the blue box

One day Maggie and George were exploring in the industrial section of San Dienango. They'd heard there was a factory that had gone out of business and they wanted to see if the spot could make a good temporary home. Winter was coming on and even San Dienango got too cold for sleeping out in the open.

Just as they expected, the windows were boarded up, the doors triple bolted, but there were wide-open spaces surrounding the factory, and a large clean culvert. This would be the nicest home they'd had in a long time.

During their inspection they discovered a small stack of plywood. Each sheet was about eight feet long and four feet wide. Maggie started dreaming of a real home made of wood.

"George, we could nail these together and have a shelter. We could use lots of mission clothes on the floors and walls for insulation and softness. It would be just great!"

"Okay Maggie, I'll find some nails. You look around for a rock we could use as a hammer."

George found a little box of rusty nails somebody had forgotten about. And Maggie found a couple of rocks which might serve as hammers. They began immediately on their bungalow.

Before they began nailing they decided to beat on the dark knots to make little windows or air holes. It was almost too easy. They soon realized the wood was not in great condition but they proceeded anyway. The idea of their own little house, no matter how little, was too irresistible. Before too long they had themselves an eight by four-foot box complete with four little round windows. One end was left open. They nailed up a thick curtain on this side using old clothes from their bundles.

They crawled in to test it out. It was nice to have a floor beneath their backs instead of just plain earth. They did, however, need to collect more old clothes for bedding and pillows. Maggie agreed to visit the church mission the next day for this purpose.

George, meanwhile, would think about home improvement. He wished he could surprise Maggie with a coat of paint on their new house and bouquet of flowers. He decided to talk to some of his buddies and see if he could get hold of some paint and a brush. He was able, through a friend of a friend who had a temporary job as a sign painter, to get hold of some electric blue paint, which was left over from a recent job. The sign painter also gave him a worn out brush that he was going to throw away anyway.

When George reached his new house his heart was singing. He immediately pried open the paint can and began brushing on the electric blue. It did not take very long to complete the job.

He began looking for any kind of flower. He found a flowering rabbit ear cactus, which he was able to dig up with a pocketknife and fingernails. He carried it back to his house and replanted it in front of his door. "Now," he thought," if only this house had a shower, or even a sink." But he did know of a service station about a half-mile down the road. He'd clean up and be waiting for Maggie when she returned.

In the late afternoon Maggie returned from the mission trip with two sacks of clothes, food and orange juice. It was the richest they'd been in months. Maggie was thrilled to see her new house painted with flowers at her door.

They sat outside and made a celebration meal from their new bounty. They feasted on Vienna sausages and crackers and drank orange juice from a bottle.

When their tummies were satisfied they moved inside with their sacks of new old clothes. They spread them out on the floor to make a bed. A ratty fake fur coat made a wonderful pillow. They made love for the first time in a very long time and slept soundly all night long.

When they awoke, they half expected their maid to bring them breakfast in bed just before George dressed in his three-piece suit and drove to work in his Mercedes. But that was from another life. The rapping they heard was not from a maid but from a policeman.

"Wake up and move on," he said. "You can't stay here."

"Okay officer, we're moving. But can I ask you how you found us so fast?"

"Well, part of my rounds includes this factory. It still contains a lot of valuable equipment inside. It's my duty to help guard against vandalism."

"But we're not vandals officers."

"I know that. But the owners won't allow you to stay here."

"Where are the owners?"

"New York City."

"Couldn't we stay a little longer? We just got here and the nights are getting cold. You know, we have nowhere to go."

The policeman looked at the couple. He couldn't help but think of his parents, although they were comfortable in a nice house. Then he studied his shoes for awhile. As he raised his eyes he caught sight of the replanted cactus and suddenly felt his throat stiffen. "Well folks, I know you mean no harm. But you're going to have to move this blue box to a less conspicuous place. Let's move it against the building here on the backside."

"Let's lean this extra sheet of plywood up against the side to cover the bright blue. It will make you less noticeable to the rest of the world and give you a little more insulation. Now you take care of yourselves, you hear?"

If the policeman could have left them alone he would have, but he couldn't. He brought them pillows and blankets and every few days he brought them food and hot coffee. They started telling each other stories from their past and respect grew among them.

The policeman was able to give George the official title of night watchman and paid him fifty dollars a week from his own pocket until he could get it cleared with the owners in New York city who were eagerly trying to sell the factory and its contents. It was important to keep the property in good shape. They agreed to pay George $150.00 a week on the policeman's endorsement.

George and Maggie moved into a nearby apartment. But they took the blue box with them. Maggie now baby-sits in the daytime, for the children in the apartment building. They adore the blue box. Every one of them makes it their little house too.