The Safety Deposit Box from He_ _

Bryan and I decided that since we are now officially grown ups, we should get a safety deposit box. We packed up Evan on Saturday and headed over to the bank. I wasn’t necessarily dreading it, but the bank we go to (and I think almost any bank around here) always has a long wait and it seems like things just take longer than they should.

We walked into the bank, took our number and sat down on some couches. They finally called our number—whoo hoo! I almost feel like I’ve won the lottery when that happens. We filled out quite a bit of paperwork, handed over our IDs, signed our life away and about 20 minutes later we had a safety deposit box. The woman who had been helping us offered to show us our new box.

We walked into the vault for the big unveiling. She handed us our keys and informed us we were the new proud owners of safety deposit box #666. Yes, 666. I don’t know exactly what 666 means, but I do know it is something to do with the devil. My ALWAYS rational husband stopped in his tracks right there in the vault.

Bryan: “Are you serious? The box is 666?”
Bank Lady: “Yes, sir. Right here, 666.” She points to our new box, which does have the numbers 666 right across the front of it.
Bryan: “I don’t think I like that.”
Me: “Are you serious? Are you uncomfortable with it?”
Bryan: “Yeah—I don’t think I like it.”
Bank Lady: “Why?” [Editor’s note: Bank Lady isn’t originally from the United States and in her country 666 doesn’t mean anything.]
Bryan: “That is the devil number.”
Bank Lady: “What is that?”

Of course neither Bryan nor I could give a detailed explanation of the devil number, so round and round we go. We finally make our way back to her desk to close our account for box number 666 and open a new account for a box somewhere in the 700s. This of course requires the involvement of another man at the bank, also not from the U.S., who tries to convince us that 666 means good luck. Bryan convinces Bank Lady she should Google 666 later. (This prompts Evan to say Google for the first time and makes me wonder what kind of government list this poor lady might end up on).

Bryan is always so rational that the whole thing surprised me a bit. Whenever I fly and I am in row 13, I always figure if the plane goes down, rows 12 and 14 aren’t going to do much better. I think it is probably the same with box number 666. I do have to admit that though that I don’t like to walk under a ladder, open an umbrella inside or cross a black cat’s path. So, I too feel a little more comfortable with a different box. I just never thought Bryan would be the one to request it.

I’m sure our passports will rest much easier.