Chapter 12
Lady, Are You Coming Off That Slide?
“Jane? Patrick? Do either of you want to go to the post office with me?”
“Walking?” Jane asked
“Yes.”
“No,” they both answered at once.
“I might be gone for a bit. If you aren’t going, I’m turning it into a run.
Your dad will be home soon. If he asks, let him know where I am.”
“Okay.” Jane answered.
“Love you both.”
This was thrown over my shoulder on the way out the door.
I sat on the bottom step of the stairs to retie my shoelaces and tuck the strings.
Honestly, I called it a run, but it was more like a slow jog.
There were times during the wet season, when running through the park felt more like swimming.
I left the porch quicker than normal.
I had been looking forward to getting the package from my father for four days.
He had told me Tuesday that he’d mailed it Monday. Even though I knew there was no way it could arrive by Wednesday, I had been running to the post office every day just to check.
Today, Friday, was the first real day it might be there.
Since my parents’ divorce, my dad and I had been distant.
When I started traveling with my husband and the military we began writing letters.
It bloomed into books.
Today, I was expecting the final first copy of a psycho murder mystery that he had written. I couldn’t wait to sit and absorb every word.
Military Post Offices looked like any other.
We had a box and I had a key.
Looking into the empty hole was always a disappointment.
I tried not to go there unless I knew there would be mail for me.
“YES!”
It wasn’t the package itself, but a slip saying that it was being held behind the counter.
I approached the counter with the slip.
There was a young soldier on duty.
“It finally got here?” He questioned.
“Yes and thank you!”
“It’s always nice to get packages from home.”
“You’ve got that right!”
“Cookies?”
“A book.”
“Ah, well, not as tasty, but it lasts longer!”
I laughed on my way out of the door.
I stared at the large brown envelope.
I wanted to open it right away.
There were no benches anywhere.
I knew there were no benches because I had looked before when I had a letter in my hand.
There should be benches outside of post offices.
I could read it in the park.
That’s a thick book.
It’s not one to be read and finished quickly and…
I really need to find a restroom.
That thought sealed it.
Normally, I wouldn’t just walk into a bar.
Not because I didn’t drink.
I preferred not to drink.
I just didn’t like the taste or the atmosphere.
The bar had the only public restroom close enough to match my urgency.
I think this is the first scary thing I have done since climbing into that bamboo forest.
But what choice do I have?
This will not wait for the long jog home.
I’m not making a moral choice here.
I’m using the restroom.
It’s not going to change my life.
I headed into the bar.
The restroom was clearly marked.
I went down the one aisle straight to the back of the bar.
I passed a table with people I recognized.
It was my husband, Tansy Dave and another man and woman I had never met.
Neither of them gave a sign that they noticed me as I passed by.
But, if they did, they’d have to understand.
I kept moving to the restroom without saying a word.
I played with the idea of reading the letter I knew my father would have enclosed with the book.
No, just wait until you can enjoy yourself.
While I was washing my hands, I remembered all the water warnings I had received since coming to Panama.
What’s the point in washing your hands with water that’s possibly contaminated?
I washed them anyway.
I finished up and started to leave the bar.
Oh, I suppose I should at least say hello.
“Hey, Robert. Does this mean you won’t be eating dinner at home tonight?”
I waved, indicating the food on the table.
He had a hand-in-the-cookie-jar look I didn’t understand.
“What are you doing in here, why are you spying on me?”
“What? I just walked in to use the bathroom?”
“Then why were you coming from the back part of the restaurant?”
“Umm… because I used the restroom.”
“There’s no way you walked past this table and we didn’t see you.”
“Of course, not…”
I stared…
Crickets chirping…
hmmm… You just totally overexplained yourself.
I reached past Robert and stole Tansy’s fortune cookie.
I walked out the door.
I cracked it open:
You have a captivating style all your own.
“I’ll take that for a win.”
Taking a deep breath and brushing off whatever that just was, I took back up my jog, and my plan for my dad’s package.
I ran straight to the park.
I climbed up the slide meant only for children, sat at the top, and opened the envelope.
There, I was happy. A psycho murder mystery was just what I needed.
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