It’s a Good Thing For Gerty

Zachary arrived to a dock full of merchandise, no boat and Gerty waiting impatiently. Obviously his gamble that the boat would be late today was incorrect.

“I guess the boat must have been early today,” Zachary piped up sheepishly in a mock jog onto the dock.  Gerty was not smiling.  She was not mad either but not too happy with it all.  “Thanks for signing for our hardware delivery. Hope you haven’t waited too long….”

“And covering the cost…”Gerty said.  “Captain McCray  was not early. He was on time. He is always on time.  He even waited and extra five minutes.  I barely had enough coin to cover my own delivery.”

“Oh,”Zachary, acted surprised”we owed money on it? I thought Alfred said he had paid for it already.  Oh, uh well, how much do we owe?”

“$200.” Gerty said.

Zachary gasped. “Well I have $50 on me, would that be okay for now and I will get the rest from Alfred and drop it off tomorrow morning.”

Well I guess it will have to for now, Gerty sighed.   But I have another shipment coming the day after tomorrow and I need the money to pay for it.

“Tomorrow morning, right.” Gerty wanted to hear him promise it.

“Okay, no problem,”Zachary assured Gerty, “tomorrow morning.  You have my word.”

Nothing in his ‘word’ assured her.   As they parted direction she wondered if she shouldn’t have offered to follow him back to his workshop and pick it up herself. but naw, her dealings with his brother Alfred were always solid…….