A Visit From Charlie—Part 2

Charlie paid us yet another unannounced visit a couple of days ago. He drove up in his big, extended-cab diesel truck, telling us that he was passing by and just had to stop in and see how we were doing. He had some new ideas about his dream house that he would soon be building and wanted to share them with us. No matter that we were about to engage in our afternoon taiji exercises, or were planning a hot tub afterwards, or even that President Obama was coming by for a consultation that evening. Charlie was here and wanted to share his dream!

OK, I can forego the taiji exercise and even Barak’s appointment, but the hot tub will happen tonight, Charlie. So, sit down and have a cup of coffee. But you need to understand that soon we will have a crucial task to attend to: soaking our bodies in that hot water.

Nursing his cuppa caffeine, he begins to wax on about his new ideas. As he rattles on, he looks around and soaks in another of our construction details to ask us about; but he hardly listens to my response, as he once again interrupts to tell us what he wants to create.

In time, he finally begins to wind down and says he must go. He repeats this about-to-leave ritual several times, as additional thoughts pop into his mind and he’s once again launched himself into dreamland. Finally, it’s really time to go. Whew! I need to start the fire in the hot tub, if we’re gonna bathe before the evening expires. With many thanks for the coffee and the chance to chat, Charlie climbs up into his big diesel, fires up the noisy engine and drives off into the deepening night.

I hustle outside to get the hot-tub woodstove fire going and am looking forward to our relaxing submersion into its healing waters, when I hear Charlie’s clattering diesel coming back down the drive! Yikes, what does he want now?! Has he thought of yet another cool detail to share with us? Do we have to forsake the evening’s bath for another chapter of Charlie’s vision?

He hurries from his truck, profusely apologizing that he has lost his cell phone. Have we seen it? Did he leave it here? It’s a new iPhone, with all his business information implanted in it and his demeanor tells me that he’s nearly in a state of panic over its possible loss. He’s gone from joy to frantic, in just a few minutes.

We head back in the house, report the emergency to my wife, and cast around every place he’s been inside, to no avail. She remembers that he did have it just before departing, so we can establish that it must be hiding somewhere in the immediate vicinity. We have no luck finding it inside the house, so Charlie and I head out to the driveway area, scouring the ground with flashlights, praying to find the phone—Charlie, hoping to recover his precious toy and me hoping we quickly locate it so he gets the hell out of here and allows the hot tub preparations to continue.

           

We see no sign of it on the ground. Whew! I was dreadfully anticipating that we might find it crushed into a black plastic pancake by his truck, and we’d end up consoling a sobbing Charlie—right through our hot tub night. I wonder if it might have slipped out of his pocket, onto the floor behind his seat, so he dives into the cab of his truck, tossing various items of clothing and tools about, but comes up without his precious iPhone.

What next? My wife comes onto the scene and suggests that she call his phone, to see if that may help locate it, when it rings. Charlie gives her his number and she dials and we intently listen. Charlie shouts that he thinks he heard it, but the noise of his diesel engine has drowned it out. He cuts the engine and she dials again. Shouting out again, Charlie dives back into his truck and rummages around furiously in the piles of rubble—finally triumphantly emerging with his iPhone in hand!

He exhibits a mixture of relief and shame at how the incident has turned out. He profusely apologizes, saying that we must think he is really stupid and wish that he never comes around again. He knows he’s spoiled our bath. I try to assure him that we are mostly happy that he has found his phone, wish him well, and assure him we’ll still get the bath in—hoping that he quickly drives out again and stays away this time.

Later, when the hot tub has reached its full temperature and I’m soaking deep in its healing waters, I can begin to smile and chuckle at the evening’s episode. May your dreams be realized, Charlie! Come on back, sometime; but for now, leave me alone to soak, please.