chunks of peanuts in it.
Not willing to press her luck again today, Emilia put the cookie back in the bag and threw it in the trash. Ready to put an end to it, she fired up her email and sent an office-wide memo to everyone in the office. She thanked whoever it was leaving her the goodies, and not wanting to offend anyone, asked that they make themselves known so she could thank them properly and return the favour. She breathed a sigh of relief once she hit send and waited for replies to come in. Surely, the coworker responsible would let her know soon enough. Maybe they would even grab lunch today.
Two hours later, Emilia was taking a break from her work when she decided to check her emails. A lot of her coworkers had replied to her message, but as she read through them, she was discouraged to find that all the replies were people claiming to have no knowledge of what she was talking about. Suddenly a new concern entered her thoughts. How is he getting in?
The law offices of Eric Therrio and Martha Lawson were in a very secure building, with an armed guard at the entrance at all hours of the day. So how was someone entering the building, getting into their office, and living these little presents for her? Unsure what to do, Emilia went back to work and tried to form a smart plan to get to the bottom of things.
She left work late that night. The kids were sleeping over at her sister’s place and she was putting in some much-needed overtime. When she finally left the office, it was empty and the janitorial crew was coming in to clean. Once she hit the lobby of the building she recognized the man behind the security desk. Martin Bournes was the head of security in their building and he was always the night watchman. Aside from another security officer she had never seen before, they were the only two in the area.
“You’re working late tonight Ms. Emilia,” Martin smiled as he got out from behind the desk and joined her.
Back when her husband was around, Emilia would work all hours of the night and Martin was always there. They formed a friendship quite quickly and he had turned into a father figure for her. Almost immediately when he would see her leave late at night, he would walk her to her car as his partner took over watching the cameras. “A young woman shouldn’t be walking alone at this time of night.” The southern gentleman always made sure she made it to her car safe and sound before returning to his duties. It was truly a blessing. Emilia had never felt scared to work late.
But tonight she was even more on the edge and the old familiar face was a blessing. “Martin, can I ask you something?” It seemed like an odd question to pose but Martin just smiled and nodded as he held open the door for her. “Has anyone out of the ordinary been hanging around the last couple of days?”
Martin gave her a strange look as they walked down the street together. “Not that I have noticed or been told of. Why do you ask?”
Emilia was slightly embarrassed now to tell him about her concerns. “I’ve been getting gifts left at my desk, but no one knows where they are coming from.”
“Gifts,” Martin repeated slightly alarmed. “What type of gifts Ms. Emilia?”
“Oh just cookies,” she tried to play it off as nothing but Martin had gone into full-out protective mode.
“You don’t worry about a thing Ms. Emilia, I will look into this as soon as I return to the desk,” Martin smiled to reassure her as he opened her car door for her.
The next morning a police officer was waiting in the lobby of her office building when she arrived. “Ms. Evans, my name is Officer Patrick Monahan,” he offered his hand to her. “Your friend Martin has asked me to take a look at what’s been going on here. Can you tell me what you’ve experienced?”
Emilia looked around slightly ashamed of the trouble she was causing. She noticed Martin behind the desk trying to busy himself and not make it look too obvious that he was watching them. He’s a good man. Emilia took a deep breath and sat down with the officer and explained what little she knew.
The officer was polite and asked a few questions as he took notes. “Do you recognize this,” he asked her as he handed her an evidence bag.
The letter didn’t seem odd in anyway at first glance, but as she read it, the colour drained from her face. Don’t like peanut butter cookies? That’s all it said and yet it was a very clear message. Whoever was doing this knew she had thrown the cookie away.
All Rights Reserved by A.L. Keegan (2020)
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