Short Story

Dental Office

Yesterday, Friday, evening after work I ended up needing to babysit.

I met my sister and niece at the dental office.

My sister needs to have some dental work done.

While being taken care of, she needed me to have my niece forget she is having to do without her mum.

BTW, she clings to her mum.

Internet Access

My sister knows me well.

She said she will go to the dental office fifteen or twenty minutes ahead of her appointment and scope it out.

She will make sure they have Wifi.  And, she will get and test out the password.

Upon arriving, she handed me the wifi password as I looked for a power adapter.

 

Covid

With Covid, no one has office coffee or water anymore.

Thank God, less office politics for busybodies.

 

A Short Walk

My sister was barely 5 minutes in before her daughter voiced she wants a snack.

I know the area well.

I packed my laptop and we headed out the door.

As we walked a bit, my niece will say she is tired and wants to sit down; on the neat grass, no doubt.

I replied we cannot sit down on the grass.

I promised her we will soon be there as the store is only a block away.

Her eyes lighted up as we approached a Wendy’s.

We walked past the Wendy’s as I selfishly had my tummy set on an Apple Pie.

And, I know Popeye’s is not stingy with its cooking oil.

 

Early Dinner

In for early dinner, we got in line.

Stood 6 feet back of the person ahead of us.

A nice-looking young man pulled behind us.

I made small talk with the young man.

There is a joyous affectionate glow about him.

Asked how his day is.

He said so, so.

Yet, his demeanor gave him away.

The day itself is not so good.

But, here he is.

Settling in it.

Managing it.

I said you must be a Christian.

He said yes, I am.

I furthered what type.

He said “A Born Again Type“.

I broke out in laughter.

I expected the traditional type, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Anglican, Lutheran.

Miss Call from my Sister

I looked at my phone and saw a missed call from my sister.

I know she is worried, where did this man, take my daughter.

I told her we are down the street.

At the fast-food corridor.

Explained she cannot miss us.

 

Specialist

She found us soon enough.

She explained that the procedure at the dental office was called off.

They told her she has to go to a specialist.

A wasted hour.

The fortune in unfortunate, she goes back to work on Monday.

And, so she has to find a dental office open on Saturdays.

 

What did you order?

Knowing her, she asked me, what did you order?

I know I am in trouble.

They are naturalists and veggies.

No meat for them.

Here I go being prompted by the Christian guy next to us to get chicken tenders.

Without confessing, I gave her the receipt so she can find alternates.

The manager had to be called to mix and match.

Chicken Tenders were replaced by fries.

The apple pie and lemonade stayed.

Born Again Christian

The born again explained to me where he got his cheerfulness from.

1. Open Heart Surgery
   • In 2018, he underwent a triple heart bypass surgery
   • I told him the pleasantry is that this is before Covid
   • Covid would have done work on his heart
   • And, knocked him
   • The Goodness of God sewed up his heart before the testing
2. Kaiser
   • Thank God he has his energy back
   • As he needs it to fight Kaiser

Upon introducing him to my sister, I asked him to please share my earlier questioning to his Christianity type.

His closing argument is “Thank god, I did not reply Chinese Christian, as he really would have been thrown back“.

 

No Indoor Dining

Popeye’s is yet to have indoor dining.

We went by to their car and ate.

Neatly packed in their goto box were the 6 pieces of chicken tender.

She asked her 4 years daughter whether she will acquiescence to cheating.

The 4 years old cheerfully said Yes.

And, so she handed the chicken tender to her daughter as the daughter munched on the fries.

My sister explained to me that our experience at Popeyes was a good contrast to how she was treated at the dentistry.

At the dentistry, she was made to wait over an hour.

The dentist had to jump in and ask the receptionist why my sister was not been tended to.

Only then did she get checked in properly.

 

Moral of the Story

1. By sight, be a born again Christian
   • Along with your fellow sojourners, you will suffer your lot
   • Yet may your father see into your heart and though tempted hold you from sin hovering over you
2. Easy on your God, quickly tell when he is trying to lift your mood