Wake-up call

The day started at 6:15 with a dream-wrecking, phone call. As the stupid song played on my cell phone I realized I had to get up and answer it. Who would call this early? I remembered Rick is supposed to fly home today. My heart stopped. Is Rick O.K? I opened up my phone and said, “hello.” It was the airline calling. The girl on the other end asked if she could speak with Rick. My heart started up again, they wouldn’t ask for him if his plane had crashed. I gave her his cell phone number and asked why she was calling. She gave me the bad news. His flight, and the one after it, had been cancelled.
Great, I thought, thats all Rick needs. He has been in Long Island working all week and was scheduled to fly home today. Actually, he planned on flying home on Thursday but the people who line his pockets and put the food on our table had other plans for him. They wanted him to stay and take the heat for things that were beyond his control. Sounds like fun, huh? To graciously reward him for his hard work they did offer to fly him home for two days over the holiday weekend (allowing him enough time to mow the lawn and clean the pool but not long enough to go camping and actually relax a little as we had planned). It now seems the airline had other ideas for him.
So, why did the airline call me and not Rick directly? It remains a mystery however I do have a theory. I believe they wanted to take me away from and ruin my vacation. You see, when they called I was on the deck of a luxury cruise ship. I had a beautiful tan, a flat stomach and was sipping on an ice-cold fruit drink. A gentle breeze cooled me like a fan while the sun warmed the wooden deck surrounding me. There were people all around but it was amazingly quiet and tranquil. Quiet and tranquil that is until I heard the annoying sound of my cell phone. I did not want to get up but I knew I had too. The ship, and all that came with it, disappeared in a flash. As I got up to answer the phone I swear I could hear my pillow calling me, “come back, come back, your ship awaits.” But reality soon sank in and I quickly realized what’s really waiting is a dirty diaper, complaints of boredom, hunger, how unfair I am, and worst of all another day without Rick.