Shamed in Front of the Regency Staff and Other Such Stories from Luke's Life

I have a pretty big "To Do" list before we leave for Houston, and I've been trying to get some things checked off this week.  One of the big things is to sign our new contract at Regency before we leave.  So I called the office this morning and made an appointment to go down and sign our new contract.  Sounds easy, right?  There's only one hitch: what to do with Luke while Jared and I are signing papers?

The Regency Lady (What's her real title?) said it was fine for him to wander around the office.  She showed Luke some pictures on her computer, and then she showed him two plastic deer that she had over by a potted plant.  They look like something you might see in a flower bed or garden.  Luke picked up the baby and was carrying it around.  Debbie said it was fine, so I let him do it.  We got to talking about what things we need to take care of: the best way to pay rent while we're gone, how high we can keep the A/C, yatta, yatta, yatta.  All the while Luke is wandering around, although he has now traded and is carrying the slightly bigger (and slightly heavier) momma deer.  Jared and I keep glancing at him, and Debbie keeps reassuring us that he's fine.  "He can't break anything," she says.  Well, just then we hear a crash.  I go over to see what Luke has done and find the momma deer on the floor-- now missing a leg.

I bend down to pick it up and while I'm apologizing profusely, Luke realizes there's a really great calculator on the desk that acts somewhat like a cash register.  It makes good loud noises when you push buttons and paper comes out of the top.  So he starts jabbing buttons left and right while I'm trying to pick up the pieces of the deer.  Jared runs to stop Luke from breaking the calculator too, and we're both red in the face.  We keep apologizing, and while Debbie swore it didn't matter, that the owner hated the deer, that she has another one at home, etc. we both still feel so embarrassed.  (And I a little perplexed.  How in the world would I replace that deer?  Where would I find one?)

And so with slightly less dignity than we possessed when we arrived, we picked up our child and our copy of the contract, and went back home where we can hopefully hide from the staff until we leave.