9:12 am
Kristen pulled into the dealership mentally planning her day. Things had been so busy lately that she just hadn't had the time to drop the car off but she couldn't put it off any longer. She planned to leave her car for service, be driven home by the dealership courtesy service, and then use her husband's old car to run errands before the kids got out of school.
She parked in the Service Entrance and collected all of her things before walking to the service desk. Kristen chastised herself for bringing so much with her when she just had to go home again anyway.
The gentleman at the desk looked up at her arrival and said, "Hello, what can I do for you?"
"I have an appointment to bring my Acadia in to have the transmission looked at," she responded politely as she put her book into her bag and reached for her keys that she threw in her purse out of habit not 30 seconds before. "It won't shift properly when I need power to pass so I can't trust it."
The man said, "All-righty Ma'am, let me take the keys to go get some information from the vehicle and I'll be right back." He took the offered keys and disappeared back out the service door.
Kristen stood waiting, still mentally organizing her day and consolidating all the loose crap she grabbed from the car into her bag.
10:27 am
Brandon shut the door to his boss's office as he left their meeting and shook his head. Dang, I wish that guy would just let us do our jobs and stop micromanaging us at every turn. We'd get so much more done. He passed his co-worker's office on the way back to his own.
Adam poked his head out, "What did he want this time?"
Brandon smiled and turned back toward Adam's office. "Same old, same old. Just wrapping the Red Tape a little tighter, adding a couple more levels of bureaucracy, and ensuring that our projects take twice as long as they need to." This kind of management had been going on for so long that all the guys in the department laughed it off. Laugh or cry, right? "Want to catch lunch together later?"
"Wish I could, Man. I've got back to back meetings all day beginning in about 15 minutes," said Adam.
"Tomorrow then. Good luck today." And with a nod he left his friend leaning in the doorway and headed for his desk.
Brandon pulled a granola bar from his desk drawer and decided to work through lunch. It would be good to get some of this stuff caught up. He pulled up to his computer, shook the mouse to wake it up and saw the alert just a moment before the automated system rang his cell phone and his desk phone simultaneously. "Shit," he muttered. So much for catching up he thought and began logging in to find the problem.
10:52 am
Kristen checked her phone again for the time. She had read all her email, nothing important. She'd written out a list of Things to Do for today. She'd filed her nails, read two chapters in a book she doesn't like, and called her Mom. She reorganized her purse, again, and was ultimately glad that she'd brought all that stuff now. But she still had finally run out of things to do and had resorted to reading the new car brochures sitting on the table.
"Ma'am? Jim should be here in just a few more minutes. He's returning from taking another customer home," the guy at the service desk said. "Sorry for the wait," he added, probably because she was beginning to look impatient.
Kristen sighed, "Thanks," and, knowing it wasn't this guys fault the driver was taking so freaking long, gave him a small smile.
1:35 pm
Kristen brought in the last of the groceries and set them on the counter. "Okay," she said to the cat, "I can get these put away and get the meat marinating for dinner before I get the kids. Right?"
2:15 pm
Brandon sat back in his chair with a sigh. He's managed to get everything back up and running again with minimal impact to the customers but he'd spent the better part of his day doing it. He looked at his watch. He thought, No time to work on the project with the looming deadline but just enough time to prep for my presentation to the Directors at three.
6:09 pm
Kristen had gotten the salad made and potatoes in the oven. The meat was marinating in the fridge waiting for Brandon to come home. She sat at the table helping her son with his homework while listening to her daughter practice piano. She loved moments like these. She wouldn't trade them for anything. But she was tired. Her day had not gone as smoothly as she had hoped. She put her elbow on the table and rested her head in her palm while her son worked out the last few problems of his long division homework.
When Brandon walked in she startled. She hadn't heard his car pull in. He saw he had surprised her. "Sorry! Garage door was open. I guess you didn't hear me," he smiled warmly at her while he emptied his pockets into the tray on the counter.
"Hi Dad!" their daughter shouted and ran in from the other room plowing in to Brandon and wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Hey! How was your day? Was that you on the piano? That sounded good! Would you play some more for me?" With that, she ran off to finish her practice with a smile on her face. He greeted his son also but he was less enthusiastic than his sister.