A day in the life of Stacy

The airport run

This story should have been the end of my writer's block. The set up: It's Todd's birthday weekend, his brother is flying in for the party. We were busy on Saturday and would be unable to amuse him so his parents made the three hour drive from their house to the airport to pick him up and take him to their house for a couple days until the party on Saturday. Apparently this was an ordeal in itself because none of them knew he was at the east terminal. Anyway, the party happens, he spends the night with us and I'm to take him to the airport the next day. His flight takes off at 2:50. A bit before 1:00, I ask him if he is ready to go because I'm going to put shoes on the kids and load them in the car. He said he's packed and ready. I'm putting shoes on the kids when I see him open his wallet and say, "Crap". "What?" I say. "I left my license at my parents' house. I will call them and have them bring it to me and I'll catch the 7:00." He's cool as a cucumber. I tell him to get in the car, the license office is near my house, we will try to get him a new one as that would be faster and far more efficient. So I drop him off, go to get gas, leave a scathing voicemail about his brother on my husband's voicemail, and loop back around and pick him up. He said he totally would have gotten a license except their printer is broken and do I know where the Washington one is. So I called Nicole and she told me where it was and off we went. I knew if we hurried, we would have time for the Union office, but the Washington one... well, it would take us ten-fifteen minutes just to get there, and that wasn't in the schedule, but off we went anyway. I asked him if they had him up on the screen at the Union office, he said no, and that probably would have been reassuring, but he was still without a worry in the world. He was in the Washington office for significantly longer. I called my husband again about his !@$^#$^&! brother. Todd said there was no way we would make it on time. What am I to do? I'm no magician. I cannot make the license appear nor make his brother disappear. So he comes out and they couldn't give him a license, for various reasons. We proceed to the airport anyway. I was dropping him off and I guess he would hijack a plane home. He tries getting Lambert on the phone. This was stupid, but I didn't stop him because I wanted to know what he would say. His parents tried calling him, but he wouldn't pick up because his call to Lambert was deemed more important. I take it upon myself to call his parents on my cell phone. It went like this: "Phileta, Justin thinks he left his license at your house. He thinks he left it on the nightstand, can you check please?"
"Nope, not here. Where else could it be?"
"Justin, where else could it be?"
"Tell her to check on the bed next to the bed."
"He says to check on the bed next to the bed."
"Nope, not there."
"I don't know, just look around."
"I am looking around!! Ask him if he threw away that little folder they give you."
"Did you throw away the little folder?"
"Yeah."
"He said he threw it away."
"Okay, I'm going to give you to Rob so I can dig through the trash."
It is at this point that Justin may have been realizing that his license was indeed, not at his parents' house. In the corner of my eye, I see him open his wallet and pull out his license. He said, and I quote, "I put it in a different pocket."


(Wait for it...)



"That's the second time I've done that."




At exactly 2:50, we were nearly to the airport when a Southwest flight took off right over us. I said, "Look, your plane is on time." I dropped him off and we haven't spoken to him since, we are assuming he still isn't there. Last night Phileta calls in crisis mode because Justin didn't call her on Sunday like he was supposed to and the only answer she could come up with is the lying in a ditch scenario. Todd assured her that he was sure he just didn't have his cell phone charger and that's why we was out of commission. She refused to even email him in case he tried to call while her line was taken up. So Todd emailed Justin that he best call him mother ASAP and the situation was resolved within the hour. He lift his charger at a friend's house.

posted by Stacy @ 7:42 AM