On This Date in 1998

There have been some weird, unexplained incidents at our house the past couple days.

Yesterday when I went home for lunch, I noticed a trail of mail – five pieces, including a copy of the Times Observer, so I’m not talking about small envelopes or cards – leading from the sidewalk to the front door. I fished four other pieces out of the mailbox. What is going on here? I wondered. I can’t imagine our mailman being so careless. Although I didn’t measure, the pieces on the ground seemed to be an equal distance apart. A kid’s prank?

When I told her about this incident before she left for work this morning, JoAnna asked me about a hair brush that had been sitting on top of the toilet tank in the small bathroom.

“Whose is this?” She had a most puzzled look on her face.

“I assumed it was yours,” I told her. She looked at me at what I hoped was mock-disbelief.

“Are you having an affair?” she asked. I strained to hear a jokey tone in her voice.

“Oh yeah, you caught me,” I said with a laugh. Then my tone became more serious.

“You know the answer to that question.”

JoAnna also wondered what a hammer was doing on the countertop in the dining area. Neither of us could remember using it over the weekend or seeing the boys with it.

When I looked at the car this morning, I immediately noticed something awry. The hood had been popped open. I remember opening the trunk from the inside of the car the previous evening so Andy could retrieve his baseball gear. The hood and trunk controls aren’t anywhere near each other.

 There’s got to be a logical explanation for this stuff. The brush could be Meaghan’s. It could have become separated from the pack in which she totes her swimming gear. From its size, it looks like a brush that a girl in grade school would use.

Anyway, I now find myself looking at things around the house more closely. Is anything out of place? Anything missing? Not where it belongs? Stay tuned for the next installment of The Mysteries of Mayflower Drive.