The Mini Man Cave
by Mark Lyons
Image by Pexels from Pixabay
SammySocks Etc. Blog – Comments and Observations from Someone Who Is a Retired Educator and the Father of Sammy. Visit us at www.sammysocksetc.com.
“Now what’s going on?” wonders Sally out loud as she spots her husband, Mark, tiptoeing down the hall toward their computer room/study/mini man cave. “And what’s that delicious aroma?”
Sally waits a bit to see if he will come back. Then it hits her. “Coffee! He’s made a cup of the delicious coffee from SammySocks Etc. I think it’s the Steeped Coffee single-serve California Blend – the medium roast coffee. It is so delicious! Anyway, will he come back for something else?”
Sure enough, Mark comes back down the hall making his way to the kitchen. He is clad in a pocket t-shirt, a pair of jean pajama pants, and wearing a pair of Men’s Monster Crew Socks from SammySocks Etc. After a moment and with rustling noises emanating from the pantry, Mark shuffles through the hall to the computer room/study/mini man cave. His arms are full of snacks and a steaming cup of coffee.
“The man is certainly up to something,” Sally whispers to herself. “Let’s see how this plays out.”
Yet again, Mark quietly slinks down the hall, but this time he heads for the bedroom. Sally hides behind the door straining to see what he is up to. Mark quickly looks around and the grabs his cell phone, wallet, and a pillow. He silently pats Harley, their cat, on the head and goes on into the hallway and back to the computer room/study/mini man cave. He does not see Sally behind the door.
Sally follows Mark to the computer room … okay, let’s just call it the mini man cave and be done with it. She stops just outside the closed door, puts her ear to the door, and listens. Nothing. She hears no sound at all.
“What is he doing?” mutters Sally. “It’s 11 o’clock at night. What could he be up to?”
Suddenly Sally hears what seems to be a bag of chips being ripped open. This is followed by crunching, slurping, and then tapping.
“Sounds like he is eating chips and drinking coffee, but what’s that other sound?” wonders Sally standing alone in the hallway.
Sally’s curiosity gets the better of her. She carefully turns the doorknob to the door of the mini man cave (There, I said it!), pushes the door open just a crack, and peers into the room. Sally sees her husband leaning back in his desk chair that is positioned symmetrically in front of their desktop computer, stuffing potato chips into his mouth in between sips of coffee that has “World’s Greatest Coffee Drinker!” emblazoned across a bright red cup with his left hand while holding a flashlight with his right hand and staring at the brightly lit computer screen. Several notebooks are open on the floor surrounding his chair. Bags of candy, cookies, and sundry other snacks of dubious persuasion are piled high on the desk next to the computer. The lilting strains of a Stevie Ray Vaughn guitar solo waft quietly in the background through the room. Every so often, Mark mutters something under his breath, leans closer to the computer screen, refers to one of the notebooks on the floor, and makes some notations on a yellow legal pad sprawled across his lap. Sally watches this for several minutes.
Finally, Sally can stand it no longer. She pushes open the door and walks into the room.
“Mark, what are you doing?” Sally asks. “It’s 11 o’clock at night, and you’re holed up in here?”
Mark looks up from his chair, grins, and says, “Hi, Sweetie! How you doin’?”
“What?” asks Sally. “I’m fine, but what are you doing?”
“Me?” replies Mark. “I’m working on the budget.”
“The what?” asks Sally.
“The budget,” answers Mark.
“Now?” asks Sally.
“Uh-huh,” says Mark
“Why?” asks Sally.
“So we can see what we’re spending and where,” answers Mark.
“Everything?” asks Sally.
“Yep! Every single penny!” replies Mark
“Oh, Mark,” says Sally.
*** Visit our YouTube Channel (SammySocks Etc.) on YouTube to view some of the performed blog posts from this blog as well as videos of Sammy and SammySocks Etc.
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