“Do you know if the SkyTrain is still running?” Tom asked.
“I think so, I haven’t heard anything about it being shut. I can give you a ride out there if you want though. Don’t take a taxi, they’re ripping people off like crazy.” That didn’t take long, Tom thought.
“No, it’s okay,” Tom said before Mike got a chance to accept. “Don’t waste your time, we’ll be all right.”
“But just in case the sky train stops working or isn’t working, could I have your number?” Mike said quickly.
“Dude, end of the world and you’re still trying to pick up chicks,” Tom wasn’t sure whether to laugh or shake his head. He did both. They walked down the street toward Waterfront Station. Tom couldn’t tell if there were more people out than usual or not. People were bundled up and in a hurry.
“Like Fred says, it could all blow over. Then I’d regret not getting her number. I’d have to wait a whole year until next conference.”
“Or you could, you know, email her or something?” Tom dodged a homeless man with his hand out.
“Do not rationalise this, Tommy-boy.”
Tom stopped and went back to give the homeless man a $20 bill. The man looked bewildered and muttered a thank you.
“What did you do that for?” Mike asked when he re-joined him. “He’s probably just gonna spend it on drink or crack.”
Tom shrugged. “It felt like the right thing to do.”
The train station was crowded, as it usually would be at that time of day, however the usual business people were nowhere to be seen. Tom felt like he stood out in his suit, but he hadn’t brought any other clothes seeing as he was here for a conference. The two men wove through the crowd; some purposeful, others milling about.
“Do we still need to buy train tickets?” Mike muttered to Tom.
Tom looked around.
“Dunno. Probably.”
“Well… nope. Not doing it. I’m going to live on the wild side. Do you really think ticket inspectors are going to be out in force on a day like today? I don’t think so. And if they are, I’m just going to laugh at them.”
Tom shrugged, and then thought what the hell.
The escalator was broken, so they walked down the stairs. The platform was crowded with people, most sitting on or standing by suitcases. They didn’t have to wait long for a train to YVR. Almost everyone on the platform crammed onto the train. Tom liked sitting up the very front, where the drivers would be on a normal train. He remembered Claire’s amazement when she’d realised the SkyTrains were all automated and didn’t have a driver. They’d only been dating for a few weeks when they’d been standing on a platform on their way to a concert. They’d been running late, he remembered. Claire had been impatient, waiting for the train to pull in. When it finally did, she’d gasped.
“Why is there a child driving the train?” she’d blurted out. Tom had looked at her, puzzled, and then laughed. He still remembered the scowl she’d shot him. He pulled her onto the carriage and led her to the front of the train where a small child sat, smiling at his grandparents.
“But where’s the driver?”
“It’s all automated. Didn’t you know?”
“Well, obviously not. That’s really… cool!”
After that, she’d always tried to sit at the front of the SkyTrain.
There was no chance of him getting there this morning though. They were lucky to even get a seat. For such a crowded train, it was eerily quiet.
Mike and Tom barely exchanged a word on the ride out to the airport. There was a mad rush to the terminal once the train pulled into the last stop. Tom and Mike were buffeted by the crowd as they made their way inside the terminal. Wordlessly, they joined the long queue, snaking its way around the terminal, to speak to one of the two attendants at the Air Canada help desk.
“Well, this is a bit nuts,” Mike said needlessly. Tom just grunted. He was feeling impatient. He just wanted to get home to his wife and kids. There was a commotion up near the front of the line when a man and woman tried to butt in.
“We all have families waiting for us, buddy. What makes you so special? Go to the back of the line.” Tom heard a burly man say. He couldn’t hear the reply, but the couple stayed resolutely where they were. More and more people around them turned to stare. An old woman started yelling at them. Mike guffawed as she called them rude, selfish and inconsiderate and threatened to beat them with her handbag if they didn’t respect the line. Tom didn’t feel any pity for the couple as they eventually slunk to the back of the line, red-faced and seething. They were all in the same boat after all.
Tom kept glancing at his watch. He hated standing in slow-moving lines at the best of times, but today was almost agony. He started looking through all of the photos on his phone to pass the time. So many of his boys. There was one of Claire sleeping. She’d probably hit him if she knew he’d taken it, but he hadn’t been able to resist. She’d looked too beautiful and peaceful.
The line inched forward, slowly but surely. Tom tried to hold his impatience at bay.
Eventually they made it to the front of the line. Tom had been watching with growing concern as more and more people left the desk in tears or anger. The attendant looked slightly wary when she called Mike and Tom over.
“How can I help you today?”
“We were hoping that we could change our flight. We’re meant to leave in 4 days, but we’d like to go as soon as possible,” Mike said and handed over their information.
“I’m afraid all of our flights to Toronto today are completely full,” the attendant said after looking at her computer for a couple of minutes. Tom groaned.
“How about Ottawa?” They could get home easily enough from Ottawa. The attendant tapped her keyboard.
“Full too, I’m sorry.”
“Montreal?” The attendant shook her head. Tom felt like banging his head against the desk.
“Have you got any flights to anywhere remotely near Toronto?” Tom asked stiffly. Mike put what he supposed was a reassuring hand on Tom’s arm. Or maybe he was afraid that Tom might hit something out of sheer frustration.
The attendant stared hard at her computer as she tapped away at the keyboard.
“I have one seat on a flight tonight to Calgary,” she said eventually.
“Calgary! That’s not close!”
“I’m really sorry, but we really are maxed out, everyone’s trying to get home and over half the staff haven’t turned up!”
Tom groaned. “I need to get back home to my wife and kids.”
“I understand that, sir.”
“Do you know if any of the other airlines have any space?” Mike asked, a lot more nicely than Tom felt he was capable of.
“I don’t know, I’m really sorry, I am. WestJet’s just cancelled half their flights. I don’t know about the others. The earliest flight to Toronto I can get you on is Friday morning.”
“That’s the day we’re meant to be leaving anyway!” Tom burst out.
“Okay. We’ll take it.” Mike said quickly. He elbowed Tom when Tom started to protest, and then dragged Tom away from the desk once the attendant had confirmed their new flights.
“What are we going to do now? We can’t wait all week! I need to get back to my family now.” Tom almost howled. He supposed they could drive back, but that would take almost as long as waiting for their flight on Friday. Or longer, given the winter snow storms out there at this time of year. And they didn’t have a car.
“Well, I figure we have two options,” Mike said quietly.
Tom looked at Mike expectantly. “And they are?” he asked after Mike didn’t say anything straight away.
“Well… we could hang around here on the off chance the flight still runs and all the pilots haven’t decide they’ve got better things to do than fly all over the country and the airport shuts down… or, we could rent a plane.”