“Honey? Are you going out this afternoon? No? OK, can I take your car to go play Mah Jong? Thanks Sweetie. Mine is in the garage if you need it.” That is how it began. So simple and soon it would get so not so simple.
I play Mah Jong. Several of us learned together two years ago, and another group learned from the same teacher a year ago. The groups combined, added in the teacher and 1, or 2, or sometimes 3 more experienced players we know, and meet to play once a week. Some days there are just 3 of us, and YES, you can play with three. Some days there are 5, or 6, or even 8. It does get interesting.
Not everyone has a Mah Jong set, plus, if you have a set and will be hosting, but expect more than 5, someone needs to bring an additional set. That is where this story starts.
For most of 2018 the games were at my house. Dottie (Names are changed – just because) would leave her Mah Jong set with me so she didn’t need to carry it back and forth. December was busy with other things, so we didn’t schedule any games. This week started our 2019 games and this month they are at Suzie’s house. Dottie reminded me to bring her set and being conscientious about it I put the tiles and racks into the trunk of my car.
Monday came, and I got ready. I knew I didn’t need to think about the Mah Jong set because I had secured it in my car. Then I disconnected my brain, saw hubby’s car out front while mine was still in the garage and . . . go ahead, reread the top line.
First thing I wasn’t sure how to get to Suzie’s house, but I thought I would remember it. Down one boulevard, make a right on a through street, go past an old oilfield, turn left. I had a choice of two streets for the right turn. I choose the one a mile further down the boulevard. Ummmm, something wasn’t right. Normally I would hit the hands-free phone button, call Suzie and ask, “which street do I take to get to your house?” But I wasn’t in my car, I was in hubby’s car. That hands free isn’t linked to my phone. Pulled over to the curb, called hubby, asked for Dianna’s address. I put the phone on hands free and said, “OK Google, how do I get to . . . . . .?” Google let me know that I was on the wrong cross street. Back track about a mile. But I was OK, on time, and no one would know I didn’t remember how to get where I was going.
Then, as I turned on the correct cross-street I uttered an expletive. Dang. I didn’t have the set with me! It was safely in the trunk of my car and my car was in the garage at my house. Normally I would hit the hands-free button and place a call to the house, but I couldn’t do that since I was in hubby’s car and I’m not hooked up to hands free in his car. I know, I said that before, but it was so annoying. Someone remind me to buy a blue tooth to use when I’m driving hubby’s car.
Pulling into the parking lot of T. J. Maxx I called hubby and told him my tale of woe and asked him to call Dianna and tell her I would be late because I needed to come back home and pick up the Mah Jong set. Then salvation. Hubby told me to go ahead to Suzie’s and he would bring the set over. It would take twenty minutes or so. Great. Oh, thank you so much Sweetie. So sorry to be a bother.
Arriving at the house I was prepared to tell my story to everyone and get a few laughs, but only Dottie and Suzie were there. We only needed one set and Suzie had a set. Then two other people showed up, for a group of five. We still only needed one set. On top of that, one of the gals had just bought a set and brought it to show us. Now we really didn’t need Dottie’s set. But hubby was on the way and I wasn’t going to call and tell him to turn around.
Arriving at the door with the set hubby held his head down. Trying to get into my car he had managed to scrape his bald head on the door frame and was missing some skin. OUCH! I thanked him profusely, gave him a kiss, and sent him off in HIS car. I never did tell him that we didn’t need Dottie’s set, so it is our little secret, OK? Just you and me. He doesn’t need to know, right?
Every Day Is A Good Day. VJ
everydaywithvj 