Confusion

Setting: My bedroom and later, our kitchen
9 a.m. Monday, May 18, 2009

I awoke in a very confused state of mind. Instantly I remembered waking up after 4 a.m., walking toward the bathroom, seeing Mum, Dad and Tyler at the entryway getting ready to go to the airport, and saying good-bye to them before they left. I glanced at my clock. It was 9:02 a.m. I wondered why in the world I woke up so early to say bye to Dad and Ty when I had already said my good-byes the night before. That was weird, I concluded and rolled over to see if I could get a few more minutes of relaxation before getting up and starting the chore of the day, unpacking.

Only minutes later, I heard the sound of one of our vehicles (I couldn't process whether it was the Jetta or the Ridgeline) pulling into our driveway. Mum must have already gone out to do some errands, I surmised, persistently re-clamping my eyes shut. I just wanted more sleep. Then I heard the voices. I couldn't distinguish what they were saying, but there were several people, two definitely male. My eyes popped open and, after rechecking the time (9:19), I leaned toward my front window, straining to figure out who had come to our house at this unearthly hour. I'm not getting up to let them in, I told myself resolutely. They can come back later, when normal people are up and about. My decision made, I no longer cared who the visitors were.

Although I had decided not to get out of bed for these intruders, I was now completely awake. Grudgingly, I realized there would be no more sleep for me. I stretched out my hand, sleepily knocking my glasses off my nightstand as I reached for my book. Maybe I can finish this one today and start a new book, I thought as my fingers made contact with the hardback cover.

The sound of a key jiggling the front door lock stopped me from picking up the memoir. Oh, well it must be Mum. Who in the world is with her? I propped myself up on an elbow and again strained to decipher the voices now just entering the house.

"Well, I guess I can eat some breakfast now."

"Didn't you do that a few hours ago?"

"No, I just grabbed a bun before we left."

"I have to call the airline right away. Maybe they can help us figure something out."

It was Mum, Dad and Tyler. What in the world! Mum drove Dad and Ty to the airport hours ago. They were supposed to have left at 6 a.m. I scooped my glasses from the floor and pushed them on my face. Then I leapt out of bed, grabbed my red and white maple leaf blanket, wrapped it around my shoulders and strode out of my room, through the dining room and into the kitchen. Dad, standing at the island, filed through a pile of papers as Ty's top half disappeared inside the fridge. I heard Mum clacking away on her office keyboard down the hall. "What are you guys doing home? Shouldn't you be in Calgary by now? What is going on?" I quizzed the male members of my family.

"Hi Al. We're back." Ty's voice drifted from the depths of the refrigerator.

Dad offered a better explanation. "Our plane wouldn't leave the ground. It had mechanical problems."

"We might not get to go now." Ty extracted himself from the fridge with a wildberry Sun-Rype juice box and a Tupperware container of assorted leftovers in hand.

"I'm going to my office to make some calls," Dad called over his shoulder as he descended the stairs.

I stood leaning against the counter watching Tyler down the entire juice box in one swig. "Did I say good-bye to you guys this morning before you went to the airport?"

He shot me a questioning look before popping the leftovers in the microwave. "No, of course not. You were sound asleep when we left. We said bye last night, remember?"

"Hmmm, that's weird. I absolutely remember waking up early and walking out here just as you guys were leaving. I guess that must have been a dream. Well, let me know when or if you're leaving again." With the morning's mysteries solved, I turned back to my room, determined to make headway in my book.

A couple hours later, I said another good-bye to Dad and Tyler. Dad had phoned Northwest airlines and they had helped him make alternative arrangements to get him and Ty to Calgary in time for their flight to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. From there, they would fly to Hannover, Germany for a week at Ligna, the grand-daddy of woodworking shows. Just three days after my siblings and I arrived home for the summer, our family was down to three members.

~~~

And...I have no suitable conclusion so far. I just thought it'd be fun to write up that experience as a story. Hope you enjoyed. If anyone has a good conclusion to suggest, definitely let me know.