Home - Randy Wong

Adam and Tracy Wilkinson took a moment to stare at the feast laid out before them. All their culinary favorites were present. Adam was a meat and potatoes kind of guy; so naturally, there were lots of meat and potatoes. He especially loved roast pork. And creamy mashed potatoes – the perfect side dish. He also loved pop and fresh biscuits. Who knew something soft, tasty and luxurious could come from a pressurized can of pre-made dough? For Tracy, she loved rotisserie chicken, green beans, and baked yams. She also was a potatoes kind of gal. In her case, she loved baked potatoes drenched in melted butter and covered in chives. She also loved her salads. When they got married, Tracy made a tremendous effort to get Adam to eat a salad before dinner. Adam felt raw vegetables got in the way of comfort food, but he finally relented as long as he still got to eat his creamy mashed potatoes during the main course.

It had been a rough week for them. On Monday, Adam was told that his network administrator job was being eliminated. After almost fifteen years in the information technology industry, he was suddenly without a job. Two days later, Tracy lost her administration job with the city. This was a blow to both of them as they were considering starting a family. Now that they were both out of work, they needed to get their finances in order. They spent two days working out a tighter budget and made a list of things they could do without. They calculated that they could hold out for about several months between the two severance packages the two received before they needed to dip into their savings. The economic outlook was very poor, but the young couple remained optimistic.

They were sitting at opposite ends of their small dinner table. Adam reached both hands across the table to hold Tracy’s hands. He stared at her for a moment with a serious look that Tracy hadn’t seen before.

“Tracy, I need to say this. The economy is in the shitter, and we both recently lost our jobs. Now, I know we were talking about starting a family, and these recent events have a put a stop to those plans. But, I promise you … everything will turn out fine. As long was we have each other, we’ll be fine.”

He squeezed Tracy’s hand. She smiled, leaned over the table, and kissed him. Adam took Tracy’s right hand and put it against his cheek.

Tracy caressed Adam’s cheek with the back of her hand. “I’m not worried babe. Besides, it’s just money,” she said in a mocking tone. “I mean, money doesn’t buy you happiness. It does buy you stuff that makes you smile, though.”

Adam laughed heartedly. Her sense of humor and sarcasm was one of her most endearing qualities.
“Trace, ‘home’ isn’t about the stuff we own or the money we make. Home is wherever and whenever we’re together. I love you, babe.”

They kissed one more time, and then sat down to have their meal. Tomorrow, the intense work of job hunting and interview preparation would begin. For tonight, they feasted like royalty.