"Step three!"
"Well hello to you to Alec."
"Step three!"
"Step three... what?"
"Step three PLEASE."
"That's better. Ok—yes. Mhm, sure."
"Uh...what's going on?"
"Yes we are currently carrying blueberry and lemon poppy seed."
"Jasmine what's going on?"
"Yes we can heat them up for you so it's nice and warm."
"Ok, I'm totally lost."
"Sure, no problem—sorry my boss was watching me."
"Still lost."
"So I was pretending to be on the phone with a customer."
"Uh..."
"So she wouldn't know I was making a personal call—oh I see. You're messing with me."
"Now you know how it feels. It's not fun right?"
"Eh, I don't mind it."
"Are you trying to get under my skin?"
"Yes. 100% yes."
"Oh you little—"
"Step three of Daisy's Plan To A Wonderful Life!"
"Go."
"With a little more enthusiasm please! This program is worth millions and I'm giving it to you for free!"
"Woohoo! Lets go!"
"That's better! Alright, today we are talking about moments."
"Moments?"
"Moments. You have to say it in like a mystical voice for it to have the right sound."
"Moments."
"There you go! Ok so the issue is people are always out there looking for these incredible moments, but what if the moment you're in right now is incredible? You just can't see it because you're so busy looking for this imaginary moment. Now you've missed the great one you're in and the moment you're thinking of is just a distant dream."
"Hm."
"Dreams are great, don't get me wrong, but you have to make sure to come back down to earth every once in a while and see what you're missing."
"That makes sense because that was always my issue was that I was always off looking for something great and I completely forgot about what was happening around me. I mean Layla is six now and I feel like I didn't get to watch my little sister grow up..."
"Hey, but you're there for her now. So now you can have new moments with her."
"That's true. So anyways, give me an example for step three."
"Uh...OH! I know a good one!"
"Shoot."
"Say someone was walking into a cafe to get...lets say...a mocha. They sit down at a table to drink said mocha and discover a napkin with a drawing on it. They could either just throw the napkin out or they could turn it over and discover this new moment."
"I say they turn it over."
"Ok, after they turn it over they discover a phone number written on the napkin. The person picks up their phone and they can either call their ex-girlfriend again to ask her to come back (just a random, but I'm pretty sure an accurate, idea)."
"Just go on."
"Or they could go for it and call the number on the napkin."
"This imaginary person decides to call the number on the napkin and their life is changed forever. The end."
"I was explaining a scenario, not writing a story."
"Well too late, I am going to write our story and then sell it and I'LL make millions."
"Hey it's about me too! I should get a cut!"
"You're already getting a ton of money from your program!
"That doesn't mean that I just shouldn't get paid!"
"Yes it does!"
"I'm suing you!"
"Not if I sue you first."
"On what grounds?"
"On the grounds that...that...I want to."
"Oh wow. You got me there."
"Hah."
"So what are you calling it?"
"I'll call it... The Number On The Napkin."
"That's a good—oh gotta go! Boss is coming!"
"Bye Jas!"
"Bye Ai!"
....................................
"Daisy you've been acting weird lately."
"Oh, sorry Sandra I don't—"
"It's because of that boy isn't it?"
"I—who? That was a customer."
"I'm you're boss, and you aunt, I'm not stupid I know it was that boy you've been talking to on the phone. It's ok though, it's a good weird."
"What do you mean?"
"You just seem a lot...happier, genuinely happy. And I'm glad."
"Me too."
YOU ARE READING
The Number On The Napkin
Short Story"Is your refrigerator running?" "No, my refrigerator is not running." "Well you better...wait, what?" "Actually, it broke down a week ago because it knew that you were going to call with that stupid line and it decided it would rather die than liste...
