My in laws, whom I love, came to visit us from Italy and stayed at our house for a month. On the rushed, logistically complex, bittersweet morning of their departure, they piled their suitcases and their selves into the car and I walked out, closing the door behind me. In a sudden frantic flash, we realized that we did not have the keys, not to the car, not to the house. There we were, with barely enough time to get to the airport, and we were locked out.If “locked out” doesn’t have a ring of finality to it, a ring of fatality to it, let me try again: Locked. Out.
After a minute of full-fledged panic we happened to find a spare car key and Luca dashed them to the airport while I remained behind trying to determine the best way to deal with the tragicomic (well, tragic now, comical some day far, far into the future) situation I found myself in (or rather, out.)
I won’t provide brain-numbing detail. I’ll just say that while I waited for a locksmith, I remained outside for almost four hours, with no means of transport, no cell phone or blackberry coverage, no food, no heat, no coat, no water and no bathroom.
In my frustrated desperation and fury I thought about the irony of feeling so trapped - trapped outdoors rather than within an enclosed space. I thought about how so very badly I had yearned to have the house back all to myself and now, in the first hours of having this privilege finally arrive, have it revoked so cruelly, mine, and yet remaining just beyond my grasp.
We should be very specific when we wish for something.
7 comments:
It's a good idea to train yourself to run a check before leaving the house, like before leaving on a trip: passport, visas, wallet, credit cards, tickets, reservation vouchers and oh, yes, keys. If you start squirreling away duplicate keys you can run into other snags. A) you forget where you stashed them or B) someone else can find them. It was a horrible experience but perhaps it was a learning process. The two seem to go together.
Dear Dushka,
and so, you have another tale to tell.
Life is full of richness, experience peers from every corner. Even if disguised as a panic-laden/annoyingly uncomfortable situation, such as this.
Thank you for giving me the anecdote. I'll try to give you a bouquet out of this single flower, please just bear with me.
Much love, as ever.
M
PS: Hi Luca! I'm reciclyng! It's good!
Yay, Miguel! Welcome back! Good to hear from you. I'm so sorry about your beautiful seagull.
Once, two hours before my flight to Japan, having prepared myself by divesting myself of all unessential items, I let the front door to my block of flats close behind me while fetching something from the car. Such unessential items happened to include the door keys. And the car keys. I thought for a while, then put my fist through the glass in the door. Fortunately, my flat door wasn't locked.
Although the police were called later when my fellow residents discovered the signs of what they thought was an attempted burglary. And I made it to Japan with Dave, to have an experience I meant to mention last week...
Well, you recounting this at the wedding would have been kind of clairvoyant!
I like how you threw in "without Blackberry coverage" right up there, and actually before "no food" and "no water". Northern California priorities, I guess...
Recibe un gran beso y un gran UUUHHHHHHH!!!!! (poco transmisible en texto, muy de la primaria cuando te tropiezas y se te cae la paleta de grosella enfrente de todo el salón).
Pedro, hola! que gusto verte por estos rumbos!
A lack of blackberry coverage is hard core. Those 4 hours I was locked out? I was supposed to be at work!
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