The boy and the delivery

The story

"Ah, and what do you want?" The older man said while filing taxes. "U-uh w-well y-you see-" "Come on man just spit it out!" The man spat. "M-mr. Pearlser, you still need to p-pay Mr. Canter...you see? For th-" "I know what I owe! I am not paying that wretched man until he gives me a refund! I am not going to pay for a broken coffee machine! And that's final!" The man turned away from the messenger boy and continued mumbling under his breath and writing a letter on paper. The boy stood there baffled. "Here give him this! And do not come back! The coffee machine is over there! Take it and give it to him!" "As you wish Mr. Pearlser." He began walking over to the coffee machine to take it away but was interrupted by Mr. Pearlser. "Here as for you i'll give you a tip for taking the stupid coffee machine back." He held    out a check of.. Twenty pounds!?! "My word! Mr. Pearlser! oh! thank you!" He began doing his job quickly. Mr. Pearlser went back to his desk ,that was large ,hand carved, custom made, and dark brown, with 'P.C.' Carved onto the front and worked. The boy walked out of the office and into the busy work room, where people were sewing clothes and on break eating food. "Hello Leo!" A middle aged women called out as he past a group of ladies. "Ah! Margaret! How do you do?" He quickly asked still in shock from the twenty pound tip. "Same old ,same old, but it was quite rude of you blokes, to almost run off and not say hello to your soon to be Sister-in-Law!" She walked over and messed up his hair with her hand. "Marg- please-" he grunted and tried to fix his hair with his other hand while holding the coffee machine. The women off to the side giggled and Margaret snickered. "Oh come on boy lighten up." She said after sipping her tea out of a tin cup. "Well I ought to go, Mr. Canter can not wait any longer or i'll lose my pay!" He exclaimed quickly and ran off as the group of women shouted their good byes.The sound of his worn shoes hitting the subway tiled floor echoed through the room. Leo opened the humongous  door to the very busy, market, filled street. "Oi! Get your fresh fish here!" And "Freshly baked breads!" And "Crisp vegetables!" Were screamed into his ears as he quickly walked past. 'Oh man i wish i could stop and get something, i'm starving!' He complained in his head, but he just continued walking to Mr. Canter's factory. After being pushed and shoved through the brick paved streets, he finally made it to the factory. He opened the door to the front of the building, and went to the reception desk. "Excuse me, Miss?" The boy hit the bell to notify the woman he was there. "M-yes? Do you have an appointment?" She said sharply as she typed at a fast pace on a typewriter. "U-uh no I don't but, i have a delivery for Mr. Canter from Mr. Pearlser..." The typewriter made a loud ringing noise when it was at the end of the type space. "Oh, can you come in tomorrow?" She said ignoring him,she pulled out a pencil from her hair and began writing on a piece of yellow paper. "But, it's an important package!" He exclaimed. "Look, Mr. Canter is a busy man, his work can not be interrupted by little children like you, now get lost!" She snapped back and then continued typing on her typewriter grumbling and mumbling under her breath. 'Jeez she needs to get the stick out of her bum..' He grumbled under his breath. He walked out of the building and into the side door ' I am delivering this package no matter what! I need this pay...' He thought. He broke into the back door. Since he has had a lot of experience, he knew how to break into any home or office quickly and quietly. He shut the door softly, only to turn around to meet two large guards with guns pointed at him. "And what do you think you're doing?" The one replied with a American accent. Leo didn't say anything, nervous he'd get in trouble for breaking an entrance. "So what should we do with this chap? Feed him to the dogs? Take him to Mr. Canter?" Leo's eyes lit up like light bulbs "Can you take me to Mr. Canter? I would like to deliver this to him?" The men snickered. "And what makes you think we should take you to Mr. Canter?" Leo adjust the heavy coffee machine. "Mr. Pearlser sent me." The guards look at each other and sighed. "Right this way, sir."A guard grumbled to Leo 'woah it worked!' He cheered in his head. 'Mr. Pearlser and Mr. Canter have an agreement with each other, or like some kind of benefit thing that some factories do to save money and rely on each other's appliances, so anything dealing with each other gets you into anything...except with that snooty lady earlier.' He remembered his dad saying something about the two factories. "Thank you!" Leo said cheerfully walking with the men to Mr. Canter's office. "And here we are, sir." The one guard said with a grumble and a sigh.  "Thank you!" The young boy replied again to both of the guards and opened the door to find Mr. Canter there, doing paperwork, like every other business man he has every met."Talk I haven't much time." He replied quickly to the boy. "Mr. Canter I have a delivery and letter from Mr. Pearlser." He grunted and looked up from his work. "And what does that man want now?" He snapped and took the letter from the boy's hand. "Set the coffee machine over there." He pointed to a spot over by the corner of his grand office, of stained glass and dark colored wood. "Unbelievable!" He spat out ,his voice sharp as a knife. "I will have you know, my appliances, made by my company, is the best and will stay that best!" Mr. Canter slammed his hand down on the desk, furious with the letter he had just received. Some of the items that Mr. Canter put on the desk fell off, including a jar of writing ink which splattered onto the white floor and brown carpet. "And Mr. Pearlser mocks me and my company, saying he could start making his own appliances and they would be better than mine!" He stands up at his desk, still looking at the letter. "How rude!" He stepped over the spilted ink and strode over to the other side of the room and began rummaging through a large dark brown cabinet with stained red glass doors and silver knobs that had C.M. Engraved into it. The glass windows had multiple arrangements of the color red, and the dark almost black wood made it stand out like it was in the center of his gigantic office. 'C.M.?' Leo thought. 'Maybe his full name is... Michael Canter? Matthew Cant-' his thought were interrupted when Mr. Canter began throwing things around, digging and searching for some item or paper of his. The sounds of glass breaking pierced the still silence in the room."U-uh Mr. Canter do you need hel-" leo ducked as a metal paper weight flew through  the air. "Help?" Mr. Canter said quickly. "Oh yes, come here boy, hold this-" he handed Leo a large stack of papers and envelopes. "Uh o-ok." Leo tried not to fall over with the large pile in his scrawny arms. After a few minutes of hearing crashes and bangs from all the items and including Mr. Canter muttering curse words under his breath, Leo tried to start a conversation. "Um what exactly are you looking for Mr. Canter?" He heard a few grunts and then Mr. Canter's head popped back out of the cabinet. "Don't worry about it ,son I found it!" He held up a letter with a gold seal. 'Rich people...' Leo thought. "Just set that down, boy,  i'll have one of my maids clean it up." Mr.Canter said with a devilish smile on his face. "Yes, sir..." He walked over to the large cabinet and set it down next to with a sigh. 'Thank god, my arms were getting tired!' He thought with relief flowing with arms and body. He walked over to see Mr. Canter violently writing a letter, supposedly to Mr. Pearlser. Leo stood there for a few minutes until Mr. Canter held up a letter in his face. "Take this to Mr. Pearlser! As fast as possible!" Leo nodded and took the letter and started out the door. "Oh wait! I almost forgot something!" Leo stopped to see Mr. Canter walking towards him. "Here take this for your time." He had given Leo fifteen pounds. 'I think I deserve a little more than that buddy..' He thought in his mind. He thanked Mr. Canter and was out on the crowded street in no time. He looked at the street and it was more crowded than before. 'Oh no, i will be late if i travel through this....oh wait i could take the back streets!' He began sprinting to the left passing the main street and then onto a back street, which was less crowded. He stopped but then, continued running, loud thumps coming from his shoes hitting the brick paved road. He dodged a woman carrying a chicken and a man carrying a cart full of his personal belongings. "Hey! Watch it!" He yelled at him. "Sorry!" He yelled behind him running toward the other factory.Not to long after Leo ran into a object with a loud thumping noise."Ow!" A high pitched whine came from a girls mouth, as the contents in her arms shot through the air. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" Leo squeaked out, trying to quickly return the spilled objects to the rightful owner. She scrambled to pick up the loaves of bread and vegetables that greedy people scooped up and walked away with. "Hey! Get back here!" Leo screamed at the man who had taken a loaf of white bread. He sprinted after the man, leaving the unknown girl behind. They ran and ran, twists and turns with every corner, until finally leo grabbed the back of the man's collar. "Give it back!" He yelled as he tried to rip the bread out of his hands. "Come! On!" Leo shoved him into a brick wall, trying to restrain him to give the bread. The man kicked Leo away, making Leo fall into a puddle of mud next to them. The man bolted away as he got the chance. "Oh come on..." He sighed. Leo got up and tried to scrape off all the mud, as much as he could. 'Oh crap i still have to deliver the letter!' He mentally yelled at himself. He began sprinting towards the other factory as fast as he could. It took him maybe fifteen minutes to get there with traffic and trains. He got to the large doors of Mr. Pearlser's factory. Panting her knocked on the door and waited for someone to open the door. Few minutes later he could hear bolts and locks turning to unlock the door. The door opened, and one of Mr. Pearlser's butlers were there. "Ah, young Mr. Edwards,  welcome to the Pearlser factory, come in, come in!" He ushered the boy inside quickly. "Oh no you clothes are soiled! What in the heavens did you do? We must get you clean clothes before you walk into see Mr. Pearlser!" He stated loudly as he ran off. "You stay there!" Leo did what he was told. He looked around the the large room with dark wood and stained green glass with the Pearlser logo on them. Brass chandeliers bathed the room in a green hue from the green glass shades. The white marble floor shined brightly, as if to try to take away all the other attention from the beautiful detail on the wall and windows, and put it manly on its grand floor. He admired the large and grand statue that stood in the middle of the large hallway like room. It was made of a shiny brass and in the shape of a great dane, the Pearlser factory mascot. 'Gorgeous' he thought. Leo has never came in through the front of the grand factory, always the back, so this is all new to him. The butler hurried back with expensive looking clothes. "Here, follow me and put these on." The butler grabbed Leo's hand and pulled him to a large and grand bathroom. "Woah.." Leo looked around in amazement. The bathroom was filled to the brim with subway tile and black and white tiled floor. A large claw footed tub sat by a large window with curtains. The sink was against the opposite wall of the porcelain toilet,with a medicine cabinet mirror. "Change in here, Mr. Pearlser's office is off to the right straight down and then make a turn the last door on the left and that's his office." He said turning away and shutting the door. "Thank you!" He called out before the door shut fully. He turned towards the clothes that were provided for him. 'Wow even new shoes ,too' he thought to himself. He began undressing. 'What if i took a bath? I am dirty...' He turned on the water. Steam filled the room, and after a few seconds he found the right temperature and got in. 'Man I haven't had one of these in a while...' He knew he shouldn't be doing this but, 'Mr. Pearlser wouldn't mind right?' He thought to himself and shrugged. He got in and began bathing himself, Admiring the grand and expensive bathroom as he washed. He finished, smelling like pine and spice, he drained the bath and grabbed a towel and dried off and soon after got dressed in the new expensive clothes he was given. He picked up his belongings and walked to the right and then made a left at the last door and knocked on the door. He heard shuffling behind of the door and then the door clicked open in front of him. It was Mr. Pearlser, he looked at the boy's new clothes. "Thank goodness they fit you ,boy, had them specially made for you." Leo was shocked. "Thank you Mr. Pearlser! But i have a question for you" he paused,"but why?" Mr. Pearlser chuckled. "Son you do not have to call me Mr. Pearlser every time you address me,son, just call me Charlie." He walked past Leo and sat at his desk, gesturing for Leo to sit in the velvety chair in front of him. "How would you like to work here?" He finally popped the question. Leo gasped in surprise.

"And from that day on." A older man talked to two young children under blankets."I have worked there since." He sighed. "And that's how I met your mother." "Oh! So father! The lady you bumped into was mummy?" The little girl asked excitedly. "Indeed..Victoria...indeed it's her.." He said quietly, a soft smile appeared on his face. "Leo, can you asked the girls if they brushed their teeth and took their vitamins?" A older female called out. "Yes, darling!" He waited a second and then turned to the girls. "You heard your mother, Emma, Victoria." They scrambled out of bed and ran out into the hall to go take their vitamins. Leo turned and blew out the candle on the nightstand of the small room. The woman walked into the doorway, the light from the hallway made her look like she was glowing, like she was the light herself. "You know, I am grateful that you ran into me, Leo." She let out a small and soft chuckle and walked over to him, hugging him from the back. They stared into the window and that looked on the city lights. Leo whispered softly almost to himself."I am ,too, Sarah."

         The end.