Rediscovering Mystery: A Tale about Bob (Part 3)

The ending to Bobâ€™s story is anticlimactic. We found UT Veterinary Hospital without any trouble and carried the box containing Bob inside.



When it comes to building bridges between two completely unrelated subjects, these parents are engineering geniuses. They can hijack any conversation and point its nose toward their precious childâ€™s latest achievement.

Anonymous Proud Mother seizes your attention with a disarming remark: â€œCongratulations on your engagement!â€

Once sheâ€™s got you hooked, and saying, â€œThanks! Weâ€™re really excited,â€ she executes the bait and switch:

â€œWhich reminds me, weâ€™ve also got some big newsâ€¦.â€

She talks your ear off with a fifteen-minute soliloquyâ€”I use the word â€œsoliloquyâ€ because it doesnâ€™t even matter if you, or anyone else, is on stage listeningâ€”about how Billy is planning to go on a special trip to Philmont with his Boy Scouts troop.

He sold seventeen more candy bars for the really important fundraiser and Mr. Phelps the Scoutmaster, who goes to church at Berryâ€™s Chapel, thinks 97 has to be the highest numbers of candy bars that anyone in any troop that he knows of has ever sold. Billy will receive a special commemorative plaque with his name and the number of chocolate bars, and Mr. Phelps sent an email to The Tennessean and thinks theyâ€™re considering running a story on it. How exciting!


Â· Donâ€™t make eye contact. Unsuccessful.
Â· Look over her shoulder. Unsuccessful.
Â· Wave at other people. Unsuccessful.
Â· Watch to see who enters the room every time the door opens. Unsuccessful.



Socially adept people can discern when a conversation is like an overstuffed closet and asking a single question, like pulling out a single shoebox, will start a cascade of ski sweaters, photo albums, and unfashionable luggage. Youâ€™ll spend the rest of the afternoon learning about Little Billyâ€™s merit badges and trombone concerts.



The receiving room was strangely quiet. At the handful of veterinarians I have visited, a cacophony of barks, the brassy clanging of cages like cymbals, and other sounds of animal panic and fear provided raucous background music to the receptionist asking her questions about the â€œpatient.â€ Where were the woofs and anguished screeches of cats? Their absence was more disturbing than their presence. Imagine going into a butcher shop and seeing no blood. Youâ€™d think to yourself, â€œWhat happens here?â€

There were no seats. We obviously werenâ€™t going receive invitations to hang out until one of the vets could give us an update about Bobâ€™s status, so we left. After all, it was Saturday, and dirty clothes were calling.

Outside, Patrick made a confession: on the form he had filled out, he had seen a box to checkmarkâ€”â€œDo you want to be notified with updates about the animalâ€™s condition?â€â€”and heâ€™d left the box empty.

Thanks to Patrickâ€™s cold, cold heart, we wouldnâ€™t hear about what happened to Bob, and after all weâ€™d been through together! For payback, we made jokes about his â€œfather woundsâ€ for several minutes.


I hope heâ€™s eating bream in a single gulp on the Tennessee River, but thanks to my friend Patrick, Iâ€™ll never know.

Friendshipâ€”Spicing up life with mystery since 4000 B.C.

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