Chance Of A Lifetime

Maybe Someday

      June, 2019:

      "Okay, all of the numbers are good, Bob, so you've just successfully completed your first solo changeover," Aidan Ashcroft declared to the older man standing next to her. "As long as you remember that the center clamp has to be tightened down first, you shouldn't have to take it apart and re-do it to get your weights in spec next time."

      "Yeah, I'll definitely remember that," her companion replied, looking up at the assemblage of pipes and hoses jutting from the top of the massive piece of machinery in front of them. "It's enough of a pain in the ass to do once, let alone twice. And maybe next time it won't take me so damn long to finish."

      "I'd rather have you be slow and do it right, than rush through and get something wrong," she replied. "If you screw up the machine, or even just have to do everything over again, that slows things down even more. Besides, from the looks of things, we probably aren't going to get anything for awhile anyway."

      "No, you're not," a voice responded from behind them, and both Aidan and Bob turned to see their supervisor standing near the entrance to the area. "It turns out that they have to rewire the tin bath, and even if they finish that pretty quick, by the time it heats back up, nothing is gonna make it all the way down here. So you two can go ahead and cut out early if you want, or I can see if one of the other lines has something for you to do if you want to finish out the day."

      Bob opted to finish out the shift, but Aidan said, "Hey, you don't have to tell me twice, Jim. Two extra free hours means that I actually have time to go grocery shopping and still grab a shower before my game tonight, so I'm gonna book before you change your mind. See you guys tomorrow!"

      After leaving her work station, she hurried to the shipping area to inform her roommate, Kyra, about the change of plan, and to inquire whether she needed anything from the store.

      "If you're going to Wally World, can you swing into Subway on your way out and grab me a roast beef on herb and cheese, so I can take it to the game with me?" Kyra requested. "And a bag of chili cheese Fritos from the chip aisle? I'll pay you back when I get home."

      "Six inch or footlong?"

      "Make it a footlong. When Danny gets there, I'll see if he wants to share. If not, I'll leave half in the fridge and bring it for lunch tomorrow."

      "Y'know, that's not a half-bad idea," Aiden replied. "I think I might do that myself."

      She made her way to the locker room to change out of her uniform, then timed out, grabbing her lunch bag from the cooler on the way out of the building. When she reached her car, she dropped the bag into the seat next to her before leaving the parking lot and driving to the nearby Walmart to do her shopping. Then, once she had collected the items on her list and worked through the crowd at the checkout lanes, she parked the cart in front of the Subway at the front of the store and purchased Kyra's sandwich, along with a Subway Club on honey oat bread for herself, then rolled everything out to her car.

      Since she didn't have to contend with the usual late-afternoon traffic, it took only a few minutes for Aidan to reach the duplex that she shared with Kyra and pull her car into the driveway. She raised her hand to greet their elderly neighbor, Harry, who was sitting on his front porch, then gathered her purchases and carried them inside. 

      The moment she stepped through the door, she was greeted by a barrage of loud "meows", as her tuxedo cat, Charlie, and Kyra's gray tabby, Muppet, ran in circles around her as she moved toward the kitchen.