In Which the Phone Rings (continued...)

[You caught me.]

I was still on the phone.

There was something about his voice. Something familiar.

"Yes, I caught you...Who is this?" My curiosity got the best of me. I felt as though I should know who I was speaking with. It was an odd feeling...one I just couldn't shake.

[That's need-to-know, my dear.] I felt as though I needed to know.

"I don't need to know?" I asked.

[My dear, you should already know.]

This conversation was going no where. I obviously wasn't going to find out who this man was. I took in my surroundings once more. That's right, I was in a strange condo. I woke up at 2pm, the clock was missing.

[My dear?]

"I'm here."

[I was afraid that you hung up on me.]

"Hmmm...Yes, well, why would I do that?"

[That, my dear, is a good question.] Then it hit me. 'My dear...'

I knew exactly who this man was. Why the clock was gone. I knew where I was. I knew how I got here. I knew what was going on, what his motives were.

I was afraid. My heart began to race. I was panicking.

[My de...]

I hung up and backed away from the phone.

*Ring*...*Ring*...*Ring*...

There was no sense in trying to figure everything out anymore. The more I tried the more confusing it would get.

*Ring*...*Ring*...*Ring*...*Ring*

Only one man could make things this confusing.

...*Ring*...*Ring*...*Ring*...

Only one man could be this ingenious.

*Ring*...*Ring*...*Ri..* I held the phone to my ear.

[You figured it out.]

"Dad?" My voice cracked.

[Didn't I say I would find you?]

"So, you did."

[Yes...so,I did. You made it too easy.] He seemed irritated.

"I apologize. If you give me a second chance, I'll make it more difficult."

[Oh, I'm going to let you go, since it's you. But, my dear?]

"What?"

[Next time, I will not hold back.]

[toooooooooooonnnnnnnnne]

I, then, felt a sharp pain in my neck and blacked out.

In Which the Phone Rings

*Ring*... *Ring*...*Ring*...*Ring*...

"Ugh..." I wake up. 'What happened?'

*Ring*...*Ring*...*Ring*...*Ring*...

'How did I get home?'

*Ring*...*Ring*...*Ring*...*Ring*

"Toshlin! ANSWER THE PHONE!"

...*Ring*...*Ring*...*Ring*...

"TOSHLIN!"...*Ring* 'Where is she?' *Ring*

I get out of bed and walk to the phone in the living room and pick it up.

"Hello?"

[Hey, I've been trying to get a hold of you...]

"Toshlin?" I look around the condo, confused.

[Yeah, who else?] Who else, indeed...Toshlin's deep, hefty voice was very distinctive.

"Where are you?"

[I'm at the new coffee shop,'Tre Cafe'. We were supposed to meet, remember?]

'Meet? I don't recall that. ' I don't recall anything. I look around once more.

"No...I, actually, don't even know how I got home last night."

[Did you just wake up? You, do realize what time it is don't you?]

I look at the clock...or I would be looking at the clock if someone hadn't taken it down. 'Where the heck is the clock?? Wasn't it on the wall above the stand?'

"Um...no. Where's the clock?"

[Good grief, it's 2pm!]

This is weird... Something is off. WAY off. I look around the condo again, this time slowly.

"Toshlin, did you do something with the clock?"

[Of course not. Just get dressed and meet me here. You do know where it is don't you?]

"Yes...can I ask you something?"

[What is it?]

"When did we get a condo?"

[...............]

I stayed calm. I knew I was on to something, so I smiled.

"Toshlin? Are you there?"

[Alright,] It was a different voice. A man's voice.

[You caught me.]

(To be continued...)

Fancy Seeing You (continued...)

To really understand what's going on in this story, you need to read the first half. I hope you did, because, here we go.

As I stared down the barrel of the gun, I came to realize that it wasn't a real gun. In one swift motion I grabbed it and aimed it at him. When he threw his hands up I discovered that I was wrong. It was a real gun. While pondering over the fact that I just risked my life, I asked him,"What are you doing here?" He suddenly calmed down and said,"You should put the gun away." He said this while smirking.

Why was he avoiding my question. I left the gun up and asked more assertively,"Why are you here?!"

"Put the gun down. We both know you're not going to shoot." He stepped forward with his hands in his pockets. At about that time, Toshlin stomped in behind me. I could tell it was her by the sound of her thighs rubbing together. "Mystery Man!"

The thing you should know about this man, is that we don't know his name. He calls himself The Mystery Man. He runs around with his partner Nogger Nick, who didn't seem to be around.

I still had the gun up,"I'm going to ask you one more time, Why are you here?!" His face got serious and he said,"This is my coffee shop."

Was it possible that the coffee shop that my sister and I chose tonight was the same one that The Mystery Man frequented? While I pondered the question, The Mystery Man tackled me to the ground, took the gun and ran. I tried to run after him, but his legs are longer than mine and he got away.

I walked back to Toshlin,"You still want that coffee?"

"Sure. But, let's go somewhere else." That was probably a good idea, but I was going to keep my eye on Cafe Coffee.

Fancy Seeing You

"The nights seem to be getting longer..."

Toshlin, my half sister, said as we sat at the local coffee shop. She's a lot bigger than me right now. She says she's pregnant, but I think it's a cover for her weight-gain.

"They only seem longer if you wear a watch." I said. She was right, even without a watch, the jobs aren't getting any easier. I looked at my coffee and had a thought.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, with a bite of food in her mouth. She had some crumbs on her shirt and some frosting in her hair. As I looked her over, I said,"Your due date. When is that again?" "April."

Yeah, last month it was February. Anyway, that's not what I was thinking about at all. The thought had occurred to me that, we had been tracking down the same person for 8 years and he just kept slipping through our fingers, at the last second, every time.

I looked around the coffee shop. "Why do they call it,'Cafe Coffee'? isn't that naming it coffee twice? Once in French, then in English."

Toshlin looked at me and stuck her sausage of a finger in my face,"You need to tell me what you're really thinking about. I know you, and coffee is always the third thing you think about."

It was weird how constantly third coffee came to my mind. What was even more strange was that at that very moment, I saw him. He was staring at me through the window. "Toshlin!" I didn't take my eyes off of him. She looked,"OH, MY FLAPPIN' CRAP!"

He started to walk away, calmly as if he wanted to be caught! I ran after him. I didn't wait for Toshlin, for I knew that she would waddle in behind me. I flung the coffee shop door open and sprinted down the sidewalk. He was still walking.

When I caught up to him, I tripped him. He quickly grabbed my leg and took me down. We both stood up, and he pulled out a gun. "Hello. Fancy seeing you here."

(To be continued...)

The Man of My Dreams

'Here I am...watching the man of my dreams walk away. Forever. I don't think I'm ever going to see him again.' That's what I'm thinking...until, he turns around, looks at me and begins to walk directly towards me. He stops right in front of me, starts to say something, stops, confirms something in his head, and all the while I'm staring at him hopefully. "Will you stop following me?" he asks. I smile, in my mind, I'm thinking, 'He finally spoke to me!'

"I'm sorry," I say,"I thought you were someone else." then I smile so hard my cheeks feel like they pulled something. He walks away again. This time, I stay put. I feel so disappointed I let out a loud snort and begin to cry in the most lady-like way.

I go to a local coffee shop and sit in the corner where no one will notice me. I begin to take my hair down to untangle it. I messed it up when the man I was following started to run. It was difficult keeping up, especially in heels. He wasn't the man for me anyhow. The REAL man of my dreams would notice me before I noticed him.

A waiter comes up to me and tells me I can't take my hair down sitting at a table, then directs me to the bathroom. He was nice about it too. He just might be the man of my dreams.