Shizuka's words kept replaying in Vern's head for the rest of the day.  Every idle moment meant hearing them again.  
[color=a187be]"You can't take care of other people unless you take care of yourself."[/color]
Had he bit off more than he could chew?  Had he lost track of why he was working so hard?  He wanted to make sure that his future wife would live without worry if he were to pass away young, like his father.  That would be for nothing if he never lived long enough to marry.  Still, the fact remained that he had responsibilities.

Three meetings and a quick sandwich for lunch made for a busy first part of the day.  Then, he had to quietly rush to his other job, leading one of the maintenance teams that took care of the park for the city.  There was a plumbing issue with a couple of the water fountains and he had to pull out a good part of his knowledge on the subject to get the job done.  Even with three people under him, it still took all of five hours.  He had instructed the others to handle the usual maintenance tasks while he took on the plumbing problem.  Things worked out in the end but he only barely managed to finish the rest of the work by quitting time.

It had already been raining for awhile.  He was soaked, first with sweat and then with rain.  His crew had already finished and gone home.  They had rides on muggy, wet days.  Vern had gone around and priced vehicles but he had only recently found one suitable for his current needs.  It was a scooter.  It had also gotten a flat yesterday and wouldn't be ready for him to pick it up from the shop until morning.

So, he walked.

By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs that led up to his apartment, he was soaked through and had a good start on being chilled to the bone.  He was also blinking owlishly to try and keep the world from blurring.  He was tired, almost tired enough that he couldn't feel it.  He was just starting to ache all over and his headache from the morning's paperwork hadn't gone away.  He failed to notice the unfamiliar bike as he approached the stairs.  He also didn't notice the young lady quietly standing just off to the side of the door to his apartment.

Then he noticed.  His key was in his hand.  water was dripping from the brim of his maintenance uniform cap.  His uniform was soaked and muddy with a scattering of grass stains.  Dripping wet work gloves hung out of his back pockets and his bare hands sported wrinkled fingertips from hours in the wet.  It took a few long seconds before he could make his eyes keep her in focus long enough to recognize her.

Of all people to see him in this state, it just had to be Shizuka.  The very person who had reminded him that he shouldn't push himself so hard during their talk that morning was standing outside his apartment under the awning that he had installed a couple months before with his briefcase in her hand.  She looked wet.  She also had the look of someone trapped by the rain.

Vern remembered his key and his manners in roughly the same moment, inserting the key into the lock and opening the door before clearing his throat and motioning for her to enter.  His hands were shaking.

"Shizuka, thank you for bringing that over.  Please, come in and warm up."  He said.  His voice was so soft that it barely carried the few feet between them.  "I'll make some tea."  He walked inside and removed his soaking wet work boots by the door, walking in wet socks to the small kitchen where he began heating a kettle and pulling tea down from a cupboard.

The apartment was designed like a studio with a bedroom and bathroom being the only rooms that had any actual walls.  The rest was open concept and there were tile floors by the entrance, the kitchen, and the bathroom.  The rest was wood.  It had the decorative distinction of actually looking easy to clean.  That is, it had nothing else to recommend it due to being empty of anything resembling a lived-in feeling.  The kitchen was the notable exception.  All over it were signs of knowledge and pride.  The dishes were perfectly maintained and in good order. The spices were widely varied and well organized.  The counters were largely uncluttered and only sported a couple of necessary appliances.  The cupboards were made of good quality wood with a moderate finish and there was no sign of disturbance in the ones that were open.

One of those cupboards was the recipient of Vern's labored attention.  The label on one tin of tea was proving hard to read.  He tried to pull it into focus and it kept slipping back out again.   He stepped away from the counter to set the tin down and get one of the stools from the small kitchen table. It was about then that everything went black and he fell to the floor with a muffled thud on the tile.


[@Stern Algorithm]