So, a writing prompt I picked up in my 100 list has morphed into something more than a quick exercise in creativity. I decided to look into the current thinking on story length as this is something that changes. I found a few good articles these two stood out as solid:
http://indianareview.org/2013/02/when-is-a-short-story-too-long/

http://allisonbetancourt.com/how-long-should-your-story-be-a-short-guide-to-story-lengths/

It looks like this little exercise has become a Novelette.  How fun! I liked the comments about keeping the cut scenes rather than deleting them. I often have rabbit trails that seem to have value but end up not fitting well in the story. I’ll keep them now and see where they go on their own.