The Dilemma

The Dilemma (Surprises are Scary)

By

Carol Margosein

It is cold. It is so cold that the snow refuses to melt. The snow piles up so high, I can barely see across the street. It has not changed for the last three weeks. We moved out to the country for the quiet and the bucolic sights. Rolling hills, cows, sheep, llamas, and horses all coexist together on various farms tucked between the never-ending cornfields. All of this is lovely from April to November, but November to April can be hard. I have learned to live with it, but I still miss seeing people and just going out. Still, I bundle up: boots, sweater, heavy jacket, hat, scarf, and gloves. All on, just to go out. As I am bundling up, my husband asks," Where are you going"? I don't know what to say. Should I say out, to the store, to the bank? The reason I am leaving is that the walls are beginning to close in. Things are financially tight, so no trips to sunny climes. The kids are busy with their own lives and families. So here we are, in the cold, all alone with each other.

I decide to tell him, "I am going to the mall in Rockford". Kim wants to come with me, but I tell him "you know we don't shop well together". Kim shakes his silver, gray, haired head in agreement and sits back down in his brown recliner, as usual. I grab my purse and go.

It takes an hour or a little more to drive to Rockford. The scenery is a blank canvas. The cornfields are covered in snow, that drifts over the roads. The snow swirls around and on the side of the road, it looks like soft serve, vanilla ice cream. The only thing to do is keep driving. Finally, I arrive, and the parking lot is partially full, so it is easy to find a parking spot close to the door.

Once there I get out of the car, look down, and I see a beautiful black moleskin notebook. It is just lying there in the slush. I pick it up, wipe it off with my glove, and put it in my purse. I enter the mall, a frozen snowman. My first instinct is to get warm and as I look around, and eye a coffee shop. Walking over, I look in my purse and notice the notebook. I order a medium coffee and leave room for cream. Finding a place to sit, I begin to take off the outer garments and pull out the notebook. Handling the notebook, I notice the beauty of the leather and the quality of the paper. No ink will seep through these pages. No name, address, or phone number is in it, but it could not have been in the slush for long because the pages were mostly dry. Only the edges were wet. I flip back to the front and there is writing. Directions are written in small, but neat handwriting. They lead to a place not far from the mall. While handling the notebook, I laugh out loud and decide to follow the directions. I bundle up again, grab my purse and coffee and trudge back to the car.

Driving out of the mall, the snow gets heavier, and I begin to think that maybe I should head home instead. What's at home? A man reading or exercising? Housework? A dog that needs to be walked? All these come to mind as I drive by the entrance to the highway.

I pull over and read the directions again. They are leading to a forest preserve. The route zig-zags and is not the most direct route. I follow it anyway thinking maybe the person was afraid of being followed. I park the car and notice it is after four. Dusk is descending and it will be dark soon.

Once out of the car with the notebook, I read the walking directions. Nervously, I think this is a big mistake, but it is too late, as my interest has been piqued. Following a path for a few feet, the directions say to turn right at a misshapen oak tree. There it is, just a few feet ahead. Dutifully, I turn right off the path. The next thing is to look for a gully, again there is one a few feet ahead. Turn left at the gully. Now I am really in the woods. Walking along the gully, the directions say to look for a work building. Again, it is straight ahead, and I go inside. Flipping the light switch, I see tools all against the walls, and in the middle of the dimly lit room is a black duffle bag.

At this point, I want to leave. This can only mean trouble and I should go home. Instead, I walk towards the duffle bag, bend over, and unzip it. While doing this, I notice that there are two other duffle bags thrown around the room. I drag them over and unzip them as well.

Oh my God! The duffle bags are filled to the brim with money, lots of money, tons of money, more money than I have ever seen. I tell myself to calm down. This is a joke, like Candid Camera. This money is not meant for me, or is it? I have been told that the Lord works in mysterious ways, but not this mysterious, right? I am now in a dilemma, should I leave the money and go, or take the money with me? There is so much money, it is uncountable.

I walk over to the door and go outside. I walk around the building, while my head is turning around to see if anyone is there. I look for tire tracks or footprints in the snow. There aren't any, which I find odd because this is a maintenance building. I hear only the sounds of a few birds and an owl. Going back inside, I search the wall for rope. There it is hanging as if it is meant to be there. I take the rope down, then line up the duffle bags in a straight row. I tie the rope through each set of handles on duffle bags, then slip it through all three and end up with both ends of the rope in my hands. I start to pull, and the bags come along, slowly and unevenly, but they come after me. I slowly retraced my steps to get back to my car, but in twice the time as it took me to get to the shed. Throwing the bags in the back of the Jeep, I think this is unbelievable. Am I going to get away with this? How am I going to explain it to Kim? Maybe I do not have to, why should he find out. Driving home I think about all the trips, clothes, and investments I can make with my newfound treasure. Unbeknownst to me, I am being followed.

I get home, elated, not caring that I have nothing to show for my trip. Kim looks up and asks", "What did you buy?" I said nothing and that I was going to start dinner. After making steak and potatoes, I set the table and pull out a 2009 bottle of red wine, a particularly good year. We sit down and before Kim says," pass the potatoes" the doorbell rings.

My heart drops in a thud; it becomes difficult to breathe. I say to Kim," You start, I will see who it is." I run-walk to the door.

I open the door to a very dark, large man. He has a black watch cap on his head, a black heavy insulated jacket, and black boots. He stands well over six feet tall, with a barrel chest, and is extremely muscular. He is something nightmares are made of. He smiles and asks, "Do you have the notebook?" YES, I respond. "Do you have the duffle bags"? "YES" I respond. I want them he says, and I say yes again. After several tries to speak, I tell him to go around to the front of the garage. That is where I will give him what he wants. Grabbing my purse, I tell Kim, it is Jim, and I am going to the garage and loan him a tool". Kim says, "I'll do that." I say quickly, "Oh no, I want to ask him about the banquet Saturday night. I will be right back". I open the garage door and there is the smiling stranger, emanating all his power. I hand him the notebook, and he takes it. Then I open the trunk, and he grabs the bags in one sweeping swoop. The big man asks," Did you count it? You are sure that all $20 million is there". I shake my head yes. He smiles and leaves. I am left standing there with just my purse, and my life is as it was before I found the notebook.

After I quickly slap a smile on my face, I go back inside hoping that this is the end of it. Sitting down, I pretend I am eating by moving the food around on my plate. I drink the wine in big gulps. Kim gets up and takes his plate to the dishwasher and I follow. He turns around and looks at me and says, "You know I love you." "I love you too", is my response. The evening went drearily by and finally, I give up and say that I am going to bed. Kim on the other hand, takes the dog out, for one last time. Not paying attention, I hear him come in around midnight. I say loudly, "That was a long walk in the snow". He replied, "Sure". As he climbed into bed, Kim says, "How do you feel about buying a boat"? "With what our looks", I respond. "Don't worry about money, we will have plenty of that before you know it". That, my friends, is the true dilemma. Does mild-mannered Kim have anything to do with $20 million?