good news/bad news...

I told my friend E.,  "I have good news and bad news, which do you want first?"

She said, "I will take the bad news, and get it out of the way". I said, "I am sorry, but I cannot go with you when you go to Florida to the beach next week: I have to work". She said, "That's terrible, we were going to have fun". I said, "Do you want the good news?" She said, "OK.".

I said, "I have to work next week, to replace my coworker who is going to be on vacation, so I cannot go to the beach with you when you go to Florida". She said, "yeah - I know, you already told me that". I said: "That's the good news too - since I have to work and can't go, I can be your dog sitter".

This is the same little dog that came for a visit several weeks ago. I'd told her the little fuzz ball was not any trouble, and I would be glad to keep her again when she went back south. Even though I'd been invited to go along on the trip, and had marked it on my calendar, I was disinclined to make the drive.  I could not really figure out any way going that distance to the coast would be worth the little bit of time I would be able to spend in the sand... so was sort of declining the invitation even before I found I would be working.

The dog is coming on Saturday, to stay for a week. I am pretty sure Lucy, the elderly cat, will be as unimpressed as she was the last time this happened, but the Good News for Lucy is there will only be one, instead of two.