On Tuesday morning, Alvin Mims didn't show up for work. Since he had never missed a day in his life, it was an unusual occurrence. Even "No Nonsense" Stella didn't know what was wrong with Alvin. At around eleven o'clock in the morning, the office door opened admitting a rather rotund fellow clad in a pair of green slacks, a white pirate style shirt with a plaid unbuttoned vest over the top. Sweeping gallantly through the room beneath the wide staring eyes of all the employees, he marched straight into Matthew Blake's private sanctuary. After what seemed an eternity, he emerged with the boss.

"This is Norwood Greene," Matthew Blake introduced. "He'll take over Alvin Mims' position as of today."

Without a moment's hesitation, the new man strolled over to Al's desk and plunked down next to Stella Arbuckle who regarded him with suspicion. As soon as the boss returned to his office the whispering began. Questions flew back and forth regarding the departure of Alvin Mims and the arrival of Norwood Greene. Ignoring the gossips, the new man leaned back in his desk chair with his arms clasped behind his head. The only one who held him with any regard was Darryl Blake. The more the young man looked, the more he believed he recognized Norwood from somewhere; however he wasn't sure how he knew him.

During the afternoon break, Darryl was the only one to approach the vending machine. Sliding his three quarters into the slot, he weighed his options. Sitting on the ledge behind the plexiglass window was a disgruntled little figure clad in red. With his arms tightly crossed over his chest and a deep scowl marking his face, the Candy Gnome was different than the one who had always been there. Leaning in closer to peer inside, Darryl's face suddenly lit up. "It's Alvin!" he shouted gleefully. "Hi Al!" Raising both hands, he wiggled his fingers in a delighted wave. The gnome jumped to his feet to raise his fists at his former workmate.

"Not to fear, Darryl," Norwood Greene soothed as he came to stand beside the young man. "Al will get used to it in there; it just takes time." Reaching out his finger toward the D-2 button, he hesitated, then moved to G-9. With another change of heart, he finally pushed B-7. "Nothing wakes a fella up to his new job than a race amongst the snacks, I always say," Norwood chuckled as he retrieved his bag of Fritos. "Lucky Al has a new pair of sneaks."

Dumbstruck, Darryl followed Norwood back to his desk. "You're him; you're the candy gnome," he exclaimed, pleased to suddenly realize where he had seen Norwood before.

"No, I'm not...not anymore," Norwood explained, a grin suddenly crossing his face. "Once upon a time, I—like Alvin Mims—didn't believe in candy gnomes. I tried to convince a fella just like you that they didn't exist. The gnome in the machine cursed me and we exchanged places. Last night was my turn. Al will live in the machine until another disbeliever comes along. Until then, it is his job to grant the wishes of anyone who has three quarters to spend in the snack machine."