"I'm telling you, it was the most absurd thing I've ever encountered." Derick explained to Maria the next day in the laundry room of their apartment building.
"It was probably a hallucination." Maria folded tee-shirts on the cream-colored counter next to the dryers.
"Well, then I must have walked outside while sleeping then, because I was soaked from the rain."
Maria looked at Derick oddly.
"What?" He asked.
"It didn't rain last night."
"Yes it did. My manuscript was drenched."
Maria shook her head. "If it had rained, the pavement would still be wet, there would be puddles everywhere, Derick."
Derick thought for a moment. "That can't be." He said more to himself than to her.
"Look, you wanna come over tonight? Watch some movies, play cards, get your mind off of this thing?"
He nodded absentmindedly, picked up his laundry basket, and left the room.
* * *
Derick just couldn't make sense of the encounter the night before. Maria surely had to be wrong. He spent most of the night outside. He knew it had rained. Whatever.
Derick wondered where his manuscript was at that moment. This agent didn't even give a name, didn't ask for any of Derick's information, although, he did know where Derick lived. "Maybe he'll drop it off." Derick reassured himself.
The journey to Derick's apartment on the 27th floor was a slow and treacherous one. The stairs were of crumbling stone and the elevators were in desperate need of service. In Derick's opinion, the whole building was in terrible disrepair and needed to be demolished. It's surprising that the city of New York hadn't yet condemned it.
After a 15 minute trip from the laundry room in the basement to the 27th floor, Derick dropped the laundry basket on the floor next to the door and his keys on the kitchen counter. His answering machine was blinking. Derick pressed 'play'.
"Hello. I've read your manuscript and have made some minor changes to certain sections. I will be calling later tonight to speak to you about these matters."
"End of message." The automated voice on the machine replied.
Derick's eyes were wide with surprise. It was the husky-voiced man from the night before. "Wow, he read that fast." Derick said out loud. "Maybe I should make it longer."
* * *
"Hey, look, I'm expecting an important phone call tonight, and, well, could we have this little get-together at my place?"
"Sure." Maria replied, holding the receiver between her chin and shoulder as she was fixing herself dinner. "Who's calling?"