Chapter Three
Something Short of Paradise
Meanwhile, in the skies over Oklahoma, Uncle Bill awoke to the sound of an announcement from the cockpit. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the darkened plane interior.
"We will be touching down in Dallas in less than an hour. Again, we are sorry about this inconvenience." said the pilot.
Bill grabbed a flight attendant as she shuffled past with the beverage cart.
"What's going on? This is supposed to be a non-stop flight to New York." he told her.
"There's a hurricane coming up from the Gulf, a freak snowstorm over Cleveland and Detroit, and Chicago can't handle the additional traffic. This flight has been rerouted through Dallas, where we will wait out the storm. They are estimating a six to eight hour delay." she informed him, gathering from his confusion that he had slept through the earlier announcements.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"I'm sorry, sir, but at least we weren't ordered back to Denver."
"Right." he said, rubbing his eyes as she walked away, dragging the cart with her. He knew that he wouldn't make it back before morning, no matter how much he wanted to be there for the kids and French.
When Sissy opened her eyes, she wasn't quite sure what had awakened her. She had been sleeping relatively soundly, only twice roused from her slumber by the nurse going in and out. It was still dark outside. The runts were still asleep. She moved her blankets aside and peered over at French. For a moment she thought that he was still unconscious. Then his eyelids fluttered. He moved his left hand slightly as though reaching for his face, but stopped. It was obviously too painful and too great of an effort.
Sissy slipped out of her chair, suppressing a shiver as her bare feet touched the freezing cold hospital floor as she tiptoed to the side of the bed.
"Mister French?" she whispered, not wanting to wake the twins. He groaned quietly and reached toward her with his uninjured hand. Sissy took the hint and carefully grasped his hand. "French?" she questioned again, squeezing.
"Where am I?" he asked, slowly lifting his heavy eyelids.
"Um, the hospital." answered Sissy. French closed his eyes again. "French?" she asked, patting his hand.
"And ... how did I get here?"
"You were in a car accident."
"But I don't drive." he said with some confusion, opening his eyes again.
"Yeah ... but I don't think the guy that hit you knew that." said Sissy.
French frowned, which was followed by a slight wince, no doubted caused by the stitches, before asking her, "If you're here, then where are your brother and sister? Surely you didn't leave them at the apartment alone."
"Sleeping. They're sleeping." she said, nodding toward the cot.
"You brought them here, to the hospital?"
"Like you said, Mister French, I couldn't leave them home alone, now could I?" she asked.
Sissy could tell by the expression on his face that French had finally realized that they had all come to stay with him, that they had left their comfortable beds in their uncle's apartment just to be there with him.
"I ... I am touched." he said quietly, giving her hand a squeeze. "But I do wonder what your uncle will say when he learns of this." added French, becoming his normal, prickly British self again and removing his hand from hers. "I do not think he will be pleased."
"Oh, no, Uncle Bill would much rather we stayed home and just left you here. That would definitely have made him happy." objected Sissy.
"Hush, you'll wake them." warned French.
"And we wouldn't want that."
"No, not by any means."
"Do you want me to get a nurse or anything for you?" she asked.
"I don't think so." he answered after a pause. "Actually, closing my eyes for a bit seems rather appealing." said French softly.
"Same here." agreed Sissy. "But if a nurse named Gladys wakes you up, please be nice to her. She's been really super." she told him as he closed his eyes
"Of course ... Gladys ... the super nurse." he mumbled.
When Bill Davis stepped off the plane during the wee hours of the morning, the first thing he did was whip out his cell phone and call New York again. The very tone of the ring sounded desperate to him, but still no one answered. He sat down in a chair and glanced at a board showing the delays, which were numerous, and grudgingly hung up.
"This cannot be good." he muttered to himself, rubbing his face and closing his eyes. If he had called in his own plane, he could hardly arrive in New York later, given the estimations on the board.
"Your flight grounded too?" asked a curious voice nearby.
"Yeah, and at the worst possible time." answered Bill, turning toward the stranger with a carry-on who had taken one of the few available seats. The airport was very crowded, especially considering the time.
"Important business?"
"Nah, business meetings I can miss if I have to. It's family trouble." Bill replied.
The guy nodded and with some sympathy said, "I know what you mean, pal." "Is it an emergency?" he questioned.
"I don't know. I mean, I think it is, but I'm not sure exactly what happened. I can't get in touch with anyone." answered Uncle Bill, tapping his phone.
"I bet you have kids."
"In a manner of speaking. I'm taking care of my brother's three kids." admitted Bill, suddenly wishing he had pictures of them in his wallet. "But it's not them I'm worried about, not really. The oldest, Sissy, she left a message last night. I left them with my ... with someone and he was in an accident. I don't know how serious." Bill explained. He chuckled ironically as he realized how good it felt to tell someone, even a stranger what was going on.
"Sheesh. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes ..." said the guy, shaking his head.
"The name's Bill." he said, holding out his hand.
"Joe. Pleased to meet you." he answered as they shook hands. "So just how old are these kids?" Joe questioned.
"Fourteen, six, and six. Way too young to be on their own in the big city." said Bill, sighing and leaning forward in his seat.
"No kidding." agreed Joe, glancing at the airport score board. "You might get home to them by this evening."
"I was hoping for morning."
"It isn't likely, not if you're heading for New York."
"Or Chicago, Detroit, or ... or anywhere up north."
Joe nodded toward the board and told him, "But you could maybe get a flight to Atlanta in three hours ... and possibly a connecting flight from there. The storm is moving up the Mississippi pretty fast, it seems."
Bill looked at the list of delays and smiled. It was a chance. It was much better than waiting almost five to ten more hours in Dallas for a direct flight.
"I just hope they have some seats left." said Bill as he clambered quickly to his feet.
"Good luck then, Bill."
"Thanks, Joe, and I hope you get where you're going too." he said, dashing for the ticket counter with a new game plan: if not north, then south.
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Please, review! I would really enjoy some feedback.
Something Short of Paradise
Meanwhile, in the skies over Oklahoma, Uncle Bill awoke to the sound of an announcement from the cockpit. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the darkened plane interior.
"We will be touching down in Dallas in less than an hour. Again, we are sorry about this inconvenience." said the pilot.
Bill grabbed a flight attendant as she shuffled past with the beverage cart.
"What's going on? This is supposed to be a non-stop flight to New York." he told her.
"There's a hurricane coming up from the Gulf, a freak snowstorm over Cleveland and Detroit, and Chicago can't handle the additional traffic. This flight has been rerouted through Dallas, where we will wait out the storm. They are estimating a six to eight hour delay." she informed him, gathering from his confusion that he had slept through the earlier announcements.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"I'm sorry, sir, but at least we weren't ordered back to Denver."
"Right." he said, rubbing his eyes as she walked away, dragging the cart with her. He knew that he wouldn't make it back before morning, no matter how much he wanted to be there for the kids and French.
When Sissy opened her eyes, she wasn't quite sure what had awakened her. She had been sleeping relatively soundly, only twice roused from her slumber by the nurse going in and out. It was still dark outside. The runts were still asleep. She moved her blankets aside and peered over at French. For a moment she thought that he was still unconscious. Then his eyelids fluttered. He moved his left hand slightly as though reaching for his face, but stopped. It was obviously too painful and too great of an effort.
Sissy slipped out of her chair, suppressing a shiver as her bare feet touched the freezing cold hospital floor as she tiptoed to the side of the bed.
"Mister French?" she whispered, not wanting to wake the twins. He groaned quietly and reached toward her with his uninjured hand. Sissy took the hint and carefully grasped his hand. "French?" she questioned again, squeezing.
"Where am I?" he asked, slowly lifting his heavy eyelids.
"Um, the hospital." answered Sissy. French closed his eyes again. "French?" she asked, patting his hand.
"And ... how did I get here?"
"You were in a car accident."
"But I don't drive." he said with some confusion, opening his eyes again.
"Yeah ... but I don't think the guy that hit you knew that." said Sissy.
French frowned, which was followed by a slight wince, no doubted caused by the stitches, before asking her, "If you're here, then where are your brother and sister? Surely you didn't leave them at the apartment alone."
"Sleeping. They're sleeping." she said, nodding toward the cot.
"You brought them here, to the hospital?"
"Like you said, Mister French, I couldn't leave them home alone, now could I?" she asked.
Sissy could tell by the expression on his face that French had finally realized that they had all come to stay with him, that they had left their comfortable beds in their uncle's apartment just to be there with him.
"I ... I am touched." he said quietly, giving her hand a squeeze. "But I do wonder what your uncle will say when he learns of this." added French, becoming his normal, prickly British self again and removing his hand from hers. "I do not think he will be pleased."
"Oh, no, Uncle Bill would much rather we stayed home and just left you here. That would definitely have made him happy." objected Sissy.
"Hush, you'll wake them." warned French.
"And we wouldn't want that."
"No, not by any means."
"Do you want me to get a nurse or anything for you?" she asked.
"I don't think so." he answered after a pause. "Actually, closing my eyes for a bit seems rather appealing." said French softly.
"Same here." agreed Sissy. "But if a nurse named Gladys wakes you up, please be nice to her. She's been really super." she told him as he closed his eyes
"Of course ... Gladys ... the super nurse." he mumbled.
When Bill Davis stepped off the plane during the wee hours of the morning, the first thing he did was whip out his cell phone and call New York again. The very tone of the ring sounded desperate to him, but still no one answered. He sat down in a chair and glanced at a board showing the delays, which were numerous, and grudgingly hung up.
"This cannot be good." he muttered to himself, rubbing his face and closing his eyes. If he had called in his own plane, he could hardly arrive in New York later, given the estimations on the board.
"Your flight grounded too?" asked a curious voice nearby.
"Yeah, and at the worst possible time." answered Bill, turning toward the stranger with a carry-on who had taken one of the few available seats. The airport was very crowded, especially considering the time.
"Important business?"
"Nah, business meetings I can miss if I have to. It's family trouble." Bill replied.
The guy nodded and with some sympathy said, "I know what you mean, pal." "Is it an emergency?" he questioned.
"I don't know. I mean, I think it is, but I'm not sure exactly what happened. I can't get in touch with anyone." answered Uncle Bill, tapping his phone.
"I bet you have kids."
"In a manner of speaking. I'm taking care of my brother's three kids." admitted Bill, suddenly wishing he had pictures of them in his wallet. "But it's not them I'm worried about, not really. The oldest, Sissy, she left a message last night. I left them with my ... with someone and he was in an accident. I don't know how serious." Bill explained. He chuckled ironically as he realized how good it felt to tell someone, even a stranger what was going on.
"Sheesh. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes ..." said the guy, shaking his head.
"The name's Bill." he said, holding out his hand.
"Joe. Pleased to meet you." he answered as they shook hands. "So just how old are these kids?" Joe questioned.
"Fourteen, six, and six. Way too young to be on their own in the big city." said Bill, sighing and leaning forward in his seat.
"No kidding." agreed Joe, glancing at the airport score board. "You might get home to them by this evening."
"I was hoping for morning."
"It isn't likely, not if you're heading for New York."
"Or Chicago, Detroit, or ... or anywhere up north."
Joe nodded toward the board and told him, "But you could maybe get a flight to Atlanta in three hours ... and possibly a connecting flight from there. The storm is moving up the Mississippi pretty fast, it seems."
Bill looked at the list of delays and smiled. It was a chance. It was much better than waiting almost five to ten more hours in Dallas for a direct flight.
"I just hope they have some seats left." said Bill as he clambered quickly to his feet.
"Good luck then, Bill."
"Thanks, Joe, and I hope you get where you're going too." he said, dashing for the ticket counter with a new game plan: if not north, then south.
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Please, review! I would really enjoy some feedback.