A Night Drive To Picton For My Wallet (Part 2)

Mum Takes A Message

Heading home dad gave me the key for the garage door and all I could see was mum standing upstairs, watching out the window through the drapes in her darkened appearance. Opening the garage door I immediately headed to the stairs and yelled out to mum if someone had called. It took her a couple of seconds to respond and I gathered that there would be no call for me but I was rapturous when mum noted “Someone called you by the name of Lorelei saying that you forgot something at Campbelltown Station.”

Thinking that it was the lady from the station who was there with Osric I took out the number from my pocket and disregarded my mum telling me that she left her number. After trying to ring the number on the little hand paper it turned out to be busy and as the irony set upon me again some good fortune turned her tide my way. Mum placed the phone number in front of me as to my surprise it turned out to be a mobile phone number.

Still, I figured that Lorelei was the woman at the station and when I called the number and Lorelei answered we got to talking. “Yeah, you forgot your wallet on the train” she uttered “I have it here with me now”. Those words were like music to my ears as with rapture I did praise her with the utmost respect for finding my wallet.

Girl Beside Me On The Train

The girl that actually found my wallet was the person I sat next to in the train. I sat in the second carriage and I faced away from the direction in which we were traveling on the last seat near the middle of that carriage. She was reading some magazine when I sat next to her and after reading my superannuation booklet that I received today I drifted off to sleep.

When arriving in Campbelltown I jumped off and as noted, I didn’t bother looking back to see if my wallet was on the chair. To tell you the truth, I was confused with thinking it was in my bag, how wrong I was. Lorelei was still sleeping when I left and as I turned slightly that was all I could see. There was another girl on the seat just across the isle that also jumped off at Campbelltown and I gather that Lorelei woke up just after I jumped off the train.

Lorelei was calling me from Picton station in which she jumped off and my first question of curiosity was how she acquired my number. The only telephone number that was in my wallet was that of Harley in which I used the card with her number to call her for lunch today. Through my whole wallet there was nothing which would make her tracking me down easy. There was no address of mine, no telephone number, only a bunch of card with my name on it and my photo identification.

What made it worse was that my number was private so if she really wanted to get my wallet back she would probably have to try Commonwealth Bank for information or some smaller time places like my video shop in Bradbury or the library. Nevertheless, she got my phone number from my lay-by receipt and it was a good thing that it was in there otherwise my wallet would be lost almost indefinitely.

Making Plans To Meet

Thanking her sincerely we tried to arrange plans for me to pick up the wallet and she asked what time I caught the train in the mornings or the afternoons but as I was eager to acquire my belongings I wanted to head out to Picton to pick it up. What agitated me was how I had my dad drive me to Macarthur Square Station to buy a new weekly ticket, knowing that now I would have no chance in hell of getting my money back which my parents kindly leant me.

After a minute or two we came to an agreement that I would wait for her to call me back once she caught a taxi back home in which she would talk to her boyfriend to see what would happen. Being grateful for her finding my wallet I pleaded that she use my money to fund her taxi but she was too sincere and honest for such a deed. When she did call me back twenty minutes later the plan was for me to meet her boyfriend and herself on Argyle Street in Picton, the main street. The place of meeting was at the Shell Service Station and as the time was 7:15 p.m. I gave myself half an hour with dad’s driving to get there.

Nobody Wants To Drive

Within the twenty minutes that I was waiting for her to call back I decided to give Keith a call hoping that he would be able to help me out under the circumstances that I was in. However, I quickly learnt who my real friends were and who would help me out when I was in real need. I thought in my head that if someone spun the same story to me I would be a bit more endearing but as Keith was at Trivia night he didn’t want to budge.

“Try calling Tyler or Binh if they’ll take you” he uttered and as I turned on my computer to acquire their numbers I gave them a try. However, Keith failed to inform me that Tyler was with Keith at the Catholic Club and Binh was soon on his way. Thinking him an idiot I decided to give Ralf a try hoping that he would be able to help me but Ralf was asleep at 7:00 p.m. which was a bit spooky.

Deciding not to bother him I tried one last person as my last resort not wanting to bother him but hoping he was with Min-Su where he would have means to an automobile. Jett had actually just finished working out with Maddox at the Gym and although he didn’t have a car I figured that Maddox would probably help me out considering the circumstance. Jett didn’t give too much away but to say “Here Tony wants to ask you something” as he handed the phone to Maddox and I knew as I tried my hand at selling my story it would eventually fall apart.

I can’t blame Maddox for saying no and I placed no undue pressure on him but noting that his car wasn’t fully insured to drive to Picton was a bit silly an excuse. Nevertheless, as Lorelei called me back from home and I couldn’t find someone to help me out I decided to chose the reliable option, my dad. I didn’t want to have my dad running around any more than he had to but it seemed no real choice, I was too persistent in wanting back my pride and joy.

My Lucky Charm Again

In the years that I’ve actually had enough money and possessions dangling around to own a wallet I have had several brushes with dispossession. To my memories serving, I can remember at least two times where I have lost my wallet before but in each and every circumstance, after canceling Credit Cards and what not, I always got my wallet back. Today fate didn’t treat me any different and this fate charm around my neck really does work wonders.

After my initial stress of losing my wallet I kept thinking about my fate chain and how it had let me down but in the back of my mind I knew that it would eventually serve me well. This day where I have again lost my wallet and found gratification in the knowledge that there are more good people in this world than there seems, I will look back upon for some time to come. This might not be a turning point in my life but it’s another day with a twist in which in a storyline you would see the guy lose the wallet forever but in my circumstance, the impossible has happened.

Racing Down The Highway

Having half an hour to head to Picton I thought it wouldn’t be enough time knowing how dad never drove too fast but it was our only hope. Tension increased within the pressure of my day as dad continually slowed down wondering which way to head next. Directing him past Macarthur Square and onto the highway I wasn’t too sure if it would lead us to Picton but I figured it would be faster than the old Hume Highway.

Dad kept the car at top notch speed which was 120 Km/h all the way down the highway and as I read a sign that only noted Wollongong being 60 Km away I hoped that this wasn’t the only turnoff. As we passed Douglas Park Bridge above us and our not being able to jump on I was beginning to worry that we did actually go the wrong way and we would end up in Wollongong.

However, we made our way to the Picton turnoff as I let out a sigh of relief and still keeping up our pace and conversation we headed to where we were lightly directed. Making our way down Picton Road onto the main street of Picton I noticed Argyle Street almost immediately and felt conclusion approaching. As I spoke to Lorelei’s boyfriend over the phone I gave him information on what we would be driving in and as he told me he drove a white Holden newer Ute I knew what to look for.

Meeting At The Shell Station

Turning into Argyle Street and heading towards the Shell service station I noticed what I thought was Lorelei and her boyfriend standing to the left of our turnoff. They were eyeing our car as if they were looking for someone and almost contiguously I knew it was them. Parking out the front of Shell I watched their Ute make its way behind our car and as it came closer Lorelei hung out the window and said hello to me. Her boyfriend looked like a decent bloke too with curly black short hair.

As they pulled up next to me she handed me the wallet as I thanked her dearly for her honorable deed. Wishing to give her some kind of reward I pulled out $20 from my wallet and as they kept insisting that they didn’t want anything I let it drop near the gearbox saying “I thank you both for being so honest and kind enough to go to these lengths. You don’t know how much this means to me so I’m just going to drop this money here and that’s all we’ll way about it”.

Letting out some smiles as I backed away from the car I knew they wouldn’t mind a bit of extra money in the hand and this was the best way of keeping them humble. Thanking Lorelei again I told her that I’d probably see her on the train sometime and making my way back to dad’s car we were off back home. I didn’t bother to check if anything in my wallet was missing because I completely trusted the both of them. Picton is a place of good honest people and I had a feeling that I would find my wallet back in my hands someday.

Back Home To Write

Heading back home from Picton we went along the old highway in which we got home around 8:50 p.m. Having left my computer to idle I couldn’t wait to turn it on and write of my little ordeal tonight. Now as I am back home and the time is 10:20 p.m. I know that I still have to write of Saturday night, the brisk Sunday and my adventures at work today. Tonight will be another one of those long nights in which I am thinking of extending my coverage until after midnight, hoping that I can take it.

Right now I am calm, sitting here with nothing but my work socks on and a beanie, the warm fibers of heated air cooling my bare back and my fingers gallantly typing my expedient night. Just for those last two hours I wrote of almost nine pages which would normally fill the void of a day or two. It just goes to show how when one writes with passion he has much speech to administer. I will now write of Saturday night as I don’t feel so glum anymore, the job can be done…