Our office is in the middle of nowhere. We don't have any signs on our door, our windows have closed blinds and we're not located in any kind of 'business' or industrial area. However, we manage to have all kinds of interesting things happen despite our anonymous front. Upstairs from our office is a dentist office, and on a regular basis we'll have people walk into our office, look around and ask "Is this the dentist office?". Now, picture this; when you walk into our office, it's an open room with three desks which are normally occupied by yours truly and my lovely co-worker and friend, Steph. At any given time, there are at least 3 or 4 saddles laying on the floor, and there's a giant fake horse torso sitting in middle of the room with a saddle or two sitting on it. The urge to make some snappy response is strong in both Steph and I, but we simply smile and say "No, the dentist is upstairs".
One time, there was a man sitting outside the front door when I came in one morning. He had a bike, and he seemed to be travelling. I don't recall what our initial conversation was, but he did indicate that he was travelling cross country, so I invited him to use our restroom if he needed it. He didn't ask to use the restroom at that time, but a number of hours later, he came into the office. He began to tell us about his travels, and at first it was a bit charming, but then, he started to tell us how he'd met this woman (can't recall how he met her), that she lived up the road from us and that she was going to leave everything and go travel with him. He asked us if we thought he should let her travel with him. The conversation got very strange after that, and made us both very uncomfortable. Don't remember exactly how we extricated ourselves from the situation, but he did leave after a bit, and we never saw him again.
Today though, takes the cake. We were quietly working away when a woman with a walker came to our door. I was on the phone, and as she struggled to open our door, Steph went to let her in. I heard her ask if she could use the bathroom, and Steph indicated she could and showed her the way. She was very large, and obviously had a very hard time moving. We heard her clatter to the back towards the bathroom. In the meantime, I got off the phone, and was extremely warm, so I decided to step outside for a few minutes. As I stood outside, I didn't see any strange car in the parking lot, but I did spot a van in the lot of the liquor store next door (I know, I know, I'm naming all these businesses when I said that we were in middle of nowhere...but trust me, we are!) with a man at the wheel.
I come back in from outside, refreshed, sit down, and suddenly we hear "Somebody help me! Somebody help me!" from the bathroom. My FIRST thought as I make my way down the hall is "This is a set-up, we're going to get robbed". I come around the corner, Steph's right behind me, and the walker is propping the door open, and the woman is still yelling. I say "I'm here, are you ok?" I open the door, and she's on the toilet, trying to get up. She tells me she needs help to get up. I'm hesitant to step into the bathroom and leave Steph outside, if it is a trap, but I also see that she doesn't seem to be able to get up on her own. I steel myself, and step in. I offer her my arm and she grasps it, but can't pull herself up. She says she needs both of us to help her. At this point, my heart starts to race, and I'm really concerned that with both of us in the bathroom, someone could come in and hold us up.........but we do it. Steph comes in too, and we pull her up off the toilet. Nothing happens outside, and my mind starts to calm down. The woman says she needs to clean herself, so we leave the bathroom and let her pull herself together.
After a few minutes, she comes back down the hallway on her walker, thanks us for our help and I open the doors for her so she can go outside. The van, is now right in front of our door, and I swear they were modern day gypsies. There were all kinds of shiny objects, stuffed animals etc. in the front area of the van. The young man behind the wheel was olive skinned and had dark hair, the woman that stepped out of the back to help the elderly woman was dressed in bright clothing, had wild hair and jewelry......gypsies.
My heart didn't stop pounding for a few minutes. When I said something to Steph about us being held-up, she had not even thought about it, but my saying something gave her the chills just thinking about it.
I would have been ready for anything. The only thing I would not have been able to handle was if someone had walked in with a gun. Other than that...I'm pretty proud of having had my senses about me, should this episode become something more than what it was.
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