william was two thirds of the way to the store, when he remembered that he had forgotten something.
what could it have been? it must have been important or he would not have remembered that he had forgotten it.
he turned back, even though he knew that he was wasting precious time, and that the store might not have the items he wanted, when he returned.
there was no one in the lobby, when he returned to his building, and no one on the elevator when he took it up to his apartment on the twenty-second floor.
but there was a man standing outside his apartment. the man wore a brown jacket and a green hat.
excuse me, the man said to william, but have you lost your wife?
no, william replied, i do not have a wife.
well then, have you lost your dog?
i do not have a dog either, william said.
then you must have lost your cat.
no, william said, i do not have a cat.
the man in the brown jacket shook his head. i am sorry to hear that you do not have a wife, a dog , or a cat, he said. perhaps you would like to obtain one of those things?
not this morning, william said. now if you will excuse me, i am in a bit of a hurry.
certainly, the man replied. i did not mean to intrude. perhaps we may meet again some time, and i may be of more assistance to you.
perhaps, william agreed.
the man departed, and william entered his apartment.
as soon as he did, he remembered what he had forgotten, because they were lying on his little kitchen table.
they were applications to change his name from william to walter, and to move to an apartment on the nineteenth floor. how could he have forgotten them?
he picked them up. he would drop them off at the superintendent’s office on his return from the store.
he hastily retraced his steps to the store.
when he finally got there, it had most of the items he wanted, but not the one he had particularly wanted.
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