Should She Run?

She had been looking forward to this day for the whole month. In the middle of the room was a pile of boxes. She was the only person in the room. She wondered when the other guests would arrive. It was supposed to be a party. Had everybody declined? She looked at all the food she had cooked. She had made samples of all the food she would be offering on her menu.

She had hoped that the chefs could sample her food today. She had placed most of the dishes on the bar. Did they not want the job, why had nobody shown up yet? It was meant to be a get- to - know-each-other party. She looked at her cell phone nobody had called.

She turned her focus on the boxes. Most of them looked like things she had ordered for the restaurant. There was one package that seemed not to belong. It had a red ribbon. It looked like a gift, but there was no card or writing on it. She thought maybe they had put the card on the inside. There was really no reason to be suspicious The strange brown paper package and the fact that nobody had shown up, made her feel slightly confused. She moved the other packages into the kitchen. Kitchenaid mixers and accessories. And Linens for the dining room. Within minutes all that was left was the curious package. It jiggled when she shook it. It was making a suspicious noise. She knew it was not a clock. She had not ordered one. She was wondering if she should open it outside, or maybe she should just run. There was nobody that would want to destroy her dream.

She took the package out onto the sidewalk. She slid the ribbon off and tore open the box. She jumped back in shock. Out popped a sign which said congratulations. And all of a sudden out of nowhere all her workers and guests appeared. She sighed in relief. Her restaurant did not explode, her workers did not abandon her. She felt a little embarrassed that she had taken the package outside, but no one seemed to notice. They were all hugging her and escorting her into the restaurant. No one seemed to notice how nervous and confused she felt.

She wondered if she should warm up the food, but her new staff was already doing it. She couldn't figure out where they had been hiding. She had noticed all the cars but had never thought they would want to surprise her.

People had brought gifts. She was not sure she, wanted to open any more boxes. She turned her focus to the food that she had prepared. Sue and Maria had warmed up the dishes. She watched the faces of her guests as they sampled the dishes. The wine was going quickly, although her new employees were not drinking. She started to feel a little sane and her heart rate had finely calmed down. She would have to wait until tomorrow to find out what people had thought of the food. They had three more days to finalize everything for the opening. After her guests left, Maria and Sue helped her clean up. People had left comment cards, but her two employees had both enjoyed the food.

Everybody was gone when she noticed another package. It looked exactly like the previous package. She froze. Maria offered to open the box. She did the same thing she did before. She took the package outside. She shook it. It did not jiggle, it did not tick. Maria and Sue both offered to open it. Personally, she just wanted to throw it in the trash and run. She opened it. It did not spring open as the previous box had. Inside, there was nothing, but air. It was as if someone had done this on purpose. She calmly excused Sue and Maria, and went inside and cried. She wondered if this was a sign, or was she just going out of her mind.