An Errand

Stewart walked down the hall.
  He was going slowly and counting his steps.
  He was reciting things in his head.
  He didn’t want to forget.
  Commander had told him a lot of stuff. He had given him a lot of tasks. He had also gone on a lot of tangents. Stewart was sure to carry his notepad and pencil with him wherever he went. This was the way of the Intern. He needed to be prepared. It was not uncommon for anyone at any time to ask him to do something, and if he forgot or mixed things up, he would end up in a bunch of trouble. Everyone always blamed the Interns. Especially the Junior Sprouts. They were just poor little kids who always messed things up, right? Well, Stewart was set out to prove them wrong.
  He walked and walked, heading towards the elevator when his pager beeped. It was an ominous message from Commander that appeared to have been sent in haste.
  “Princely. Office. NOW.”
  It seemed like the man was fairly upset. Stewart gulped. He knew that couldn’t be good. Usually, Commander was a person who would ignore the fact that pager messages were supposed to be short, direct, and to the point. He would flower them with kindness and tangents, just like he did with his speech in real life. This time, though, he didn’t. So, Stewart was nervous.
  “Okay…okay…”
  The boy turned around. He was supposed to be headed downstairs to deliver a ream of paper and some binder clips to a meeting in Boardroom Seven, but Commander’s call was always more urgent. He decided they’d have to wait. He didn’t run, but he started walking. Fast. Chanting in his head. Remembering what Commander had asked him to do today, hoping he didn’t forget anything. He had gone to the coffee shop earlier and ordered Commander’s usual with two napkins, an extra stirrer, and a sugar and cream to go. Had he forgotten the cream? Had he accidentally grabbed a salt packet when reaching for the sugar? Had he dropped one of the napkins on the way? Was one of the stirrers bent?
  Stewart knew that Commander wasn’t usually very much of a stickler for these sorts of things. He was kind and would simply remind Stewart of the right way if he did something wrong. He’d laugh about a mistake and then go on a nineteen-minute rant about how it reminded him of a ceiling fan he saw when visiting a hotel in Australia. Stewart didn’t always follow Commander’s train of thought, but he enjoyed their conversations. He was like an uncle or a grandpa. Though Commander insisted he wasn’t old enough to be Stewart’s grandpa, Stewart wasn’t so sure.
  As the boy approached the office, he took a deep breath. He couldn’t imagine what he’d done wrong this time. He wanted to prove himself to the organization–to Commander–and making mistakes like this would set him back terribly. Opening the door, he heard a loud shout.
  “Princely! There you are!” Aggravation came across in Commander’s tone but, if Stewart wasn’t mistaken, the man sounded a bit nervous himself.
  “Yes, Commander?” Stewart’s voice cracked. He stood up straight and put his hands to his sides, still clutching the pencil and notebook in one of them.
  “I need you to deliver a bouquet of flowers to desk eighty-four in Sector Three PRONTO.” The commander’s face was serious, but Stewart’s brow furrowed in confusion. “It needs to have lilies and lilacs and lavenders, adorned with periwinkles–”
  “...poppies, periwinkles, and petunias?” Stewart finished his sentence as the Commander trailed off, staring at the young Intern in shock.
  “Yeah…and make sure it–”
  “...gets there before noon?”
  Commander paused. “How did you know that?”
  “Well, you already told me to deliver this bouquet to desk eighty-four in Sector Three tomorrow, sir,” Stewart’s voice came timidly.
  “I did?”
  “Yes, sir. You told me about forty-eight days and twelve hours ago, sir. It was late and I was about to retire to my dorm, but I have it down right here in the schedule.”
  “I see…” Commander rubbed his chin and leaned back thoughtfully in his swivel chair. “I guess that means I told you the wrong date.”
  “Oh. Well, I should be going now if you want me to get it there before noon.” Stewart slowly backed towards the door.
  “Yeah. Thanks.” Commander’s voice was distant as if the man was lost in deep thought.
  “Oh. And, um…did you still want me to deliver them tomorrow, too? Or should I just move tomorrow’s assignment to today?”
  “No, Princely. I don’t need two bouquets delivered.” Commander sounded more resigned and disappointed in himself than in Stewart, but the boy couldn’t be so sure.
  “Sorry. Right away, sir.”
  “Thanks. Princely. You the man.”
  The last sentence made him perk up. His timid smile became a beaming grin as he nodded and walked out of Commander’s office with a spring in his step.
  “Lilies, lilacs, lavenders, poppies, periwinkles, and petunias. Lilies, lilacs, lavenders, poppies, periwinkles, and petunias…”