Call 856-334-6677

It was exactly 7:25 AM EST. I had just sat down to enjoy my first sip of my usual Grande Supreme Latte Delux when I spotted the napkin on the chair next to me. My first thought was “Don’t bother with it. They will come around soon and clean it up. Besides you don’t know who may have touched ir”. Dr. Fauci has advised us that the Epsilon-2 virus has begun circulating in Botswana and we should remain cautious. 

It was strange. I simply couldn’t take my eyes off that napkin. There appeared to be some kind of writing on it. Finally, as I  approached the 50 yard line on my Grande I could no longer resist. It’s like the sign “wet paint”- you just can’t resist. So, I looked around to be sure nobody was watching me snoop and then I grabbed the napkin. It read simply “Call 856-334-6677”. 

I smiled and said- “To the trash with you”. As I rose, something compelled me to sit down and put the strange napkin down on the table. My routine was already distrubed but now my mind took me into uncharted territory. What if this was a cry for help from a poor soul being held captive- forced to sit silently while their armed captor sipped his extra dark roast coffee. Maybe the phone number belonged to a terrorist trying to deliver bomb materials. Perhaps this was the number for a patient to call for an urgent heart transplant. Or maybe someone was supposed to call that number in order to collect a huge inheritance from a distant uncle’s estate.

The second half of the latte was getting cold now. I normally would be off to work arriving at exactly 8:00 AM EST. Now, it’s not likely to happen. It might even be 8:07 AM EST before I arrive.  My supervisor may call the police to file a missing persons report. I was paralyzed. I would never call some stranger. But I couldn’t stop myself. My mind said “Your life can change in a blink of an eye”. Maybe this was my blink and my life. 

I tapped out the number on my smartphone. My heart began to race. I’m sure I was looking panicked to the patrons. It rang five times with what seemed like a 30 second interval between rings. Finally, a sweet young thing chirped, “Good morning, this is your lucky day. You have been selected …” I hit the red button and thought “How could you be so foolish and gullible. I had to admire the new advertising strategy though. I apologized to my supervisor for being 7 minutes late. I offered as an excuse that the coffee shop was locked down for 7 minutes for a possible bomb threat. But no bomb was found. 

Sure enough, the next day at exactly 7:25 AM EST I sat in the same seat with the same beverage. My heart fluttered a bit recalling the previous day. I glanced over to my left and there it sat- a napkin with writing. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and it felt like they had just jacked up the heat 10 degrees. Of course, I couldn’t resist. It was the same number. My inner voice said “You didn’t listen to the message.Why don’t you call and listen to it.  What’s the harm?”. I argued back, “Are you kidding? I’ll be on some sucker list and every scam artist in the world will be after me”. Even though I would likely arrive late for the second day in a row, I called and listened.

Flash forward seven years. I am sitting in the same coffee shop at 7:25 AM EST. Opposite me is the woman of my life. It was the perfect start of the anniversary of our first meeting. We laughed at the encounter exactly seven years ago. On that fateful day she spent three hours discussing the benefits of the extended car warranty. I countered with numerous questions such as “Yes, but will you cover the damage caused by an escaped chimpanzee who might hot wire my car and take it on a three state joy ride before crashing it into a Starbucks?” She laughed heartily as she recountered her pretended research- “Yes, we will cover that but only if the chimpanzee had a valid driver’s license”.

8:00 AM came and went. We drove off together to our home office overlooking a beautiful lake. We walked leisurely into our lovely home at about 11 or so. She went to her office and I went to mine. The napkins we leave daily in the thirty or so coffee shops have paid off. People are curious and they can’t resist calling our scores of operators eager to meet their future life partner. We are considering expanding our business to include notes in shopping carts. It is true- “Your life can change in an eyeblink”. May I interest you in an extended car warranty?