Renovations

Stuart's building always seems to be undergoing an endless series of updates to keep it from falling down around the people inside. The only event that happened more often than a renovation was another seminar on customer satisfaction. Stuart had been to five such seminars in the past month alone.

The most recent construction project involved tearing apart every restroom in the place--except for the one that was kept open so that no one had to run to the gas station down the street when the time came to do ones business. Supposedly the finished restrooms would be state-of-the-art when they got completed in about six months, but for now, they were useless.

Tonight, as Stuart walked back to his office, a guy he had never seen before stood outside one of the gutted, doorless men's rooms near the back of the building. Stuart thought he might be a messenger or even a new custodian, but he couldn't be sure. Just because he wore ratty cargo pants, sneakers, and a baseball cap didn't mean he couldn't be the owner of a copy shop or a coffee bar. These days, Stuart could never tell.

The guy stared wide-eyed into the empty room with its bare floors and walls. The room's only features were a few useless pipe stumps sticking out of the walls about a foot off the floor. He must have heard Stuart's footsteps because he spoke without pulling his gaze from the restroom.

"Dude," he said, wagging his head sideways in Stuart's direction. "Dude, come look at this."

Stuart stopped beside him and looked into the room.

"Tell me something," the guy said. "Did there used to be toilets in here?"

"Yes," Stuart answered. "The restrooms are being renovated."

"Cool!" the guy replied, breaking into a relieved smile. "I was sure there were toilets in here before. Thanks dude!"

"You're welcome," Stuart replied, then turned and walked toward his office, happy that at the next seminar he could report another satisfied customer.