Part 16

August just stared blankly at Elvis's face. He wasn't sure why he could just answer "yes" but his mouth refused to form the word. Was he afraid of acknowledging what both of them so obviously could see? Why was he treating this package delivery like it was the old "Bloody Mary" urban fable. As if reading the name "Caleb Pope" aloud would usher in some sort of fearsome reckoning. August exhaled then shook his head. He tried to answer Elvis in his most manner-of-fact voice.

"Yeah, it's addressed to Caleb Pope. He probably placed an order a long time ago and it just took a while to get delivered."

It was more the tone of August's voice rather than the name he uttered that grabbed Merriam's attention. She peaked up from the middle of her text message and looked over to her two friends still fussing over some box that August had dropped. She shut her cell phone allowing the unsent message to be automatically stored into her drafts folder. "I gotta remember to send that later", she thought absently before walking up to the boys.

"What are you two idiots doing? Are you trying to break the box some more? What is it anyways? Are that some of those nudie comics that you both love so much?"

"No, it's nothing like that", August blushed slightly remembering that Merriam had caught him reading a particularly salacious comic book once. He couldn't really remember the plot, but then again that comic was about a young bikini clad demon hunter who often walked around with a sword a little else.

"Look at the addressee Merriam!" Elvis could hardly contain his excitement, "It's addressed to Caleb Pope! As-in the boy who disappeared! As-in the boy that ran away."

"May have run away," August corrected. He felt the need to defend Caleb's honor, even though he did not know him. It was more of an instinctual action on Risa's behalf no doubt.

"So," if Merriam was intrigued - she did not show it, "who cares? Like Augie said, that Caleb guy probably ordered it a long time ago". August hated the nickname 'Augie' and armed with this knowledge, Merriam vowed to call him that as much as possible. She sauntered over and picked up the box. Under August and Elvis' shocked eyes, Merriam gave the box a quick shake back and forth. A terrible crackling noise came from the box - the sound of shifting glass pieces.

"Yep," Merriam said nodding, "you definitely broke something Augie."

"Put it down! Don't make it worse!" August did not mean to snap and sound extremely upset, but in reality he was angry. Not really angry at Merriam for her continual prodding, but more so at himself for his earlier bout of clumsiness. Merriam hastily put the box back down on the corner and raised her arms in mock surrender.

"Okay, okay! There it's back safely on the counter."

"So what are you gonna do?" Elvis said putting a hand on August's shoulder. "Isn't it strange that on the very day Sonrisa, as-in the sister of the said missing boy, pays you a visit then you receive a package meant for that same boy? You gotta admit, that's kinda freaky!"

"It's just coincidence," August said waving a hand dismissively, "the only strange thing is that the delivery happened so late. I was just about to close up."

"If science teaches us anything," Elvis said unabated, "it's that there are no coincidences."

"Oh stop, no more of your off-the-wall theories. I'm sure you're going to say that this is the 'universe' trying to get August together with his school boy crush," Merriam added while rolling her eyes.

August flinched. He had forgotten that he had told Merriam about his passing infatuation with Risa. His unrequited affection for a younger girl was not something he wanted to share too often. Especially since his chances of landing such a girl on his arm were slim to none. He had been hoping that Merriam would not have made that connection, but with a unique name like 'Sonrisa' and with Merriam's research sharpened mind, that mystery was solved quite quickly.

"Well, she is quite fetching" Elvis said grinning, "and if the 'universe' wants August to hook up with a girl as cute as that, well, who are we to question the 'universe'?"

"I'm pretty sure that whatever powers that be drives this universe," Merriam quipped, "be it some all powerful deity or blind random fate, that it has much more important things to take care of rather than August's love life. You know like storms or preventing nuclear wars, no offense Augie."

"None taken," August shrugged then began to tune out his companion's dialogue. Elvis and Merriam continued on into an animated conversation regarding the possibilities of either an omnipotent god or random predetermined fate.

August looked at the box again and was filled with remorse. "Here might be the very last thing Risa and her mom could have to remember Caleb by, and I broke it. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"So what are you going to do with it?" Merriam's question thankfully broke August's moment of self reproach.

"Well, I have to call Risa and let her know a package arrived for her brother." August answered.

"Wait, but you said she didn't leave a number when she dropped by - so you said," Elvis began, "and I know they aren't listed anymore, they had to taken the number off of public records after the press came and kept trying to ask all of those questions. How will you get a hold of Risa?"

"Wait Elvis, shouldn't the 'universe' just magically teleport a cell phone with Risa's phone number already programed in it?" Once Merriam found something to tease them about it took her a while to relent. Elvis pretended to swing an elbow towards Merriam's head. She in-turn playfully dodged before launching a fake kick towards Elvis's shin.

August smiled broadly. His friend's thought he was being entertained by their impromptu kung-fu theater performance but August was actually please with himself by thinking of a way to get a hold of Risa quickly. His cousin Charlene would know Risa's number. Yes, definitely Charlene, she could give him the information he needed.