A Treasure Found at Home

we decided over thansgiving to slow down and take a step back from the house hunting.

then yesterday decided to give the east bay one last look anyhow. my mom’s friend lives next door to a realtor who he just loves; so i went out to meet her and see some houses.

i should have known the day would be slightly off kilter when my map to the office looked like this:

i think it’s pretty clear that map isn’t accurate.

when i successfully reached the parking garage (after tricking the map into righting itself), i found a great spot on the top where no one would open doors into my car. there was a beautiful tree with those leaves that change colour. we don’t have a huge amount of those types of trees around here, so i considered taking some pictures. i’d shown up early so i could a) avoid traffic, b) eat lunch, and c) have some relax time. i figured photographing the tree feel into category c.

i reached into my bag to put my parking ticket in my wallet and to grab my camera. neither one was there!

i’d forgotten to transfer my things from my being social bag from the night before back to my work bag for today. ugh.

and here i was in a pay garage! and i hadn’t eaten or managed tea yet in the day!

i calmed myself down and realized i could pretty easily just explain to the person in the booth what happened. since i just drove in i doubted i’d have trouble leaving. i didn’t. (as an aside, the woman in the booth had some SUPER long fingernails, the sort where you have to use a pencil to dial your phone and can’t wash your own hair.)

i figured i had just enough time to drive home and get my wallet if i was lucky. then, at least, i could buy my own dinner when i met with creampuff later.

that’s when it hit me. no wallet. no cash. no toll tag. no getting over the bridge.

i was stuck. i couldn’t even go home! (i could drive all the way around the bay, but i didn’t have the time for that.)

i called some friends. no one was in.

i found a free spot on the street with no time limit and thanked my lucky stars. i also ate a bunch of the candy my brother bought in tahoe which i’d ended up with. mike n ike’s aren’t the most nutritious lunch, i’m sure, but they’ll do in a pinch.

i was surprised i didn’t really feel that didn’t eat headache while i was touring condos and houses, and was super thankful i wasn’t feeling the effects to strongly. then i drove over to creampuff’s and asked her if she could sponsor me for dinner and bridge crossing. she was happy to oblige.

dinner was simple and yummy and cozy in a local corner pub. there was the cutest little boy who was celebrating his birthday and playing with a remote control robotic spider. he clearly spent a lot of time there and must have been related to the owner(s). just as we were finishing up with dinner, he came up to us with a tupperware containing the last two cupcakes and asked if we’d like one.

we said we’d share one and he sort of shyly mumbled his response,

“i’ve already had one.”

“well,” said creampuff, “why don’t we share one and you can save the other one for later?”

he seemed to think about this, but clearly had his orders, “my mom doesn’t want to take any home,” he told the cupcakes.

we thanked him very much and each took our cupcake to save mom from trying to put a sugar-high kid to bed.

as he turned to return to his table, creampuff asked him how old he was, “six!” he said without looking at us, without breaking his stride, relieved to be finished with his task of foisting baked goods on strangers.

i arrived home full and tired to my cold basement apartment. i flipped on the space heater and closed my bedroom door to trap the warmth. i did my night time things (brush teeth, feed cat, put leftovers in fridge) and came into my room to change into my warm pjs and read. as i took off my jeans i heard the jingle of coins in the pocket.

i checked. both pockets.

and found a $5 bill in each.

*smack*