Finding Parker by Scott Hildreth, SD Hildreth Read Free Book Online Page A

again.
    “Friday,” I responded, half ashamed of my having asked Katelyn on a date.
    “Well, I have some errands to get done today; I should probably start pretty soon. If you’re in the neighborhood and she’s bored, stop by Friday. With Katelyn, that is. I’ll be here. Actually, I’m anxious to meet her,” he said as he stood from the chair.
    “I’ll plan on it,” I responded as I placed my hands on my knees.
    “In the event you do come here, we’re friends . No need to muddy the waters with explanations of employment. Agreed?” he paused, waiting for my approval.
    “Agreed,” I responded as I stood.
    I rose from the overstuffed chair I had been buried in for the length of our conversation. During my visit, Kenton had asked little of me, yet offered considerable wisdom in the form of advice. He wasn’t the person I expected him to be. I remained quite nervous in his presence, and reserved hope this would change in time. As the cleats of his golf shoes echoed down the hallway toward the front door, I followed anxiously.
    “You should live every day,” Kenton paused as he reached for the door handle, “as if you’re going to die at midnight.”
    Leisurely, he pulled the door open.
    “Ask yourself throughout the course of each day, if this were my last day on this earth, would I do anything different? ”
    “I’ve been saying that since I was in college. Only in the last decade did I truly start applying it. Have a nice afternoon, Parker. I hope to see you Friday,” he said as he extended his right hand.
    I shook his hand and nodded, thinking about what he said. If this were my last day on this earth, would I do anything different? At a loss for words, I stepped onto the porch, turned to face him, and thought. 
    “Yes,” I said.
    And, as Kenton Ward’s mouth slowly formed itself into a grin of accomplishment, I quietly turned and walked to my car.

PARKER. Having a job that wasn’t necessarily a conventional one left me considerable time to think. Thinking, for me, hasn’t always been a healthy thing. I tend to think, rethink, and overthink issues if left with enough time. Being decisive is not one of my strengths. Through the course of the morning, I had changed my mind no less than four times regarding Katelyn and our date.
    Although I couldn’t be certain, I began to wonder if some of my indecisiveness was a result of a desire to please Kenton. I desperately wanted acceptance from him, and couldn’t convince myself he was pleased with my decision to take Katelyn on a date. He had, however, asked that I bring her to his home on Friday. This, in itself, was enough to cause me to second guess my second guessing.
    Sitting in the kitchen and staring out into the courtyard, I tried to relax and think of things other than Katelyn and Kenton. My mind became a scrambled mess of thoughts as I sipped my cup of coffee and gazed out the window at what must have been one of San Diego’s tallest palm trees. Half way into my mental efforts to guess the height of the tree, I decided to give up. Left wondering and somewhat frustrated, I stood and walked to the bathroom.
    I suspect I pluck my eyebrows more than most people. I will never actually know if it actually provides me any form of real relaxation or a means of solving problems, but I like to think it provides something . During a few of my college exams, I plucked my eyebrows into nothingness. Generally, I perform the task while I am making decisions. Or thinking. Or thinking about making a decision.
    Standing in front of the mirror, tweezers in hand, I attempted to resolve the issue of the palm tree.
    If a telephone pole is typically forty feet tall, and they are buried ten percent of the length plus two feet, that would leave thirty-four feet of the pole exposed.
    Pluck. Pluck.
    The tree is thirty three percent taller than the pole.
    Pluck. Pluck. Pluck.
    If the pole beside the tree is typical, the tree is forty three feet tall. That would be if the