“So what do you do for a living, Ben?” asked Carl of his likely father-in-law to be.
“Interesting you should ask that,” replied Ben. I work in the city’s planning department, where I’m responsible for reviewing permit applications for new construction, re-builds, and refurbishments. We get dozens of applications every month. My job is to ensure each one complies with city zoning ordinances, environmental requirements, and appropriate disposal of contaminated wastewater and other industrial effluents.”
“That sounds like an exacting task,” replied Carl. “It must take a lot of research for each permit.”
“Oh, it does. First of all, the applicant has to complete the paperwork for their request, several pages of paperwork – let me step you through the process,” and Ben launched into a lengthy, detailed description of the city’s permitting process.
Ten minutes or so into Ben’s monolog, Carl found himself battling with the desire of his eyelids to flutter and close, lulled by the persistent, unceasing monotone account Ben was providing of a typical day in his working life.
Possible relief appeared when Ben’s wife, Martha, entered bearing two cups of tea. Until now, Martha had been in the kitchen speaking with Rose, her daughter, and Ben’s fiancé. She set one cup in front of Ben, smiling, then turning to Carl, eyed him with apparent suspicion and a disapproving frown. She placed his cup on the coffee table just out of his reach and, giving an abrupt “Hmph!” left the room.
Carl reached for the cup, if for nothing more than a diversion from Ben’s still rambling and interminable job description. Carl was concerned. ‘What is her problem? I have barely spoken to her after saying hello and giving her that bunch of flowers.’
He was trying to recall any possible transgression on his part that could have upset his intended future mother-in-law when a slight change in Ben’s tone of voice implied he may be asking Carl a question.
“Sorry, Ben, what was that again?”
“I said do you want me to run over the questions in part D of a permit application again? I know they can be hard to grasp at first hearing.”
“That’s OK. I think I got it the first time round; carry on.”
Ben carried on. Carl sat, turning over the conflicting feelings jumping around in his head – boredom for sure, and concern at possibly committing an unknown faux pas a second, both of which conflicted with his initial desire to make a favorable first impression on his future in-laws. He was at a loss to understand what was going on, and Rose was still in the kitchen.
The boring father-in-law fit the bill. Par 6 confused me when it read, in the kitchen with Ben’s fiancé. Therefore, I had to go back and make sure who was who. I was not too sure why the mother-in-law would be upset with possible son-in-law when the father was droning on and on. A tad more hint would be helpful.
Overall, the borish father made the story and what he did for a living.
Give me a hint to the transgression???????
Thx!
The way I read the assignment was that the character, Carl, didn’t know why his mother-in-law was angry so I didn’t craft a reason, nor could Carl think of one – to be honest I found that lessons 22-24 rather lightweight compared to the rest of the course – make-weights. Thank you again for your comments and insight which I always appreciate and I agree with your ‘para 6’ comment.
I think you approached this homework task very well. The reader certainly got the feeling of the monotonous monologue that Carl was having to endure. You intersperse the actions and the dialogue cleverly keeping the reader’s interest to the end.