Hello, My Name is Tom

Let's see, I've been helping at the cafe for about 6 weeks now. So why does Jean keep calling me, Tom? I don't get it. At least I'm not alone. She calls wifey, Sharon. At first I thought it was funny. Now, not so much. When she was little, I wonder if she brought friends home to meet her family with: "This is, uh, uh, uh...." "I'm your MOTHER!!!"
Wifey and I were busy at both cafes all week. Business at the old cafe was dismal, so it was easy to get away and go work at the new place. Wifey scrubbed petrified grease off the kitchen floor while I installed chair rail around the dining room and started painting the kitchen floor.
Since there are no lights in the dining room at the new place, our work hours are somewhat limited to mid-day. By 4:00 in the afternoon, it's too dark in the dining room to see nail heads, pencil lines, etc.
After studying the pattern of empty fixture holes in the ceiling, I mentioned to Jean that she should consider buying 23 ceiling fixtures to adequately light the dining area. She hopes 16 will do it. I added that I had seen some nice looking 100-watt pendulum fixtures at Lowe's on sale for $40 each. Her response surprised me... but maybe it shouldn't have. She said, "Forty dollars?! Oh no. That's too much. The dentist wants to do this right. I'm going to see what I can find at the recycled building materials store. The fixtures might not match, but that will be okay, don't you think?" (Uh oh. Is that an iceberg I'm beginning to see through the fog up ahead?)
By the way, soy bean oil in the deep fat fryer has been a big success! The fries are less greasy and seem to taste better. Isn't that interesting?
I keep telling myself to keep my mouth shut unless my... er, Tom's input is requested. I'm only a volunteer. Getting involved in decision making can only lead to frustration or heartbreak. Just show up, do stuff, and go home. All that... and keep a life vest handy.