tale of two packages

This morning I went to the post office with the green piece of paper in my hand, the green piece of paper saying I needed to go to the post office to retrieve the package that was too large to fit in my mailbox. This time there were 15 people in line but more than one worker behind the counter. So I stayed in line. Two men in front of me were having a conversation that I sort of enjoyed following. One was saying how much worse it was in the 1970s. I think he was talking about post office lines.

When it was my turn, I handed the green piece of paper to the worker. She went into the back to find my package and came back empty handed. She told me it wasn't there. She said to check with my apartment complex manager. "There is no manager," I said. She disappeared into the back again to look for my package. She came back empty handed again and told me it wasn't there. "What am I supposed to do?" I asked. She said there was one more place she could check. So she disappeared into the back again and returned empty handed. She told me she had asked two supervisors and neither of them knew where my package might be. "What am I supposed to do?" I asked again. She took my phone number, wrote it on the back of the green piece of paper, and said she would scour the area.

I hoped the package would be waiting for me when we got back home--I hoped it was gone because the mail carrier had decided to try to deliver it again. But no such luck. Instead, another very important package had arrived. It was the package containing my Christmas present for my dad. So now I'm 100% ready for Christmas. But not really--I lack the package that was lost, the package I think is from Finland. I feel sorry for that Finnish friend who wanted me to have the present in time for Christmas. Hopefully it will turn up.