10:12 AM
Bride asks, “Can you pick up fried rice for my lunch? They don’t open until 11. Can you find something to do until then?”
Me: “Have we met?”
What transpires next is as follows:
Gas station. One conversation, fill up, move on. 12 minutes.
Ace Hardware. Furnace filter. Three conversations about, but not limited to:
When to set out my onions.
Welding in cold weather.
Drills. 22 minutes.
Food Lion. Diet Coke (24 pack), Blueberry Nutrigrain Bars. Three conversations:
Books.
Kansas City.
Trucks. 17 minutes.
Arrive at Bento (Japanese Restaurant, lovely people) right on time. Order fried rice (no veggies), double order, and hibachi steak. 9 minutes.
Arrive home, eye my bride curiously as she makes no comment about issue of time. Debate reiterating my ability to waste time anywhere, any way, with anyone. It’s an art.
I’m a problem solver. If there’s extra time, fear not. It’s as good as gone.