The Paper

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Charlie Hudson sat searching through the employment ads of the morning paper. He was an excellent carpenter, but with the decline in the economy the building market was slow. Yesterday, his employer regretfully had to lay him off, and not many contractors were looking to add new employees.

He had just poured a second cup of coffee and was sitting back down when he heard a knock at the door. He glanced out the window and saw a tall man, with graying hair, in a blue suit standing outside. He was in no mood to deal with a door-to-door salesman today and decided he would get rid of him quickly.

“I don’t know what you’re selling,” said Charlie, “but whatever it is – I’m not interested.”

“I’m not selling anything,” replied the stranger.

“That’s what you guys always say. Have a good day.”

Charlie started to close the door, but the persistent stranger put up his hand to prevent it from closing. “Mr. Hudson, you really should relax and listen to why I’m here. You won’t be disappointed – I assure you.”

“How do you know my name? Are you with the police department?”

“No, I’m not a policeman. I know who you are because I received an instruction to give you this.” In his hand the stranger held a small, blank piece of paper, not much bigger than an index card.

“What is that and who told you to give it to me?”

“Not who – Mr. Hudson – what. And if you just give me a little time, I’ll be happy to answer all your questions.”

Charlie invited the stranger to come in and offered him a cup of coffee. They both sat down at the kitchen table.

“Okay,” Charlie said, “you have my attention. What’s this all about?”

“I know that you will be skeptical, I certainly was at first. I was instructed by this piece of paper to give it to you.”

“The paper instructed you… are you crazy?”

“Let me finish. This paper is normally blank, but when it senses your need it will provide you with instructions to get what you need.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“So, what do you have to lose,” said the stranger. “If it doesn’t do what I say – you can just throw it away – right? Just take the paper.”

That seemed logical to Charlie, so he agreed to take the paper. After the stranger gave it to him he wished him good fortune and left. Charlie examined the blank piece of paper for several minutes, but nothing happened so he just stuck it in his shirt pocket.

Charlie resumed his job search. He called nine more listings during the morning but was unsuccessful in landing an interview. All of the companies just wanted to hire carpenter helpers and were not interested in paying what his experience required. Frustrated, he decided to go get some lunch before facing the afternoon rejections.

He drove to the local hamburger stand a few miles from his house, went in and ordered his lunch. While he was eating he thought about the stranger’s visit and the paper. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the paper. It was no longer blank.

THE DICKERSON BROTHERS CONTRACTING COMPANY IS LOOKING FOR AN EXPERIENCED CARPENTER TO SUPERVISE BUILDING AN APARTMENT COMPLEX. CALL THEM AT 555-9373.

Charlie couldn’t believe his eyes. He finished his lunch quickly and drove home. He looked through the newspaper listings thoroughly but could not find a listing for the company. None-the-less, he dialed the telephone number.

The phone rang twice and was answered, “Dickerson Brothers Contracting, may I help you?”

He introduced himself and said he was interested in the supervisor’s job opening. The receptionist was surprised because the listing was not scheduled to begin until the next morning. She asked Charlie if he could come by now, presuming they may be able to save the cost of the newspaper listing. He agreed.

He met with the Dickerson Brothers, Frank and Leon, for nearly three hours, and was hired immediately. It was an ideal match for all. Charlie inspired great work from his workers and saved the company thousands in expenses. Frank and Leon valued him highly and provided great incentives to him. All was going well.

One Saturday afternoon after doing his laundry, Charlie was putting his clothes into his dresser. He noticed the little box that held the paper. He really didn’t feel like he needed anything, but he was curious. So he opened the box – the paper was not blank.

ALL YOU EVER DO IS WORK. YOU SHOULD TRY BOWLING. THE GREENWOOD LANES ARE VERY NICE.

Charlie had never been bowling before. He wasn’t even certain how to keep score for the game. None-the-less, he drove over to the Greenwood Lanes to go bowling. He went to the counter and they gave him shoes, a score sheet, and assigned him a lane number.

While he was putting on his bowling shoes, he noticed the young woman who was bowling in the lane next to him. She was also by herself.

“Hi,” he said. “My name is Charlie.”

“Hello, I’m Laura.” she replied. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I was wondering… well, the truth is… I’ve never bowled before. Would you mind helping me to understand how the game is played?”

“Sure, I don’t mind at all.”

They both had a lot of fun together. They talked and bowled, and laughed and played, so it seemed a natural thing that they agreed to meet again the next Saturday. This continued… and easily developed into dinners, dancing, and movies. They became a couple. They learned that they had common values and interests.

They grew together and were eventually married. Charlie had everything he needed.

Over the next thirty years, he frequently checked the paper in the box – it was always blank. He and Laura raised three healthy children, two daughters and a son. They were happy and prosperous.

One Saturday afternoon, Charlie went to his dresser to check the paper in the box. It was not blank.

BUY A BLUE SUIT. FIND GLORIA WATKINS AT 1422 PROPELLOR DRIVE. GIVE HER THE PAPER.

Charlie followed the instructions.


Word Count: 1036 words