Dad comes, too
“YAY! Dad’s coming, too!” She ran out of the office and up the hall. By the time her father walked out into it, she had three suitcases pulled out of it.
“Whoa there, Speedy, there’s a few things I have to do first.”
She looked up at him as she held onto a garment bag, “Like what?”
“I have to see if I have any work due on my calendar, and see if my partners can cover it. Then, I have to see if I can get a seat on the same flight as you and your grand so we can all get there at the same time.”
“Oh.”
He looked at her sideways,”And then, there is the matter of your gear.”
“Huh?”
“Well, your grand bought you clothes for the trip, but if we are going to be exploring underground, you’re going to need safety equipment.”
“Like a hard hat with a flashlight on it?”
“That and other things.”
“Whoa, really?”
“Well, It would be hard to explain to your mom why you are in a hospital in Berlin because something hit you on the head or you fell and hurt yourself.”
“Gotcha.”
“Why don’t you go outside and play while I make my arrangements. I’ll let you know when I am ready to take you, your grand, and her friend shopping for gear.”
“Okay!”
Though the week while she was waiting on her passport seemed to drag on forever, the few days before it actually arrived were a blur. Her father had outfitted everyone with hard hats, flashlights, boots, rope, and other climbing and safety gear. He arranged to have the equipment delivered to the hotel they were staying at so he didn’t have to pay for extra baggage. When they got to the airport, Masie dashed from window to window watching the planes take off and land. She called her dad over and pointed to the crews below and asked what they were doing as she took pictures of them working.
Flight 259 to Berlin is now boarding. Please, form a line at the gate and have your boarding passes ready.
Masie was placed in a window seat and immediately starting playing with the shade. She then turned her attention to the contents of the pocket in front of her when they were going through the safety procedures. She rifled through the magazine and took a look at the air-sickness bag. She then played with the tray table, putting back upright when she was told. She watched the airport crawl by as they were taxied to the runway, and marveled at the flaps as they adjusted to help the plane take off.
Once they were at altitude, she turned to her dad,”I can’t wait to get there.”
“Heh, you’re going to have to, Sweetie. It’s an eleven-hour flight.”
“Wha?”
He chuckled,”That’s why they have in-flight movies, meals, and,” he pointed to the jack on the side of her chair, “You have things to plug in your tablet.”
“What’s that one for?” She pointed to the one next to it.
“That’s for the headphones so you can listen to the movie. We’re also going to be stopping along the way to change planes a few times.”
Her face lit up,”Did you hear that, Grand?”
“Yes,” She nodded smiling,”You’re going to be having mini-adventures before you get to have your big one.”
“Cool! Where are we stopping first?”
Minnie took out her itinerary,” Let’s see. First stop is O’Hare in Chicago for about four hours. Do you think you could find us something to do?”
“What time are we getting there?”
“Around lunch.”
“Pizza! I could find a pizza place!”
Her father shook his head,”Your first time in Chicago and you want pizza?”
“It’s one of the best cities for it, isn’t it?”
“Yes, I guess you are right, but they don’t make pizza like you’re used to.”
“Really?”
He nodded,”You’ll see.”
Pizza Time!
When they landed, George looked at Masie, “Now, don’t go running ahead. This airport is very busy, and I don’t need to lose track of you.”
Nodding, she fell in step with her father and watched all the people in the crowded airport. There were people in suits and ties, people in jeans and t-shirts, and people dressed in brightly colored clothing with hair a multitude of colors. She tried taking pictures, but everyone was walking too fast. She heard her father chuckle.
“What dad?”
“Good luck getting picture in this airport, my dear. Up here, people move fast and have no intentions of slowing down.”
“Why do they walk so fast?”
Shrugging, “People up north tend to be in a hurry a lot.”
“Oh.” She put her phone in her pocket and walked along side her father. When they got outside, there was a buzz of cars, shuttle buses, and taxis. Her father flagged a taxi down, and after asking Masie the name of the pizza place, everyone piled in, and off they went. The taxi zipped in and out of cars so fast Masie had to close her eyes and try not to look. She felt the car take sharp turns, and put in a small prayer when the driver hit the breaks suddenly.
She felt a tap on her shoulder, “Masie, we’re at the pizza place.”
She couldn’t wait to get out of the car and into the restaurant. They were seated in a booth and handed menus. She looked at all the options and couldn’t wrap her head around the idea of a deep dish pizza. After they all agreed on the toppings, Masie placed the order and they sipped their drinks while waiting on the pizza. She took in the decorations, and swung her feet while she sat at the booth. She couldn’t figure out why her father kept saying she wouldn’t be able to eat more than one slice, and then, the pizza arrived. In was in a dish two inches thick, and was covered with pizza sauce.
“Dad, where’s the chee-” Her eyes got wide when her father cut the first slice and put it on Masie’s plate. The cheese was the least of her worries as she stared at a slice of pizza that was stuffed with every topping she ordered between the crusts and the cheese.
“How? What? Are you sure this is pizza?”
Her father laughed, “It’s called deep dish, curly top. The put the toppings in the pizza, not on it. That’s why I was wondering if you could eat a whole piece.”
“I see why. This is thing crazy!” Everyone at the table started laughing. They talked about plans for the next layover, and what they were going to do, when Grand looked at her watch in alarm, “We need to pay the bill and call a taxi. We’ve got an hour before our flight leaves.” George scrambled to pay the check while Grand called for a taxi by consulting her phone. After fighting traffic, and jogging their way to the gate, they were told the plane had already been boarded and is taxing to the runway.
Massie frantically tugged at her dad’s shirt, “What do we do now?”
“Relax, we just go to the ticket counter and make a change in itinerary.”
George walked up to the counter with Minnie and her friend to change the tickets.
End note:
It’s your turn:
A. They are able to change the tickets and leave in a couple of hours.
B. Another flight does not leave until the next afternoon.
C. They have to go back home because there are no flights available at the last minute until the next week.
Place it in the comments below to continue the adventure.
Will they be able to continue on to Germany or go home and wait for another opportunity?
The person who participated the most will get a copy of the completed book for free.
Once this book is published, all sales of the book will be donated tohttp://www.buildon.org/.
This means, every time this book is sold, the money will go to this charity and this charity alone.
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