In a city by the ocean there is a clock tower on the east side of town. On the first floor of the clock tower there are two doors each leading into separate offices. The door on the left has the name of Newhart and
The door on the right does not hold any name at all, just the numbers 250 stenciled in black paint. People do not rush in and out of that door threw out the day. Only one man comes in the morning and leaves in the evening. He only carries a black briefcase and inside the brief case he only carries his ledger and his lunch. No one else is ever seen going in or out of the office. Every day this man sees new clients, handles documents whose value is far above that of the ones in the safe next door, and he makes decisions for those who no longer have the power to make them for themselves.
The man himself was not very interesting; his appearance matched that of his office door, very plain and kind of shabby. He wore a black suit with a gray overcoat and a black hat. Both his hat and overcoat were a bit tattered and worn, and as if in contrast the suit was always pressed and clean. His briefcase also seems to a reflection of his appearance, one side being perfectly fine and the other tattered and dented. His expression rarely deviated much from complacency and when it did it usually drifted towards displeasure.
Most morning he would come into the clock tower and walk straight to his door, and this morning was no exception. Upon entering he places his coat on the third hook from the right on a set of hooks behind the door. Then he proceeds through the empty hallways to his office. He only stops to look into the room next to his it has been converted into a waiting room. Every morning it is full with all manor of people, all of them looking a little sheepish, most of them afraid to even speak to one another. The chairs in the waiting room all face the door, so every day when the man in the perfect black suit looks in he can see the faces of all of his clients.
In the space between the door and the waiting room there is a desk. On the desk is a vase of flowers, behind the flowers sits a woman. She quietly reads a book which she only puts away when the man in the black suit leaves the waiting room door way. She stands to greet him, “good morning sir.”
“Morning Miss Passway,” he responds in a sleepy voice. She hands his a stack of files from a tray in the left hand side of her desk marked “In”. He takes the files and counts them as he weighs their heft in his hands. These files are important, these files are special. He takes them into his office, a small room furnished only with a desk, two chairs, and waste basket. He places the files and his briefcase on the desk before sitting. From the briefcase he produces his ledger, and then places the briefcase on the floor next to his desk. He compares the names from the files with the names found a piece of paper from his ledger. Then the man in the black suit presses the button on the callbox of his desk. “Miss Passway, I think we will proceed today in the order found on today’s list.”
“Yes sir,” came her reply.
The man waited only a minute before his door opened and a shaky looking man entered. He was dressed in jeans and a oil stained work shirt, he was clutching a blue baseball cap between his hands wringing it nervously. The man in the black suit waved him in and gestured for him to sit in the empty chair in front of the desk. The man did so as the suited man took the appropriate file and opened it on the desk. He took a minute to scan the first few pages before closing it and speaking.
“Jacob Johnson,” he waited for recognition to come to the other man’s face so he could be sure he was really listening. “You know why you are here?”
Jacob nodded nervously, “It’s because I’m dead.”
“Yes that’s true, but that is really the how you are here. I need to make sure you know why you are here.” The man in the suit was searching Jacobs face with his tiered eyes watching as he tried to remember something he was told, trying to recall the why.
“Is it…” Jacob was beginning to remember, “so that you can determine the appropriate course of action?” the man in the suit nodded and Jacob smiled, glad that he could remember.
“It’s really so that WE can determine the appropriate course of action, you and I, together. Do you know what it means when I say the appropriate course of action?”
Jacob frowned a bit and nervousness returned heavily to his voice as he answered. “It means weather or not I go to heaven or hell.” Jacob was looking down at the file on the desk; he could see his name on it.
“No Jacob this isn’t a judgment, this is only a temporary assessment.” Jacobs face brightened a little. “We have to decide weather it is time for you to pass on to the next world or not. Now I don’t want to confuse you, you have already passed onto the next life, there is nothing I can do about that, you understand?” Jacob did. “Now you might have some unfinished business here in this world, something you need to do or something you would like to do. Can you think of anything like that?”
Jacob thought for a moment, “I’m pretty sure you don’t mean like going to a Yankees game or finish rebuilding my Hotrod right?”
“That’s right, not like that.” If the man in the suit showed his emotions on his face he would be a little proud of Jacob for catching on so quickly. But he doesn’t, and he didn’t.
“Well I guess it really depends,” Jacob started out, “can you tell me if
“I can not tell you the future, no.”
“Well can you tell me what happened to
“Sure,” the man in the suit opened Jacobs file and turned to the last page skimming its contents before closing it again. “Your dog was picked up by a friend ad taken to your sister’s house.”
“Gloria?” Jacob thought some more, others might have thought Jacob did not look like much of a thinking man, but not the man in the suit. He knew better then to make judgments; his job was only to assess things. He was actually pleased that Jacob thought about things before he spoke. “I hope she keeps him, he’s a good dog, and he’s trained too. He would be good for the kids.”
“Is there anything else you feel the need to do?”
“I’d like to check on momma. I watched her at the funeral and she seemed pretty bad. Is that a thing I can do, is it reason to stay?”
“It can be Jacob, for a time. But before we look into that I want you to think about unfinished business, really think to make sure that there is nothing holding you here.” Jacob was a thinker but this time he already knew his answer.
“Sir I don’t even know what unfinished business means. I mean I’m dead, to me that means all of my business is finished. Most of those other things never really mattered, I let go of them not long after I let go of living.” The man in the suit could see this was something that Jacob had already thought about. “The only thing that really worries me about leaving this world is my mother.” Jacob leaned forward in his chair, it was now his chair, he was comfortable in it, and in the room, and with the man in the suit. “So sir I have no more unfinished business, but I would really like to check on my mother if I could.”
“You can do that Jacob. I think two days might be enough, more then enough really. How does that sound to you Jacob, two days to check on your mother before you leave this world?”
“That sounds just fine sir; I won’t insult you by haggling or anything. I’m sure you know your business. So do I get a two day pass or something?”
“no Jacob you just get two days, Miss Passway will give you more details on your way out.” Jacob stood up and offered his hand to the man in the suit, but the man did not take it. He only looked at the hand, and then at Jacob. Nothing really registered on the mans face, it was not blank but there was just nothing there for Jacob, so Jacob left and once again the office held just the man.
The next person to enter the office was a broad shoulder woman wearing a floral dress and a shawl around her shoulders. She was trying to hide her nervousness by holding perfect posture and moving slow. She took the chair without being offered and tried to force her hand on the man. He didn’t take it, and he was not impressed with her control.
“Rose Banks?”
“Yes, that is my name.” she continued to hold out her hand and he continued to not take it. She eventually retracted it. She tried to look him in the eyes but there was nothing there for her and it made it uncomfortable so she turned away.
“Do you know why you are here?”
“It’s so that we can determine the appropriate course of action. Do you mind if I ask who We refers to?”
“It refers to you and
“Not the next world.” She answered confidently.
“Good you were listening. Now I need you to think of any unfinished business you may have in this world. Do you know what I mean by unfinished business?”
“I think that I do.”
“Good.” As it turned out she didn’t really understand.
“There are a few points I am interested in.” was how it started. Rose wanted to do everything from haunting her tea society so her choice for her replacement as president was picked, to possessing her pet dog and attacking her enemies. It seemed that every thing she had ever heard about dead people doing in a movie or a book she wanted to try. With each new point on her list the man in the black suit had to explain to her that that’s not what was meant by unfinished business. “Sir, are you all right you look tiered and a bit irritated.”
“I’m fine; I always look tiered and irritated.”
“Good, I was worried it was something I did to make you look that way. I had a few more points I would like to ask you about.”
“Rose, do you mind if I ask you a question or two that might speed this along?”
“Not at all sir, I would welcome it.”
“Have you ever practiced witchcraft or any other form of supernatural worship or practice?”
Rose seemed a bit taken aback at first but she answered confidently. “No sir I do not believe I ever did.”
“Did you ever sell your soul or try and bind it to and object, building, or person?”
“No,” she answered, “I did promise my soul to my husband Charles. Does that count?”
“It can, but I see in your file that your husband is also dead.”
“Yes, poor Charles passed a few years back.” She let out a little giggle. “I say poor Charles but I am dead now aren’t I.”
“Yes you are rose. And don’t you want to go and see your husband?”
“You know sir I do.”
“I’ve looked over your file; I see you had no children, no other family to speak of. Now can you think of anything or any one that would hold you to this world and keep you from seeing your husband?”
“No, no of curse not.” She laughed again. “Oh I must have sounded so silly a minute ago, worrying about such trivial things. No sir there is nothing left in this world for me, I would like to go see my husband now.”
“Very good rose, if you would step out and let my secretary know you are ready to go she will help you on your way.” Rose stood up and hurriedly walked to the door. She stopped with the door halfway open and turned back around to face the man in the suit. He was putting roses file away and pulling out the next one.
“Thank you sir, thank you very much.”
“Could you tell my secretary to send the next one in?”
Rose stood there for a moment but eventually turned and left, leaving the man in the suit alone in his office.
The next three clients of the man in the suit were all very timid and weepy women. They were not especially fond of being dead and they all had very good reasons for staying in this world for awhile. Husbands, children, and parents were their chief concerns, and the man granted each of them a week to spend with their families. There was some concern that a week wasn’t enough but the man assured them that it was not the last they would see of them. That they would have contact with them from the next world, but it was not quite the same. He told each of them that they would understand if they would just step out and speak to his secretary, she would have all that they needed to know for the next week.
After the man in the suit sent the last of the weepy women away he found his door darkened by a large well dressed man. The well dressed man was waiting in the door for the man in the black suit to look up and see him. Once the men were looking at each other the well dressed man made his approach.
“Hi how’s it going? Names Billy, Billy Bosky, people call me Big Billy.” He had now reached the desk and he had his hand out. The suited man just looked down at his desk and began to read the file on Big Billy. By the time he looked up from the file Billy was sitting in the chair.
“William Bosky?”
“Please as I said call me Billy.”
“Do you know why you are here Billy?”
“It’s ‘cuz I crocked right, I mean I’m dead. And now you gonna tell me weather I go to heaven or hell.”
“No I’m not going to tell you that.” The man in the suit explained to Billy about this world and the next and about unfinished business. Billy had some interesting notions about unfinished business. He kept asking about his car lot and business associates. The man in the suit kept explaining to Billy that it was not that kind of business. But Billy kept asking the same questions over and over but with different words. He was probing trying to find out what he could. The man in the suit tried to talk to Billy about his wife and his father who might be grieving for him.
“Naw they’ll be alright.” And he went right back to asking questions that had nothing to do with staying in this world. The man in the suit could tell that there was something on his mind that Billy wasn’t saying. The man in the suit checked the back page of the file to confirm his suspicion.
“Billy are you worried about that $50,000 you stole and hid in the classic car of your show room?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about mister!”
“It’s here in your file. $50,000 stolen from car sales and from your employees bonuses. “
“That’s a dirty lie mister and I resent it. You need to watch your mouth.”
“Billy there’s no need to get upset, I’m not judging you, I’m just telling you what it says here in your file.”
“Then your files a damn liar.” Billy yelled. He was up now pacing the area behind his chair, forcible rubbing his hands together.
“The file cannot lie Billy it’s just a file. I don’t care where the money came from; all I care about is if it has a hold on you.”
Billy let out a scream and leapt at the desk. He grabbed the man by his suit and yanked him up too. “There is no money! I didn’t steal anything!” he stood there staring wild eyed into the man. The man looked down at his suit being held by Billy, and then Billy looked down too. The suit was slipping from his hands and the man was sliding away. Billy looked closer and saw that the suit wasn’t slipping it was fading through his fingers. He let go and watched his fingers slide out from inside the suit. “What are you?”
The man was straightening his suit, “I am your assessor.”
Billy walked up and put his hand on the man, and then he pushed it through. It passed right through him and then out the back. Billy brought it back out and looked it over. “But I touched you a moment ago. You were solid.”
“Yes.”
“And now your not.”
“Yes.”
“Are you an angel?”
“no.” the man was sitting now and gesturing for Billy to sit too. Billy slowly took his seat never letting his eyes off of the man. “What’s going on here?”
“It’s like I told you Billy, we are here to decide weather or not you are ready to go to the next world. It seems the only thing that might be holding you back is that money. Your only option with something like this to haunt the money, do you want to haunt the money?”
“I don’t think so.” Billy let out.
“That’s good to hear, it always sounded really boring to me. Is there anything else you can think of, your wife perhaps?”
“No, no she doesn’t really care about me.”
“Your father then?”
“He, he… no not him either.” Billy seemed almost to be in a trance, never letting his eyes leave the man in the suit.
“Then I think we are done here Billy. I think you need to pass on to the next world, sound good?”
“Yea.”
“Then please go on out to see my secretary, she will direct you from there.” Billy got up and went to the door; he turned back around before opening it.
“What’s going to happen to me?”
“I really don’t know, could you please tell Miss Passway I’m going to take my lunch now.”
Nothing too dramatic happened for the rest of the day. The man in the suit saw a few more weepy women, a handful of slightly confused men and one momma’s boy. He ended with an old man who claimed to have died in his sleep. The man was very polite and made it clear that he wanted nothing more then to hurry along and see his family in the next world. The man in the suit informed him that all he had to do was to step out and see his secretary and he would be on his way. The old man thanked him and quietly left the room. When he was alone the man in the suit gathered up the files and his briefcase, and went out to see his secretary. She was right where he had left her at the beginning of the day, behind the desk reading a book. The man put the file in a tray on the right hand side of her desk labeled “out”.
“Take care of these would you miss Passway.”
She smiled, “oh course sir.” She handed him a piece of paper from her desk. “These are the names for tomorrow sir, and remember that tomorrow is a reassessment day, we will be meeting out in the field.” He took the paper and placed it inside of his briefcase. “Any plans for tonight sir?”
“Just the usual, good night Janet.”
“Good night Mr. Howard.”
Very cool. I like the slow reveal of who and what is going on.
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