the wet floor sign

"don't look at the toaster."

toa-chan said it from inside the supply closet. i was holding a mop and big dave was counting cups at the counter, so i looked at the toaster.

it was my 1949 sunbeam, sitting on the floor beside the syrup boxes. there was water under it. not a puddle, exactly. more like the floor had remembered being outside. toa-chan came out wearing one glove and the expression people use when they have already blamed you in a room you were not in.

the toaster had eleven coins lined up in front of it. pennies, mostly, with one quarter and a button from somebody's coat. i asked toa-chan why there were coins on the floor.

"it was hungry."

that was not an answer, but it was the only one available. i picked up the quarter. the toaster clicked. big dave stopped counting cups. i put the quarter back and the toaster clicked again, softer this time, like it had changed its mind about me.

then i noticed the wet floor sign behind the syrup boxes. toa-chan had brought it from the dining room and placed it beside the sunbeam. the sign said caution in red letters. underneath, somebody had written toast with a pen.

i said this was not how signs worked. toa-chan said the toaster had asked for one.

the coins were gone when i turned around. the water was gone too. only the sign stayed there, pointing at the floor like it had found the problem and was waiting for me to fix it.

i have to mop the dry floor before break ends.