The Yellow Hibiscus Chapter 12

Willoby didn't appear to have noticed. I stepped on it, slowly pushing it out of his view under the front of my stove. Eying him, he seemed preoccupied. I continued as if nothing had happened.

This new considerate Willoby helped wash the dishes. I was pleasantly surprised. I was even more surprised when I started comparing him to Ari, who'd never done that when I invited him over for a rare home-cooked meal.

"I wouldn't have taken you for a modern-day man who cooks and cleans up too! Very good."

He laughed, drying his hands with paper towels from the upright stainless-steel rack on the marble countertop.

"I was always saying I will never get married, so the sage advice from Rosa, the lady who raised me, was that since I was destined for a life of bachelorhood, I should strive for domestic independence. God rest her soul."

He retrieved his coat, and minutes later, he was gone. I locked the door and rushed back to the kitchen. I picked up the tiny key hidden under the stove and read the attached card.

The inscription on the card said, 'Inland Storage, 32690.' Those numbers coincided with my birth date. What was this all about? Why would Mother put it in the bag this time around? Were my parents aware something might happen to them?

Suddenly the ringing of my home phone pulled me back into reality.

Serendipitously, it was someone from Inland Storage! My name and telephone number were listed on the application of Simon and Helen Shade as next of kin to notify in case of emergency. Their storage fee, which had never been late, was two days overdue, and the company had been unsuccessful in locating them.

The fee was $85.00 per six months. I was told that I could make payments at any of their eight locations in the New York City area. After hanging up the phone, I sat in deep thought. What could Mom have in storage? Why didn't she tell me? Was she hiding something? What?

I did a quick search for the company. I found their toll-free number, dialed it, and listened to the prompts on the automated answering system. It asked for a five-digit code. I had no clue what that would be.

Then I had a flash. The number on the key! Amid my indecision, the call was transferred to an operator.

"Inland Storage, may I have your five-digit code please," a female voice at the other end of the line asked.

I hesitated for a moment, then quickly gave her the numbers written on the card.

"May I ask you to hold a minute please?" the voice asked.

"Sure."

I could hear computer keys punching away, and after a brief pause, she returned to the line. "Well," she commented, still pounding away, "Our records show your payment is overdue."

"Where is your nearest location?" I asked.

"You always go to our Coney Island branch, but you could go to any branch closest to you. And from your address on file, there are two locations in the Bronx." After another brief pause, she said, "If you pay today you will avoid a 1% per day penalty, and we do accept all major credit card payments over the phone."

"Thank you. I will go to the regular branch and pay in cash," I said, hanging up. Why would Mom go to Coney Island in Brooklyn to pay storage fees? There were two locations closer to her in the Bronx, plus two more in Manhattan? 'Because whatever she had in storage was in Coney Island,' my inner voice advised. I copied down the address for the Coney Island branch and headed for the shower. Thirty minutes later, I was on my way to Brooklyn.

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