FLATLINE

They were unable to save him. Every option was exhausted as they tried for 30 minutes to revive him. After the realisation set in, they gave in, carried him to the van, and drove him away. Elton was gone.

The "furniture medics" arrived around noon today and verified what I'd believed. The daybed sofa was defective. In a way, I was relieved. Not because I wanted the sofa gone, but because I was relieved to discover it was not my inability to assemble the sofa alone that was the issue. I've assembled many pieces of furniture in the past. I knew what I was doing.

Regardless, after waiting four months for it to be delivered plus three weeks after vacation wherein the three boxes sat in a corner of the garage waiting to be assembled, my dream of sitting on a sofa in front of the window was no more. Granted, the view of the open sky is now obstructed by a new building in the midst of construction a few feet from the patio.

My hope is that a replacement will arrive before Thanksgiving albeit that seems unlikely as I recall the conversation I had with the ever-so-cheery customer service girl last week. She hesitated requesting a replacement letting me know it might be a few months for a new daybed to arrive.

The options for the time being are to leave the area empty, wait for the replacement to be delivered (albeit it might arrive at the time my lease expires in early spring), or place the IKEA mattress - meant for the daybed - on the floor. The Moroccan theme is the look I was going after anyways with a carved wooden coffee table being used as the dining table and cushions as seating.

If nothing else, there is plenty of room for dancing, pillows to be strewn all over the floor, and setting out the countless candleholders for the hundred or so tea light candles I have packed away in boxes. And lighting some amber resin incense. Elton might be gone, but all is not lost.