the Saturday Breakfast Serial part 3

Welcome to the Saturday Breakfast Serial where every week I post another installment of a serialized original story.

Read part one of The Desk here.

Read part two here.

Part Three of

The Desk

       “No, no, no.”  I reached my hand out and peeled off a piece of tape.   

A piece of tape which held an iron key firmly fixed to the underside of the drawer. Removing the tape, I sat on the floor in front of the desk laughing weakly at the irony of searching for something so long which had been right under my nose all the time.  I gazed at the key resting in the palm of my open hand.  Quite a bit bigger than the key I had found weeks before, I knew this one would fit the desk.

I shook off my shock, collected my wits, and rose to stand before the desk, peering at the locks.  There were two.  One on the desk top and one on the single drawer resting below.

“Here goes.”  I whispered.  I took a deep breath and put the key into the lock of the desk top.  It fit!  Slowly turning it, I felt the lock release.  Then I moved the key down to the drawer and heard a little click as that lock released.  Carefully, I placed the key in my pocket, and patted it, just to make sure it was really there.  I could feel my heart beating against my chest and I expelled my breath in a long exhale and tried to shake off the stress through my shoulders all the way down to my hands.

My fingers carefully traced the outline of the scalloped desk lid and I wondered what I would find within.  Somehow, now that the desk was no longer locked to me, I was almost afraid to see inside.  “Oh come on,” I chided myself.  And with that, I opened it.

It was by no means empty and though it was quite small, inside were rows of cubbies and a small drawer.   There were books and envelopes, and pencils and pens.  There was even a wooden box nestled under the cubby holes.

I could go through all those things later, I decided and was eager to see what was in the drawer below.  I closed the drop lid slowly and the long brass lid stays sighed as they slid back into the recesses of the desk rustling folders and ledgers.

I decided to pull over a chair resting against a nearby wall.  Might as well be comfortable, I thought to myself as I imagined lingering over each one of the potential treasures inside.  Seated in front of the desk, I allowed my hands to rest on the ornate drawer pulls, savoring the moment of delicious anticipation.  Then I slowly and deliberately opened the drawer.

“Oh,” I exclaimed in disappointment, for the drawer was completely empty.  Then I laughed at myself for getting caught up in the drama and turned my attention back to the contents housed above.

  This calls for coffee, I thought and went into the kitchen to make some.

I took note of the time because the clock read 3:33.  My stomach gave a little growl and I realized I hadn’t had lunch.  I got out my tea cart for the coffee and added a plate with a croissant, butter, and a little cheese.  Returning to the desk, wheeling the tea cart, I sat down and got down to business.

I opened up the desk for the second time and surveyed the layout of the interior.  The first thing that caught my attention was the small drawer, whose pull was a tiny version of those on the drawer below.  Opening it I found nestled inside, a paper packet tied with string.  Even more intriguing was a fragrance which emanated from the drawer and permeated the packet.  It smelled like a combination of exotic spices and flowers.  The fragrance was quite intoxicating, and I found myself being drawn into a reverie.  

Feeling a chill in the air broke the spell for me.  I put the packet back into the drawer unopened, and took a sip of coffee to revive me, only to find it had gone stone cold.  “What?”  I said aloud.

It was then that I noticed the room seemed altogether too dim and raising my eyes to the window, I saw that outside, it was nearly dark.  I must have been sitting there for two hours!

Come back next Saturday for another installment of the Saturday Breakfast Serial.