CHAPTER 54 – TAB—Time Away from Bun
“We’re having a party to watch the game this weekend. Do you want to come?” said the voice on the phone. Dad thought about it for a nanosecond. He wasn’t much of a sports fan—but more importantly—it would mean Time Away from Bun. All things considered, he’d rather spend the day at home with Abigail. “Oh thanks, but I’ll pass on that. Not much of a sports fan,” he replied, not wanting to divulge the real reason he was declining. His friends already thought he had gone off the deep end with rabbits. And they were not wrong.
Dad looked over at Abigail, who was half-napping in her spot by the window and explained, “You know Abigail, my happy place is here with you, so anything that takes me away from that gets measured in terms of Time Away from Bun, or TAB. Like, what’s my TAB for doing that? It’s my new currency for time. Would I rather do something else or stay at home with you?” Even his travel was now measured in TAB. In the past, his trips were however long he wanted to stay. Now they were measured by “what’s the minimum TAB to take this trip?” It was a good way to prioritize what was important and what wasn’t.
Abigail raised one ear to listen. She was OK with that. Even if they weren’t interacting directly, she liked having Dad nearby. The sound of his voice was soothing to her. Often, she would tooth-chatter at the sound of his voice. Abigail lowered her ear and settled back into her loaf position. She tooth-chattered at Dad, inviting him to pet her.
Dad smiled and laid down next to her, and stroked her head and ears. There was not a sound, except for the birds chirping outside and Abigail’s purring. Both were content and at peace in their happy place.
