The Michael Swayne Story V: King of his Castle

Today was pretty bad. First, it was so cold when I left, but my rear tire was fully inflated. When I arrived at the office, it was still cold and my tire was still fully inflated. When I began to deliver newspapers, my rear tire was nearly flat. I used my hand pump to inflate the tire. It didn't last too long, and I ended up walking the rest of that one section for twenty minutes. In the cold.

When I got back to the office, I called my the house. My brother didn't answer it. I let it ring for almost ten minutes, hoping that he would hear it. He didn't. I tried calling Grandma, but her phone was busy. I had to resort to calling Dad. It took him nearly one hour to deliver my spare bike. He then offered to let me sit in the truck and warm up, because he saw that my hands were turning blue.

(I did have gloves. But I can't grip the newspapers well with them on. I only wear gloves while I'm on the bike, because of the cold air hitting them at high speeds).

While I was getting warm and folding papers in the truck, Dad says that I can call him whenever I need help. I replied, "I won't, because you choose to be with your other family." That shut him up. I finished folding what I brought in the truck, and went back to the shed to finish what was out there. Dad then left.

When Iris arrived, she asked me to check out the computers, because they had gotten viruses on them somehow. I ran the diagnostics, and also clean everything up. In return for helping, she bought me lunch from McDonald's. She finally got the lunch date she promised me back in July after I stopped working as the editor. And you know, it's feels good to know that I am still of use in the office, if only in a computer tech kind of way. It beats hiring someone to come in who will charge them a lot for working. I am just as knowledgeable, and all I ask is to be fed.

After I did that, and finished my route, I headed home. At Grandma's we watched Millionaire, and chatted about everything since the last time we talked. She had me replace the batteries in her smoke detectors, but only because I am taller than her. She ended up having to go, so I left when she did.

On the way to the house, a flashback occurred. I saw myself looking at the shed before I left work for home. There on the shelf were my keys. That's when it hit me. I left my keys at work and now I am locked out of the house and garage. I sent a message to Iris asking if they were still there. She said that they were and that they would be in the office waiting. But I wasn't about to ride another ten miles to get them, and then yet another ten to go back home. So, I called Dad. This time however, he chose to be with the other family. And that was when I said (to myself after ending the call), "Very well. You say that I can call; but when I do, have something better to do? Well, you have two choices. Either you move back in and dump the trash you shacking up with, or you get your crap out of MY house! I am done trying to be civil, and I'm done paying to keep your stuff stored here."

Anyway, I got home, and after resting a moment and checking the mail, I broke into the house and went to sleep. While I was sleeping, my brother came home and put his laundry in the dryer. And I am not sure if I was dreaming or not, but I think I dreamt I had a painful leg cramp. The thing is, I woke up and my leg was sore, as if the dream was real. It didn't help that I didn't know how long I slept. I wondered if it was 7am or 7pm. It was 7pm.

And it wasn't until after 10pm that I remembered I hadn't fed the cats their dinner.

And now I am typing this. Well, that's all for now. I am going back to sleep after I type my gaming blog entry. I hope to see you around the forums, and until then...

Later!

Michael