Nobody appreciates a routine quite like Norman. But once in a while, life's simple pleasures find themselves integrated into a routine, and such occurrences satisfy both sides of Norman's internal spectrum. Sunday mornings epitomize this. A morning without obligation, but not a life.
Norman awakes when Norman awakes. This is the day. He rises out of bed, with visions of bacon and Norman and CSI dancing in his head. Maybe later he'll even catch The Last Man on Earth. He's been meaning to watch that show.
Norman puts some bacon in the microwave and hits start. 20 seconds in, he opens the microwave. Puts a pan on the stovetop, lights the gas, takes the bacon out of the microwave, and puts it on the pan. He smiles... "Just like mom used to." Then, he reaches into the refrigerator and grabs another piece of bacon and puts it on the pan. "That's pushing it, Norman", he thinks to himself. He grabs a spatula, and quickly slides the newly dropped piece of bacon out of the pan and places it back into the container of bacon.
As the proper amount of bacon cooks, Norman opens the front door and walks into his driveway. There's no car, but there is the Sunday paper, which in this moment is all Norman could ask for. Norman's particularly excited about the comics being in color. He's not sure if the writers save their best comics for Sundays, or if the color just makes them seem better, but regardless knows something about the Sunday color comics is superior to Monday-Saturday's black and white strips.
Norman's heart drops. The cover is in black and white. "Monday, October 19th." The paper slides out of his hand in slow motion and pounds the pavement with a thunderous thud. Norman sprints inside, his mind racing in a million directions. "What will my boss think? Am I about to get fired?" He dumps the half cooked bacon onto a plate, turns off the stove and runs into the bedroom. "What if I can't pay my bills? All my friends at work... will I ever get to see them again?" He wants to look presentable, but compromises with a face wash in the sink over a shower considering the circumstances. He jumps into his work slacks and shoes, buttons his shirt up and grabs his belt, tie and jacket. He can put those on along the way.
Norman runs as fast as he can to the bus stop, but along the way sees a taxi cab. Without hesitation, he hails it. "I can skip lunch the next few days", he justifies to himself.
Norman arrives at the office. He looks around, doesn't see anybody, so runs as fast as he can towards the door. Norman realizes that was a mistake, as now he's heavily breathing and sweating. He pauses for a moment to catch his breath, but his breath is long gone, so he decides to open the door regardless.
He walks in with his story in head... wanting to come up with excuses, instead opting for the truth. But Norman's thoughts begin to change.
"Where is everybody?", he whispers to himself.
The building is empty. It's 7:23 AM.
Norman slowly wanders over to his cubicle, where he lets out a great big sigh of relief. He may have forgotten his bacon at home, but at least he can still bring home the bacon.
Submitted October 20, 2015 at 12:38AM by BigGreekMike http://ift.tt/1MPOkcW lifeofnorman
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