Why couldn’t I bring myself to go to the door? I stared out my blinds to see who was knocking on my door. It was a delivery man in uniform holding a package. He knocked, then looked at the package, then to his handheld scanner, and knocked again.
How harmful could he be?
When I look back at the past, that dark evening when a stranger came knocking at my door, I felt anxiety creeping in. I can’t allow myself to be a victim again!
What happens if I open the door and it happens again?
I just can’t allow myself to do it!
So I holler from my bedroom window “Just leave the package on the step please!”
“But ma’am, I need a signature in order to leave it.”
“Who is it from? I’m not expecting a delivery.”
“It says from the Telephone Company ma’am, are you sure you’re not expecting this?”
“I’m absolutely positive. If you can not leave it, you’ll have to take it with you. I can’t come to the door right now.”
“But ma’am, my instructions are to deliver this to you today.”
“You don’t understand me. I can not come to the door. If you can not leave it, you’ll have to take it back with you. The telephone company can contact me directly and I’ll go to the to pick it up.”
“Yes ma’am. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”
“Shew” I thought. As I watched him walk down my lane towards the street, I couldn’t help but notice he was in a regular white cargo van with no markings. “Odd” I thought.
I picked up the telephone and went to dial the telephone company to ask the what they were trying to deliver to me. When I picked up the receiver, there was no dial tone.
“What the hell?”
I grabbed my cellphone and called them to not only inquire about the package but to report my phone line being down.
“Hello. You’ve reached DialOne, what can I help you with?”
“Yes, this is Shane Doyle, Account Number 75890-123. I just had a gentleman here at my residence trying to deliver a package from, he said, the Telephone Company. Were you trying to send me something?”
“Let me check our records ma’am. Were you having a situation with your phones recently?”
“No I haven’t but when I just tried to call you from my landline, there was no dial tone.”
“One moment please.”
It seemed like forever I was holding on the line. I keep peeking out my blind to see if the van had left and it did indeed. But from outside I could hear my neighbors dog barking…..
“Ma’am, we did not have a package being delivered to you. Are you sure it was from us?”
“That’s what the delivery man said but I was afraid to go to the door.”
“Did you get a look at his vehicle? Possibly get a tag number?”
“It was a white cargo van but I didn’t get the tag number.”
“Ma’am, I would suggest contacting the delivery company directly and ask them to assist you. Now let me run a test on your phone line.”
I could feel the anxiety building more inside of me. My palms were already clammy and I could feel sweat begin to trickle down my forehead.
“Ma’am, thank you for holding. I ran a test on your line and it shows that the line has been disconnected, possible from your residence. I can dispatch a technician to come out there immediately. Be sure to ask to see his badge and he will be driving a DialOne van.”
“Ok, I don’t understand about the phone line but I will wait for the technician to arrive. Thank you.”
“Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
“Not unless you have some Xanax to calm my nerves” I said jokingly.
“Sorry ma’am, I can’t help you with that. I hope your evening gets better. Thank you for calling DialOne.”
Very odd my line was appearing to be disconnected? Do I dare to go outside and check? The dogs were still barking outside which mean one of two things; either someone was out there or there was another animal.
I went to the back of my house and peeked out the sliding glass door blinds. I pulled them slightly aside and saw the delivery guy standing there!
“Oh my god! What do you want? What are you doing there?”
He was trying to rattle the door open. I was scared for my life and told him “Go away! I have a gun and I know how to use it!”
He continued to rattle the door and then it stopped. I ran into my bedroom drawer and pulled out my revolver. Yes, I actually did have a gun and am certified to use it. I have been ever since my last incident that nearly took my life!
The guy was now banging on the bathroom window. I grabbed my phone to call 9-1-1 when I heard the sound of breaking glass shatter in the other room! “Oh my gosh! This guy is crazy!”
“What do you want?! Get out of my house or I will be forced to shoot!”
I cowered behind my bedroom door and listened carefully. I could hear his footsteps on the hardwood floors in my hallway. “Please leave me alone! I have a gun and it’s loaded!”
I could hear him breathing outside my bedroom door. I swear I was going to pass out from a panic attack. I thought he was about to break down my door when I hear knocking on my front door.
“Hello Ms. Doyle. This is Technician Michael James with DialOne. I’m here to check your phone line. I’m going to have a look outside first and then I’ll come back to the front door to let you know what I find.”
“Help me! Someone is trying to kill me!” I yelled from inside.
As soon as the delivery guy heard that, I heard him stumble down the hallway and out the broken bathroom window.
“Ma’am are you ok? This is Michael James from DialOne.”
“Did you see him? He just jumped out my bathroom window?”
“No ma’am. I didn’t see anyone other than the broken window and your phone line has been cut. If you look at the window you can see I am legitimate and with DialOne.”
I peeked out the blinds, gun still in hand, he was telling the truth. I went to my front door and looked through the peephole. “May I see your badge please?”
“Yes ma’am. Here you go.”
He was telling the truth. I opened the door and allowed him to come inside.
“Are you ok ma’am? Do you need me to call the police?”
“There was a man who broke into my house. He was at my bedroom door when you knocked. You saved my life!”
“We better contact the authorities and file a report. Let me take care of that for you while you pull yourself together.”
Desperate for some air, I said “Thank you” and went for a glass of water. When I came back to my living room, Mr. James had just hung up the phone with the police.
“The authorities are on their way here ma’am. I’ll wait here with you if you’d like, until they arrive.”
“Yes please, that is so kind of you. Would you like something to drink?”
“No ma’am. I’m going to contact DialOne and let them know about the cut phone line but I don’t want to fix it until after the authorities have seen it.”
“Thank you so very much.”
I excused myself to the bathroom and saw all the broken glass on the floor. Wait! There was something in the window! It looked like a piece of fabric! Maybe it tore off from the delivery guy! I’ll let the police handle that and maybe they can catch the bastard.
Still walking around with my gun, now in my back pocket, I felt more at ease with Mr. James there. Despite all that was happening so quickly, I couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was. This man saved my life! How can I ever repay him.
Within minutes, the authorities arrived. They questioned me and Mr. James on what transpired. Then the authorities started investigation the “crime” scene.
“If you ok Ms. Doyle, I’ll let you handle it from here, unless you prefer I stay. This is my last call for today and I’d be glad to stay until the authorities leave.”
“That won’t be necessary Mr. James but I just don’t know how I could ever repay you for saving me? Could I possibly…..” taking a deep breath here and noticing he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring “interest you in a home cooked meal one evening?”
“You don’t have to do that Ms. Doyle.”
“Please call me Shane.”
“Shane, that is very thoughtful of you but definitely not necessary.”
“I know it’s not necessary but I would love to prepare a meal for you and thank you for saving me.”
“That would be wonderful, Shane. Here’s my business card with my cellphone number on it. Feel free to contact me anytime.”
“Thank you Mr. James.”
“Please, call me Michael .”
“Thank you Michael . I will be calling you soon.”
I walked him towards the door and despite the authorities still there doing their investigation, I had almost forgotten what had transpired. I was already smitten by Mr. James and anticipating our evening together.
