Chapter 5

Michelle exclaimed, "This was even better the second time!"

"And I got to see it this time too," my mother said with moistness streaming down her face.

All this was such a turn around from the direction our lives had been taking. Yesterday I was about to tell my mother my world had fallen apart and then I got surrounded by Bubble-Wrap!

Lindie. My Bubble-Wrap! No, my TWO Lindies were my bubble wrap.

I wanted to be surrounded by them. I wanted to be surrounded by BOTH of my Lindies. So I lifted Lindie from her chair and took her place on it. I pulled her onto my left knee. Taking Michelle's hand I pulled her onto my right knee.

Snuggling both of them tightly to me, I'm sure neighbors could hear me purring. I know that if the U.S. National Geodetic Survey told the Coast Guard they needed a new lighthouse, I would fit the bill I was beaming so brightly.

Everything wasn't right in the world for me, yet, but I could see that there might be some light in the tunnel I'd been walking down. Well, at least I could see some light and it definitely was not that proverbial, full steam ahead, train.

I still had to figure out how to tell my mother about my job, or rather, how I didn't have one right now. I knew I could always use my room and settle there until my feet were planted in some other endeavor. That was what drew me home this weekend.

I guess the biggest problem I had was I had to clean out my apartment in Stewart City. My work had been there and it was far enough away from home that I had my independence and near enough that I could pop home for the weekend whenever the mood swung that way.

Even though I'd had a real nice job and great pay, I didn't have much there to cart away. I'd originally gotten the apartment furnished because, well, when I started at SM&J Programming Solutions, I didn't know how long I'd be there.

Furnished seemed fine to me back when I moved in. It was just a simple way to start out. SM&J was my first job after finishing college. At my starting salary, even though the furnished apartment cost a little more, it was the easiest line between two points. I didn't have much in the way for expenses other than my college loans so the little extra was easy to deal with.

I did accumulate the normal personal items like my lap top and a nice High-Def Wide-Screen TV. And of course, a load of movies to go with it. Clothing too. Most of it casual with some business shirts thrown in. Perhaps a half-dozen ties. But that was pretty much all of it. So moving out would not be too difficult. A small U-Haul truck and one trip would do it.

The only saving grace was when I told the landlord I was going to have to move, she said I could live off of the security for the last month's rent. That way, I had the entire month of June to move my things out. It was also a boon to the landlord because she had admitted she could get more for the apartment with a new tenant because she could raise the rent!

It's always nice to leave a place with an amicable relationship with your landlord. Even though I didn't have any references when I moved in, being able to get a reference could only help in the future. Or at least that's what I thought at the time. Little did I know how upside down my life was going to turn once I got home.

And turn so much for the better I was finding out. Rushing through my mind was, "I'd better get on with telling my mother that I'd be moving home againnn... ???" when everything in my mind stopped at a dead halt.

"Damn!" rattled through my brain. I'd done it again. Here I'd just gotten finished placing a ring on my Lindie's left hand and ZOOM off I'd gone into Never-Never-Land.

There was Lindie kneeling in front of me holding one hand and Michelle in the same position with my right hand. Both laughing. Both yanking on my hands, trying to bring me back to the living. I'd never even felt them slide off my knee! Boy had I blanked out!