For Such a Time as This

Short Story Day 108 of 365

For as long as folks could remember, Ted was the office practical joker. He had been with the company for 18 years and was always good for a laugh, and often at his own expense.

On his desk were recent photos of his family plus the photo of him and the “granddaddy elk” he bragged about shooting. If you had twelve or thirteen minutes, he’d relive the shot for you.

Jace Keeler was the intern that summer. Early on, someone warned him about Ted, but he always loved a good joke himself, so what was the big deal? It had been well over two weeks since Ted’s last joke.

In the middle of the afternoon, Jace asked, “Any of you know the extension to Finance. I need to confirm these figures.”

“Got it here,” Ted said.

He touched his phone and flicked his finger once, “Yep, here it is. It’s, uh, 2259.”

“2259. Thanks.”

Jaced punched in the numbers and waited.

“Sewage Treatment, this is Matt.”

“Uh uh, sorry, wrong number.”

“Who were you trying to reach?”

Click.