Bob

Next time, that you look over, and see an older person bussing the table next to you, it doesn't always have to be a sad event. Yes, it could be that they have to do it to get by, but it could be, so they can afford to purchase their dream retirement home on the beach, or it could be the story of...BOB

Bob grew up, in a small town, in Ohio. One of those towns, where everything was surrounded by a cornfield, and you had to drive an hour to get to anything that mattered. Like most kids in small towns, Bob used to dream of getting out of the nowhere, that he called his home. At night, he would lie back on a blanket, with Cindy, his girlfriend since seventh grade, staring at the stars, and tell her all the tales of how he would rescue her from the monotony that was their lives.
It took Bob a whole two days, after graduating from high school, to pack up his car, kiss his Sweetheart goodbye, and take off for the city, and to him, civilization. For four years, he moved from apartment to apartment, staying with whatever friend made the offer of a room. With the help of his parents, back home, and a meager paycheck, working at a local restaurant, Bob managed to pay for his stay and graduate from the state college with a degree in business.
Within a year, of graduation, Bob found himself, sitting in a cubicle, with his nameplate on the wall, a small apartment downtown, and engaged to Cindy. For five years, Bob called Cindy, every week, telling her how great the city was, and how he was going to sweep her away from her small town life. Finally, he was going to be able to make it a reality!
Five more long years, and two promotions later, Bob stood at the end of the aisle, watching as his school Sweetheart, of seventeen years, approached him, stunning in her white dress, with the future, in sight, that he had always promised her. He was able to carry her across the threshold of their new apartment. The apartment where they would start their new life together, where they would raise their son together. Life for Bob was exactly how he had dreamed it would turn out.
Unfortunately, for Bob, dreams don't always go the way you want them too. He found this out, all too well, the day he had to go home from work, and break the news to his wife, that he was out of a job. Suddenly, their comfortable existence was in jeopardy. There would be no severance package coming, the company hadn't been doing well, for a while now, much to the surprise of their now unemployed workers. They would have to survive on the meager unemployment check, until Bob could find something else. Cindy began searching for work, as well, having been a housewife and stay at home mom, since being whisked away to the city. Bob applied for every position he could find, to no avail. The unemployment checks ended, and the final notice bills began.
Coming home from another unsuccessful interview, Bob found Cindy waiting for him, with the last of her bags ready to load into the car. With the end of Bob’s city life dream, came the end of his marriage. He could no longer provide the escape from Cindy’s small town life, that he had promised. She took their son and moved in with some friends, across town. Bob's dream had officially spiraled into his worst nightmare.
For three years, Bob wandered from place to place, begging on street corners, doing odd jobs here and there. His car was now his home, barely scraping together enough to pay for a small meal and enough gas to drive to his next parking spot for the night. He knew where his family settled, Cindy having found a new husband to provide her that house in the city, that once Bob had promised her, but he was too proud to let her, and especially his son, see him in his current state.
Slowly, his travels brought him back to his hometown, the small community where he was raised. There was a small diner, on the edge of town, where he stopped for a cup of coffee, using the last of his change, and a quick washing up in their public restroom. As he paid, he inquired about the small “Help Wanted” sign next to the register.
It isn't the dream that Bob started with, but to Bob, it is the best feeling in the world. He gets to come home, at the end of his day at work, to a place he can call his own. It may be a small apartment, but once again, he has a home. He has been able to reconnect with his family, and even gets to have his son visit him occasionally. They sit out on his back porch, looking out over the town, while Bob tells him how great life, in a small town, really is.

Reviews

[NerKvaDova]

Damn I love this , It feeds that urge to just ask someone how their life went , seeing faces you faintly recognize , might be from you coming here often or maybe you passed them by the street on the way home , these stories feed the curiosity I sometimes have when I look at someone and wonder what has their life been ? , I Love it