DO A GROUCH A FAVOR DAY

by JoAnn Baca

“Shhhh!” Cullen hushed Rebecca, who was giggling as they tiptoed down the tunnel toward one particular chamber, then whispered, “Don’t want us to get caught, do ya?”

Shaking her head, she lifted one hand to her now-closed lips and made a locking-the-vault gesture with two fingers.

Near the chamber entrance they laid a basket which held several of the resident’s favorite candles and a magnifying glass with a hand-carved handle.

After they had slipped away, she murmured, “You don’t suppose our favors are a little on the nose? He’ll guess they’re from us, won’t he?”

He shrugged, walking normally now that they were two tunnels away from the chamber where they’d left their items. “He can try to claim that, I guess. But in our defense: no photo, no proof.”

She smiled. “I used to be a nicer person before I got to know you, you know.”

He grinned. “I like you better now!”

Soon after they had fled from the scene of their…favoring…Mouse ambled up to the chamber entrance. Seeing the basket, he assumed it was out to hold any favors anyone Below might wish to leave, so there he dumped the book he’d “found” Above in a library depository.

Someone waited until he’d slunk away to leave an item she thought the resident of the chamber might enjoy – two lovely scones from the dozen she’d baked after midnight when the Tunnel’s kitchen was not guarded.

Soon the basket was brimming over with items for the person who was awakening inside.

He yawned and scrubbed his face with his hands, hoping to wipe the sleep from his eyes. As he aged, it got harder and harder to maintain his usual hours of wakefulness, but he felt he needed to set a good example for everyone else Below. He knew some residents chafed at his reminders about sloth, but he was only trying to keep the place running in good order.

As he dressed for his day, he thought about all the items on his to-do list. Making out the upcoming week’s sentry list had to be accomplished in the morning, taking into account those who had “earned” extra duty due to rules violations. Then he had classes to teach in the afternoon – actually, he was going to spring surprise quizzes on his students to ensure they’d been doing the required outside reading. Then after dinner he had certain new rules he intended to propose during a Council meeting he planned to call on an emergency basis. He expected resistance to both the emergency meeting and the new rules, but one must push forward against all resistance when the outcome was necessary.

As he headed to the dining chamber, he nearly tripped over a mound of items set just outside his chamber entrance. He glanced down in irritation. Well, he would deal with what looked like an odd assortment of things when he returned from breakfast. Perhaps he would recruit Vincent to help him go through whatever was in that basket.

When he arrived at his destination, he found William was awaiting him with a covered dish which he presented with a flourish: a full English breakfast with tomatoes, sausage, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, toast, and beans. Befuddled, he nonetheless accepted it happily, a real feast from his early days in his home country. He wondered why today, of all days, William had singled him out for this treat. Perhaps the cook thought it was his birthday – the man was getting a bit forgetful as he aged. He made a mental note to speak to him about that.

Catherine, who had arrived early to take some of the older children to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, sat beside Vincent with her toast halfway to her mouth, gaping in astonishment. He leaned to whisper, “Mary got upset by something he said to her the other day and called him an old grouch. A few of us standing nearby almost laughed and, once he’d left us, began mentioning other instances of his grouchiness to make Mary feel better, knowing she wasn’t alone. It became apparent that none of us has been spared dealing with him in a grumpy mood, and a suggestion was made that perhaps one day we should do him favors to see if it would improve his frame of mind.”

“So today is that day, and that breakfast was William’s ‘favor’?”

He nodded. “Others have left him gifts. I plan to let him win at chess later.”

She bit into her toast to hide a chuckle. “I wish I’d known. I could have found something to improve his mood, too – like not showing up today!”

Vincent’s unique lips curved into a smile. “I will let you know tomorrow if our plan worked.”

Alas, the next day, Vincent reported to Catherine that finding out what was going on had only made their resident grouch even grouchier.