The Waiting Room
~ Chapter One Hundred-Two
Panza Remembers
Panza
continued to type, striking keys, deleting, beginning again. He tried
desperately to retrieve Mort’s document and was about to give up
and push himself away when he accidentally hit keys that brought up a
website.
He studied it for a moment, then his eyes went wide
as he slowly recognized it.
“Brilliant Ideas Industry”,
he mumbled. His eyes darted back and forth, reading the page.
“I
know this,” he said pausing the mouse pointer over the tab marked
“Executives”.
One click and the screen changed.
There
appeared a list of alphabetical names, followed by positions.
He
scrolled down until he slowed to the “G’s” and brought the
pointer to rest over the name “Grosini”.
By then, Mort
was back up, his interest piqued by Panza’s words. He stood behind
the chair, peering over his shoulder.
“Grosini?” Mort
said with a huff. “Figures you’d know that name. Grosini…Gross.
Like this whole f--king room. I’ve been grossed out since I came.
Will be grossed out until I go.” He jerked the bottom desk drawer
open and withdrew the whiskey bottle and a dirty glass.
Immediately
Sparrow began to make his way to join them.
“Back off,
Captain,” Mort warned. “I told you…I don’t share. Especially
with a mangy pirate.”
Jack stopped in his tracks, giving
Mort the evil eye. “Someday Mr. Rainey, ye will come to regret your
decision of not sharing company with meself. “Tis not a proper way
to treat a gentleman.”
Mort titled his head back and
surveyed the buccaneer before him.
“But I don’t consider
you a gentleman. So go back to your rat hole and piss off.”
The
pirate’s hand fell to his pistol at the writer’s comment. Mort
was not unnerved.
“What? Going shoot me? You got one shot.”
Jack began to withdraw the weapon from his sash, but Panza’s
outburst broke the tension between the writer and the pirate.
“Jesus H.!” he shouted. “That’s me! That’s me!”
Mort’s attention went from Sparrow to the screen. There was
a picture. A head shot of what appeared to be Sancho Panza. Except in
the picture he was well groomed, professional looking. The poncho was
gone and in its stead he wore a suit.
Beneath the portrait
was a name: Toby Grosini, Advertising
“Damn if it isn’t,”
Rainey said in surprise. Beneath the name was a list of credentials
and a button for “Current Projects”. The man, now known as Toby,
clicked it.
An arid scene appeared. Dry mountains,
desert-like grass, and a vast clear sky appeared. The picture seemed
to come to life as the clouds in the sky began to move and the grass
began to sway in a slight breeze.
“Spain! I remember! I was
in f--king Spain!”
“Well, looks a bit barren if ye ask
me, sir,” Barrie commented on the landscape. “As if they be in
need of a good rain.”
“The rain in Spain falls mainly on
the plain,” Sparrow gave a sing-song voice.
“Shut up,
pirate!” Both Mort and Sands yelled in unison. Jack gave a look of
insult then went back to swigging his rum.
The screen seemed
to pan across the plain until it reached a group of people.
“S--t!
There I am! I’m Toby Grosini! Not Sancho Panza! I was in
Spain…shooting a commercial. But how did I get here? What the hell
happened?”
As if to answer his question, the skies darkened
and a thunderstorm blasted its way through the group. The men watched
the screen, as the group seemed to scatter, snatching up equipment
and personal belongings as the rain became heavier and the skies lit
with streaks of lightening.
Suddenly the dry basin in which
they stood became a torrent wall of water, flowing into them as the
small river appeared from nowhere. Toby’s image struggled in the
water, losing his footing, falling into the current.
In
horror he watched as he was swept past the others who somehow
remained standing. One of the men reached out to grab him but missed
and he himself fought the strength of the raging water. But unable to
stand he continued on and at one point, struck his head on a rock.
Instinctively Toby reached up and touched his head and could
feel the lump beneath.
“I whacked myself. I got whacked by
that rock and the next thing I knew I was dressed like this and….”
he paused looking across the room. “And dragging that everywhere I
went.” He finished with a wave towards the donkey.
Jack
glanced to and fro, from the donkey to Grosini…from Grosini to the
donkey…then back to the man at the computer.
He raised his
glass in Grosini’s direction.
“Here’s to the man with
two asses!”