She's Back!

Her itinerary said, Flt 220, Arr. 7:30pm.

The online flight locator said, Flt 220, Arr. 6:25pm.

We didn't check the online flight locator until 5 to 6. We made a mad dash to the airport and made it just as Flt 220 was landing. We waited. And waited. No Alexis.

Was something wrong? The next flight arrived at 7:30pm. Hmmm, same time as her itinerary. Different flight no.

I asked at the airline desk. Could it be possible she's on the other flight? No one seemed to understand my concern. She was originating from Bangkok twenty-four hours before, connecting to Vancouver through Hong Kong. I had her PRN (a special passenger locator number), but the PRN was from a different airline. It didn't help.

I called my sister, J. She and her husband were planning on coming to the airport to meet Alexis too. She used to work for the airline. Maybe she'd have better luck getting information out of them. Half an hour later, she arrived, itinerary in hand and approached the airline desk. The woman checked the sheet and said, "This PRN is not from our airline."

J. explained our dilemma. "Can you tell us if she's on the next flight?"

"No. But I can tell you the next flight is the scheduled flight that connected with the flight your niece was on from HongKong."

Isn't it amazing how fear works?

While waiting for my sister and her husband, my mind skirted dangerously close to possibilities I didn't want to think about. Kidnapped. Hi-jacked. Held up at immigration being the least deadly of my thoughts.

Go away, I told my critter's mind. Leave me alone.

The critter had other ideas.

I phoned C.C. He had intended to be at the airport just as I had intended to be at his daughters awards ceremonies -- that is, until we both realized we couldn't be in two places at once.

"She's okay," he said to my hurried description of my missing daughter. "She's on the next flight. The travel agency probably just got the flight number wrong."

I wanted to scream into my cellphone. "Just got it wrong? This is more than just getting it wrong! This is awful!"

Instead, I agreed. "You're right. I'll wait for the next flight."

I told myself I wouldn't panic until after the next flight arrived. My sister agreed. Let's hold off hitting the panic button, for now. The other three were sanguine. JW and Liseanne played video games. My sister's husband found a seat to sit on and waited calmly.

The anticipation (with threads of anxiety wafting through) mounted.

Liseanne, my sister and I waited at the arrival's gate as the passengers disembarked. Alexis' boyfriend JW and my sister's husband went down to the baggage carousel so JW could hide.

We watched the people come through the exit doors. Beside us, a large unruly family stood with a box of donuts, and a huge sign that read, Welcome to Canada. They kept blocking our line of sight. Liseanne and I kept leapfrogging for a better vantage point.

A man walked through the doors. A Woman. Family. Couple. Man. Man. Couple. Couple. Family..... Alexis!!!!!

She was crying. Liseanne raced in front of me. Threw her arms around her sister's neck and hugged and hugged and hugged.

She's back.

All is well.