Chapter Eight

 

When I called Tom the reception wasn't very good. I strained to hear his phone ring. I was considering hanging up and calling again, when his voicemail picked up. "Hey, this is Tom. Leave a message. Maybe I'll call you back." Nervous, I couldn't hear the beep and just hung up.

"No answer," Koji said. He was typing away on his laptop and didn't look up.

"No."

Eve sat on the bed holding the box in her lap. "We should just open it."

"I want to talk to Tom first."

"You didn't even leave a message." Koji stopped working, walked over and sat down on the bed next to me.

"I know. I don't know what to do. We probably shouldn't open it."

"Come on." Eve held the box up and gave it a good shake.

"I'll call again." I redialed Tom's number. This time the connection was much better. It rang twice before he picked up.

"Hello," he said.

"Hey, Tom. It's Indira."

"Did you just call me?"

"Yeah."

"I'm kind of screening my calls."

"Oh."

"Is something...wrong?" he whispered like he was afraid someone would hear him.

"Uh, no not really."

"Not really?"

"I wanted to know if I could open the box."

"Indy, I thought you trusted me." He sounded disappointed.

"I do. It's just that something strange happened to me last night and..." My voice quivered.

"What happened?"

"Nothing really." Koji took my hand and squeezed it gently. "It was probably just a dream. It was probably nothing, but I think I should see what's in the box."

"It was nothing. Forget about opening the box, Indy. You're supposed to trust me."

"I do. I just..."

"You just what? Right now it sounds like you don't trust me at all. Here's the new deal. If you open the box you don't get paid." His voice was stern. "Go ahead and open the box, but if you want the other thousand dollars, don't." He hung up.

Tom had paid me half of the money before the trip began. The deal was half now and half later. I really wished I could've walked away and pretended I'd never signed up for this whole thing, but I still didn't have any work lined up. I would probably need that other thousand dollars.

"What did he say?" Koji asked.

"If I open it, I won't get the other half of my money."

"You said something strange happened to you last night." Eve put the box down on the bed next to her and turned to face me.

"Yeah."

"What?" Koji asked.

"Nothing really."

"It must have been something to change your mind about opening it," Eve said.

"It was just a dream ..."

"About the box?" Koji asked.

"Yeah, about the box. There is something special inside it."

"There must be, since this guy is willing to pay you so much to take it to Florida," Eve interrupted.

"We should get on the road. It's already getting late." I glanced over at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was seven thirty.

"So we're not going to open it?" Eve asked.

"I guess not." Koji stood up, went back over to the table and started packing up his computer.

Eve sat still. She stared at me like she expected me to do or say something else, but I didn't have anything else to say. I didn't want to scare them with my story. I just wanted to get this job over and done with.

My head ached from lack of sleep and worry. I looked at the box. There it was, looking like an ordinary box--nothing special about it, no glowing light. I picked it up and held it on my lap.

"We can open it," Eve said. "We could open it and then pack it up again. No one would ever know."

I ran my fingers along the smooth clear tape across its top. The address label was upside down. I turned the box to right the label so I could read it. It was a white label with the address clearly typed in bold, black, capital letters. I reread the name of the person it was addressed to: Prophetess Jackson. "Yes, they would," I said. "Everyone would know."

I heard the sound of zippers being aggressively zipped behind me. I turned to see Koji slinging his bag over his shoulder by the door. "Are you ladies ready?"

"Yeah," I sighed. I walked across the room to turn off the TV and pick up my duffel bag.

"I have to use the bathroom first," Eve announced, then disappeared behind the bathroom door.

Koji and I both put our bags down. He walked toward me and before I knew what was happening he was giving me a big hug. Normally, I would've pushed him away, but I was too tired and confused. I tried to rest my head on his shoulder, but it didn't quite work. So we stood there holding on to each other, a few seconds too long.

"It's going to be all right," he whispered.

"I know," I said. I felt a tear escape from my eye and slide down my cheek.

"We'll deliver the box and go back home and everything will be back to normal."

"I know." I held him a little closer. He hadn't had a cigarette yet so his shirt didn't smell of smoke. He smelled like soap and laundry detergent. I'd always liked that smell, it reminded me of home. The drier sat outside on the porch right near my bedroom window growing up. I breathed deeply to try to get in all of the good laundry smell.

Koji always made me feel better. He had a knack for that. When he said things, I believed him. It was the sincerity of his voice and the earnest look in his eyes that let me know he was always telling me the truth.

About three years ago, my little brother, Charles, died in a car accident. He was street racing his souped-up Honda Civic when he lost control of the car and hit a pole. He was going well over a hundred and the car burst into flames on impact. It was terrible--shocking and terrible. Koji and I weren't dating at the time. We were at an off-again stage of our on-again-off-again relationship. It seems like we're usually at the off-again stage. He was the first person I called once I managed to pick myself up off the floor and get a coherent thought in my head.

He offered to go home with me without hesitation. I was glad he did. Neither my parents nor I could do anything but sit around the house staring at each other and sobbing. Koji made all the funeral arrangements with the help of one of my aunts. My brother had just turned twenty-one the month before he died and still thought of himself as invincible. The funny thing was his luck was always so good that I was starting to believe he was too. Then that happened. Mortality struck and what could I do? Nothing. But Koji was there to help out, answer the phone, make arrangements and say all of the right things. Like he was now.

"I'm glad you came with me," I said. I pulled away and patted his shoulder awkwardly.

"I'm glad I came too."

Eve came out of the bathroom. "Refreshed and ready to go." She picked up her bag and walked outside. Koji and I grabbed our bags and followed her out.