Frowning, Shawn examined the wooden oblong he'd
unwrapped. "Isn't this a post from the old railing?" He shook it, cocked
his head at the metallic jingle. "Are those coins in there?"
"Might be. Tools on the coffee table." The smugness in Bob's voice told
Shawn his stepdad was proud of this unexpected scavenger hunt.
Shawn leaned forward on the couch, finding a chisel, a mallet and
tweezers. Something to pry open, he mused, trailing his fingers along
each side of the block. He moved to the floor for a more stable
workspace.
"Uh oh, he's got that look," his girlfriend, Kristy, laughed. "Now it's
more about the hunt than the treasure."
"Surprise treasure's great." Shawn's attention was on a series of round
grooves. He got it now. Unplug holes. Find money. "What's the occasion?"
"You're looking for donations, aren't you?" Bob asked.
Shawn tried not to react as Bob came closer. He hated when people
hovered while he worked. He fit the chisel into a groove and tapped it
with the mallet until a plug loosened. Tilting the block, he palmed five
coins. "Lot of effort for five bucks," he snorted, identifying the
Canadian loonies by their shape and smooth edges.
"Think donations come easy?" Bob huffed. "How's that Loadstone campaign
coming?"
Shawn hammered the chisel into another groove. "Lots of interest in the
progress videos." The plug wiggled loose and he tried to nudge the
contents out with a finger. "But likes don't equal funds." He reached
for the tweezers and pulled out a tightly rolled wad of bills. "That's
more like it!" he exclaimed, feeling the raised cells on each bill.
"Five twenties."
He located the next plug and began prying. Damn right he loved a good
hunt.
"You're too competent at what you do," Kristy commented. "You're showing
people you'll launch an accessible, affordable GPS app with or without
their help."
"I need to be the poor blind guy trapped in his house?" Shawn attempted
his most pathetic whine even as he retrieved a hundred dollar bill and
two fifties. "Please save me from getting lost on the way to my
mailbox." He started making neat piles of debris and cash. "No way. Been
going blindly where everyone sighted has gone before since childhood."
"Now you can go further with our help," Bob grinned.
Thanks," Shawn beamed. "Without family, this project would have never
left the ground."
(c) Kristy Kassie, 2017