Where's The Builder?

We went shopping on Sunday, off to the supermarket. As we came out, I realised that I had forgotten to get something.  So I suggested that The Builder go and put the shopping in the car and I would drop back in and pick up the forgotten item.

It didn't take long to get it and I was soon back out again.  I walked confidently to where the car was parked.  And there it wasn't :-S  I looked around.  I was *sure* it had been parked here, or at least very close to here.  And we had definitely gone in through that entrance.

I looked up and down.  I walked up and down.  I moved to a different lane. I knew we had parked on this side of the disabled bays.  But I couldn't see the car anywhere :-S

I rang The Builder.  But he didn't answer his phone :-S

I walked up and down a bit more.

I rang the Builder again.

I stopped to ponder.  It didn't seem likely that he would have gone home without me.  And if he had, he wouldn't be able to get in.  He didn't have his house keys with him.  I pondered a bit more.

And then saw him walking back up from the store.  It seemed he had moved the car down right by the door, waiting for me.  Alas, I hadn't come back out through that door and hadn't noticed him. And he hadn't seen me.  And his phone was at home, on his bedside chest of drawers.

Just as well I had noticed him walking back up from the store, where he had gone to find out where I was!!

Yesterday, I arranged to meet him after work in the staff car park.  He would give me a ring or a text message when he arrived so I wasn't standing about waiting in the cold.  At about the time I was expecting him, my phone rang. As I answered it, it cut off.  I assumed that was code to say that he and the car were in the car park, so off I trundled.  I got there.  I found the car this time.  But it was locked.  Locked and abandoned.  No sign of The Builder anywhere :-S

I rang him.  And the call went straight to his voicemail.  I texted him. Answer came there none. I rang him again. And texted him again.  Same result.  I walked up and down to see if I could find him. But no.

I didn't really know what to do after that, so I waited by the car (I wonder what I have done with the spare key, which is usually in my bag; I left it behind when we went away but I can't remember where I put it :-S). Eventually, he turned up.  His phone battery had died as he tried to ring me, so he had come over to my office to tell me he was there. Alas, I had already gone.  Someone took him up to  Level 7, because they had seen me go up there a few minutes earlier.  Then he got hopelessly lost trying to get back out onto the street.  Finally he found an escape route! When he got home and plugged his phone in, he got loads of messages from me, asking where he was. By then, of course, I knew where he was :-D

Reunited, we headed off to Costco for a shopping trip for us. Then we went to visit Tabitha, Gareth, Cally and Flynn, armed with a beef and vegetable casserole and bag loads of stuff for them all. Happy new life presents for Flynn, Congratulations on being a Big Sister presents for Cally. Presents from loads of people from Australia and Japan for Cally. Presents from Australia and Japan for Tabitha and Gareth.

Then we went to visit Freyja, taking with us presents from Australia and Japan for her and Simon.  While we were there we picked up Marlo and took him home with us. I'm not absolutely convinced he really wanted to go.  He wasn't entirely delighted to be put back into his travel basket. But he seems to have settled back in. He was very quick to head outside to check it all out.  He's been sequestered inside for 6 weeks at Freyja's place!

Time for work.  Second day back, but the first day on the bus.  The builder needed to go into Sheffield early yesterday morning for some building supplies and took me in with him. I've re-charged my smartcard bus pass. Fortunately - it worked :-D