Tiny House

Kent was momentarily fixated on the upcoming weekend ... the relaxing melodies flowing from the car's sound system, as his car passed the beautiful array of colors that graced the mountain side as he traveled the winding road that led to his alma mater, the sweet taste of the hot sausage sandwiches served up at the concession stand, and the roar of the crowd as the points went on to the board. 

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Friday had arrived, finally, and knowing he had at least a three-hour drive, under the best of conditions, Kent left his office at 3p. He felt a bit guilty as he made his way past the offices of the folks he supervised and who were still working away and would be for at least another two. He was told when he started that his workdays would be Monday through Friday from 9a to 5p with a half hour, for lunch. Kent thought to himself, 'cool, a 37 1/2-hour work week, I can live with that!'. He quickly learned, though, that the demands of the job required no less than 50 hour of his time each week and that included working on weekends from time to time. He would not have minded it so much had he been compensated at time and a half for the overtime hours, but the fact was, he was classified as a salaried, exempt worker and that meant no overtime pay. 

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The week had been quite stressful. He was just about ready to load shaving cream on his hand when his cell rang a little before 8a on Monday morning. He glanced over to where it was laying on the shelf and saw the caller's name, KATIE W. "Oh Geesh, why would Katie be calling me at this hour ?!". He picked up the phone, hit the accept call icon, and said "Hello?".

"Kent?". 

"Yes, good morning, Katie, what's up?".

"Hey, I am so sorry, but I am going to have to take a sick day today. I hope it's just one day, but we will have to see. Saturday afternoon, I started to feel a bit achy and then Sunday, I woke up with a sore throat and felt a bit warm. My temperature according to the digital thermometer was 103. I slept most of the day and when I wasn't sleeping, I was hydrating or eating dry toast. I am so sorry; I hope I can get back to work real soon".

Kent felt sorry for her because Katie was a real trooper and rarely missed a day's work. "I completely understand, Katie. I know how important work is to you. Take it easy and we will see you in the office when we see you. Oh, try to send me a quick update in the morning." 

He was just about ready to hang up when he remembered he needed to ask her a question. 

"Katie?". 

"Yes, I'm still here." 

"Good! Hey, did you have a chance to work up the sales analysis charts for the last quarter. I usually include those charts in my quarterly finance report I give to the board and the board meets tomorrow afternoon." 

Now it was Katie's turn to feel bad. "Oh, that was on my list of things to do Monday morning so no, I didn't. I am so so sorry! ... Hold it .. Rebecca has access to the sales data and she's a wiz with charts so she can do those for you". 

As he ended the call, he felt a huge relief. Feeling upbeat, he arrived at work, grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat down to check his voicemail. The first message was from his boss. "Hey Kent, I need to see the sales charts before our afternoon meeting with the board. When you have them ready, please send them to my work email address. Thanks, you are the best!" The next message was from Rebecca. The message was recorded at 6:37a. "Kent, hey, this is Rebecca. I hate to leave you this message, but I won't be able to come in to work today. I've got a migraine like you wouldn't believe. I am so sorry. I will check in later today to let you know how things are going." He deleted the calls, put his head in his hands, and asked himself, "Now what am I going to do?". Friday could not get here soon enough!

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His cell phone alarm went off at 6a on Saturday morning. The three hour drive the day before was so relaxing. Before pulling out, he fired up the playlist he assembled that included a ton of Secret Garden instrumentals with a few Canon in D piano and violin recordings mixed in. Oh, how he needed to listen to the beautiful melodies that never failed to take him to another place, a place free of worries and cares. He set the playlist on loop and off he drove. It felt good to leave the city and work behind for a few days.  

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Leaving his hotel room, he thought to himself, "This is going to be a long day, but a good day. I can feel it! " The hotel was a short walk from the College and on his drive into town, he noticed an attractive but small cafe two blocks back on Walnut Street. In need of a breakfast sandwich and a hot coffee, he left his room and walked the two blocks. He was looking forward to an afternoon of sun and football. It was opening day of the college football season and even better, homecoming festivities were taking place. He just wished he had a girlfriend to share the day with. Being single was no fun at a time like this even though his roommates would be good company.

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Tiny, her real name was Samantha - Samantha Louise House - felt guilty leaving her aging parents for the weekend. Her father, who just turned 73 had a history of uncontrolled and untreated high blood pressure and just six short months ago, had a series of strokes. He had been her 72-year-old mother's caregiver for three years prior to. She had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the young age of 63 and although she remained at home, was in need of continual care. Although the strokes had impacted his speech slightly and his left arm's range of motion was less than perfect, he was able, after several weeks of therapy, to continue to care for his lovely spouse. Tiny had put her career as a marketing director for the School of Nursing on hold so that she could move in with her parents and supplement the care they both needed.

In advance of the weekend away she had planned - and she knew that self-care was essential to her own wellbeing - she had arranged with the local Agency on Aging a few days of respite services. So, although she may have felt a little guilty leaving her parents for a few days, she was satisfied with the arrangements that were in place. She had her cell phone and the drive to her alma mater for their homecoming celebration was just a couple of hours. She had booked a room at a hotel that was just a short walk to campus. The hotel and the room she reserved was perfect. It had an indoor pool, an exercise room, a comfy reading chair, a beautiful view of the campus and also, there was a small cafe that served breakfast and lunch nearby. 

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Standing in line, he couldn't help but notice the tiny but very attractive female just ahead of him in line. He had to think of something he could say to her. Catching a glimpse of her left hand, there was no ring in sight. Excellent, he thought! 

After a couple of minutes, they finally reached the counter, and she gave her order. The barista said to her, "Can I get a name for the order?". "Sure, it's Tiny .. Tiny House". The barista, having been trained well, was able to control the chuckle that was desperately trying to escape.

Kent, however, and as much as he wanted to impress this beautiful lady, could not help himself as he left out a brief but audible laugh. And within a split second, she turned around and said, " Excuse me? What is so funny? Are you laughing at me ??".

"Uhm, well, I uhhh ...". 

"I'll take that as a yes. You KNOW, uhhh ... " 

"Kent, my name is Kent" - 

" - that outburst was rather rude and childish".

"I uhhh, ummh, I'm sorry, please forgive me. I never intended to hurt your feelings ... it, well it just slipped out before I knew it". 

She looked at his sad but handsome face and a smile began to form at the corner of her mouth and her hard heart softened.

"Well, okay Ken - " - 

" Kent, the name is Kent ... with a T."

" - okay Kent with a T, I can forgive you but first, you will have to forgive me for saying what I said. I am too sensitive at times. You are NOT the first person to find my name amusing. My real name is Samantha. Tiny is just a nickname given me - well, for obvious reasons." 

Having listened in on this exchange, the barista could not help but smile herself. Tiny ordered a cappuccino and a wheat bagel, toasted, with butter. Kent, being the kind person he really was, stepped to the side and asked if it would be okay if he paid for her order. 

"Thank you but that's okay, you don't need to do that". 

"No, please, I insist!". 

"Well, okay ... that's very nice of you ... thank you! Hey, I will grab a table over there by the window and ... well I would really like it if you would join me, unless of course you have to get somewhere and don't have time." 

"Oh no, I'm good ... I'm in no rush. That would be great! Grab the table and I will be there in a sec".

Oh my, I can't believe this he thought to himself and noticed the wink and a smile he got from the barista.

It didn't take long for their conversation to take flight and they barely heard the barista announce their orders were ready, but they did, and they both laughed -- 

" Tiny House and Kent with a T, your orders are ready".