We're Late!

“We’re late!”

“I’m coming!” Alex, a male in his early 20s, shouted from the living room of a modern day apartment. He rushed into the hallway to find his girlfriend Tess standing at the entrance to their apartment.

“We’re going to be late.” Tess said in a panic, holding her navy blue backpack over her shoulder, two suitcases next to her - one for her, and one for Alex. 

Alex was about to head towards the door when he checked his pocket, “Oh God, I forgot my keys! I’ll be back!” Alex shouted as he sprinted up the stairs to his room.

“You need to hurry, we’re going to miss our flight!”

Alex darted into their bedroom and over to his dresser where he grabbed his keys. He was about to leave when he realized that he left his window open. It was a good thing that he came up here. Tess would throw a fit if she found out that they’d left their window open the whole time they were away on vacation. Anyone could have broken in.

After Alex closed his window, he sprinted back downstairs just in time for them to hear the taxi beep its horn outside. 

Tess opened the door and the two of them struggled with their heavy suitcases out of the door.

Alex locked the door behind them, but as he turned around he was greeted by the stressful sight of their taxi driving away without them.

Tess sighed in frustration, “Could anything else go wrong this morning?!” She exclaimed, but much to her dismay, the wind picked up and it started to rain. “Remind me to stop asking that question.”

Alex bent down and opened his suitcase where he pulled out an umbrella for Tess. She thanked him after he handed it to her. He then called for another cab. This one would arrive in ten minutes; there was still a chance they could catch their flight.

“I hope the weather is better in Tenerife.” Alex stated,

“I hope so. It would be no fun to have a wedding when it’s raining.” Tess replied, a worried expression on her face as she heard the neighbor’s gate rattle in the wind, a hanging basket on their house swaying from side to side as debris from the nearby trees blew in every direction. “Are you sure the plane is going to take off in this?”

“It should blow over soon. It wasn’t even forecast for a storm today.” 

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, the taxi finally arrived. It was much larger than the first one. In fact, it was more like a minivan. A very packed minivan. Tess could only hope that they were all going to the same airport. 

Tess approached the car door with Alex and the suitcases behind her. The taxi driver got out and assisted them with their luggage and Tess and Alex got comfortable inside the minivan.

“Where are you heading?” The taxi driver asked after getting inside the cab,

“The airport.” Tess replied,

“Okay, we’ve got one stop to make first. Dorris here is stopping at the hair salon.” The driver explained as he signalled to an old lady with shoulder length hair sitting in the second row of seats.

“I need to get my roots done.” Doris replied.

Tess nodded and smiled awkwardly in response.

It took fifteen minutes for the taxi to arrive at the hair salon. The taxi driver got out of the cab and helped Doris out of the minivan. It didn’t take long for him to get back inside and for them to be on their way to the airport. Maybe they would make their plane after all, or so they thought…

“Excuse me sir, Doris left her purse. She won’t be able to get her roots done without it.” An old lady spoke up from the seat where Doris had previously been sitting.

“Then we’ll take it to her.” The driver announced.

Great. More delays.

The taxi turned down several streets to get to the salon; however, the journey there was anything but easy. The taxi came to a stop two streets down when a man was unpacking the shopping from his car and dropped a bag of apples, each apple rolling down the road in front of the minivan.

“Sorry!” The man exclaimed with guilt written over his face.

After a long excruciating wait for the man and the taxi driver to pick up each individual apple, they were on their way back to the salon. However, as the taxi turned a corner they were met with another catastrophe. 

‘Road Closed.’

Well, this is even better. 

“We’re going to have to go the long way.” The driver announced, as if this way wasn’t long enough. 

A did a three point turn and turned the minivan around. He headed down one of the side streets and merged onto a road where there was a street parade. A gentleman in very bright clothing threw some ribbons over the minivan. The driver wound down the window,

“We’ve never had a taxi be part of our street parade before! You must be the surprise that they were talking about!” The man said with childlike excitement. There was a brass band playing, drums being played, people marching and several floats ahead of them, each with a different theme.

Tess leaned across and wound down her window, “We’re not part of it. We’re trying to get to the salon so that Doris can get her roots done so that my boyfriend and I can-” Tess’ voice got louder and louder as the volume of the music started to pick up. “Nevermind…” She sighed and sat back in her seat, defeated. She guessed the only good thing right now is that the storm appeared to have cleared.

“Come on, you can be part of it!” The man cheered as he handed the passengers some maracas. “Let’s party!” He said as he ran ahead and jumped onto one of the floats. 

The music picked up as the parade emerged onto the busy main street. People were lined up at either side of the street as the floats and the taxi made their way down the road at a pace that seemed slower than a snail. 

The audience were dancing to the music, and even the passengers inside the taxi were having a good time, dancing in their seats. It was a blast, yet all Tess could think about was how they were certain to miss their plane now. For once she hoped that their flight would be delayed.

After the parade, the taxi finally turned down a street and parked up outside the salon where Doris was waiting. Doris headed towards the taxi and opened the door. However, when the taxi driver went to hand her her purse she said, “Oh thank you, but I won’t be needing it. The salon is closed. I got the wrong day.” before she climbed into the taxi with the assistance of, who Tess assumed was her friend.

Tess flashed Alex an annoyed look. They had sat waiting for apples to be cleared up from the road and endured a parade for no reason. 

“Can we go back to the parade?” A child asked from the very back of the minivan,

“Unfortunately not. I must take David to the pharmacy.” The taxi driver replied,

“I thought you were dropping us at the airport?” Tess questioned,

“I forgot that I have to make a stop first. This will be the last one, I promise.” The driver explained before he set off.

Tess crossed her arms as she leaned back in her seat. She looked at David when he held her hand. She took a deep breath, able to tell by the expression on his face that he was asking if she was okay. “I’m fine, I just…My sister is going to be devastated if I miss her wedding.”

“We’re not going to miss it. We’ll make that flight.” Alex reassured her. Tess couldn’t understand how he could remain so calm in a situation like this. 

Tess was soon snapped out of her thoughts when she heard police sirens approaching them. “Are you kidding me?” She muttered under her breath as the taxi pulled to the side of the road and came to a stop.

The driver rolled down his window as a female police officer approached the car, “Can I help you officer?”

“Are you aware that you have two suitcases on top of your vehicle?” The officer asked,

Before the driver could answer, another officer brought two suitcases down from the roof of the minivan.

“Hey, those are our suitcases!” Tess exclaimed in anger and confusion.

“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to calm down.” The officer spoke before he turned to the driver, “Why were these suitcases on the roof? That is a hazard to other cars and pedestrians.”

“They were perfectly secure officer. Besides, I use the roof as an extended storage.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s no room in the trunk when Ronald is travelling with us.”

Tess looked behind her to notice an elderly man using the entire backseat for his luggage.

Ronald waved, “I like to be prepared.”

Tess sighed and rolled her eyes. Thankfully the officer let them go, and it wasn’t long before they were on their way again. The taxi driver dropped David off at the pharmacy, and after a long excruciating wait, they were finally on the way to the airport. Nothing could stop them now. Well, nothing except for what was ahead…

“Why are there cows crossing the road?” Tess asked as the taxi stopped at a set of traffic lights. There were cows waiting on the pavement. They all looked both ways before they crossed the road. What is happening right now? Cows don’t normally behave this way…Tess thought to herself. 

There weren't just a few cows, it was an entire herd and each of them crossed one by one. Surely the universe was playing a prank on her. There’s no way that this could be real. 

After the cows had safely crossed the road, the taxi continued its journey, but it soon came to a stop at the airport. They had finally arrived.

“Thank you.” Alex said to the taxi driver as he climbed out of the taxi before he helped Tess out. He reached up and collected their luggage from the roof. “Finally. We’re actually going to make our flight.” 

With that, Alex and Tess checked in at the main desk and made their way towards security. Tess sighed. She could feel the stress growing inside her upon seeing a long queue for the security desks. Nobody was moving. There appeared to be a hold up. She looked ahead and let out a small gasp upon seeing a woman standing with a lion on a leash, the lion obediently stood beside her. How did something like that get so far into the airport without drawing attention?

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, we cannot allow large cats on the plane.” The security officer spoke,

“But he’s house trained. He has travelled far with me before. He even has his own side car which he enjoys riding in on long journeys. All I need is a very large litter box while we’re on the flight. He has a small bladder.” The woman explained in far too much information for Tess.

“I’m sorry, but our policy does not allow it.” The security officer explained once again as he pointed to a board with a picture of a lion with a line straight through. Why do they have that specific rule? Has this happened before? Surely not…

“That is unbelievable! My poor kitty has rights!” The woman huffed before she turned around and began to leave the security area. She stopped in front of Tess and Alex, “Can you believe this? My sweet little Mittens can’t fly. And well, I don’t go anywhere without him.” The woman said before she continued to walk off in a huff.

Tess wasn’t sure how to respond. Alex and her exchanged looks. This was already a weird day and surprisingly it was still only morning.

Luckily there were no more hiccups and the couple made their way through security with no trouble. They just about reached their gate in time and they were about to board the place when…

“Oh God, I must’ve left my boarding pass in the bathroom. I’ll just run and get it.” Alex announced before he rushed off in the direction of the bathroom. 

Tess waited and waited before she was ushered onto the plane by a stewardess. The stewardess seemed pushy and unwilling to listen to Tess when she tried to explain that she had to wait for her boyfriend and that he would only be a few more minutes. 

Tess unwillingly stepped onto the plane and took a seat. She wanted to talk to the pilot and explain the situation, but the stewardesses were standing at the entrance to the cockpit. She had to think of a distraction. She reached into her hand luggage and pulled out a bottle of soda. She shook it until the bubbles were reaching the top, ready to burst. She then unscrewed the lid slightly and rolled the bottle across the floor of the plane. Then with the sound of a pop and a fizz, the soda exploded out of the bottle, landing on a lady and her husband. The stewardesses rushed to the scene, which gave Tess the perfect opportunity to sneak into the cockpit. 

Tess quietly got up from the seat and creeped towards the door to the cockpit. She opened it; however, she didn’t find what she expected.

She heard a screech from the pilot seat.

“Hello?” Tess spoke,

There was another screech. 

“My husband had to get his boarding pass from the bathroom. He’s on his way back to the gate. I was wondering if you could wait a few minutes for him to board? We have a wedding to get to and-”

Tess stopped when the pilot let out another loud screech before he turned around. Tess gasped. It was a monkey. Monkeys were driving the plane.

She turned around to leave but there were another two monkeys standing behind her, both wearing a stewardesses uniform. 

Tess opened her mouth but the only word she could get out was,

“ALEX!”

All of a sudden, Tess bolted up in bed and opened her eyes. She looked around, noticing that she was still in her bedroom. Alex wasn’t beside her but she was home. At least it had all been a dream. They hadn’t been in a crazy taxi, they hadn’t taken part in a parade, or even had their luggage on the roof or gotten their plane flown by monkeys. They were still home. And most importantly, there was still time to catch their flight…

“Tess?” She heard Alex’s voice and his footsteps approaching their bedroom from down the hallway. He stopped in the doorway of their room, “Good, you’re awake.”

“What’s wrong?” Tess asked upon noticing her boyfriend’s worried expression.

“We’re late.”