Part 579
Boarding a plane for a normal trip was difficult enough, but when you added the sheer number in their group to the massive security measures that had been implemented since September 11th, the task shortly took on monumental proportions. They were there in plenty of time, but the lines were practically out the door. Taking a deep breath, they all found a place in line, but they split themselves between several of the different security checkpoints. They decided that they had a better chance of getting through faster if they dispersed. In theory, they were right. In reality? The long night was just beginning.
As they stood in line, Becca rocked Garrett against her shoulder as he fussed continually. Whatever infant ‘bug’ he’d picked up seemed to be getting worse, and she knew the noise of the crowd and the activity around him was not helping. She put him over her shoulder, talking softly to him and patting his diapered bottom as they waited, but nothing seemed to help. Nick finally took him and had him almost to sleep when the woman in line behind him tripped over her carry-on bag and bumped into him. He stumbled, caught his balance, and in the process woke the baby. Garrett was voicing his displeasure as Nick mumbled under his breath, shooting the lady behind him an irritated look. She shrugged an apology, and Nick turned away before letting his temper take over.
“Let me have him back,” Becca said with a weary sigh.
“I got him, baby, just keep pushing our stuff forward. Look, we’re almost there.”
‘Almost there’ stretched into twenty more minutes. By then, Garrett’s wailing was garnering irritated looks from everyone around them, most of whom were fervently praying that they were on a different flight from this obnoxiously noisy small person. Hell, even Nick and Becca were beginning to wish they could send him on another flight. Becca felt something touch her arm, and looked down at the tiny elderly lady that was looking up at her.
“Excuse me,” she said timidly. “I don’t mean to butt in you know, but sometimes they just get tired of being held. Maybe if you put him in his little carrier seat he’d calm down.”
“Oh.” Becca looked at her and then back up to Nick. “Thank you. I mean, it’s worth a try. Thanks!” she added, smiling down into the kind, grandmotherly eyes. The lady simply patted her arm with a smile and went back to where she’d been waiting.
“Here, Bec, see if you can get him in.” Nick held up Garrett’s carrier as Becca settled the angry little body into place. Amazingly, he calmed down almost instantly. “Sonofabitch,” Nick mumbled, shooting a funny look at his wife. Here they’d tried everything they could think of except the one thing the baby really wanted. To be left alone.
Becca giggled as she pushed the carry-on bags a foot and a half closer to their destination.
Sarah, Howie, Kevin and Lynne looked back for the rest of the group as they cleared the checkpoint, and finally spotted Nick and his family still waiting their turn. With a sigh, they went on to their gate to pick up their boarding passes and wait for them to catch up.
Another twenty minutes and Garrett was sound asleep.
“Next.”
“About damn time,” Nick muttered as he picked up the baby carrier and ushered Becca toward the security checkpoint. Becca placed her purse, carry-on bag and Garrett’s diaper bag on the x-ray conveyor belt and started for the security scanner. She passed through and beeped once, but assumed it was her rings and kept walking.
“Not so fast.” A female security guard stepped in front of her and held up her hand. “Please step aside.” It wasn’t a request, it was an order.
“Oh. My rings-”
“Never set off the monitors. Please step over here.”
“But-”
The glare she gave Becca managed to stop her protests, and she did as she was told. Ms. Personality led her to a semi-private screening area where Becca was asked to remove her jacket, her belt, her shoes, her jewelry and all other remove-ables except her jeans and T-shirt. She was scanned, scanned and then scanned again before finally being cleared. They never did discover what had set the monitors off, but it was finally determined that she wasn’t a threat to national security. Nick, however, was facing his own set of security issues.
His wallet, keys and everything else from his pockets was on its way through the x-ray machine when he was stopped.
“Excuse me, sir, but the carrier has to go through the scanner.”
Nick laughed. “I’m not sending my son through that thing.”
"I'm sorry, sir, but you have to remove the infant and send the carrier through. You can hold him as you pass through our scanner.”
“No fucking way, man, I just got him back to sleep.” Nick was tired and more than ready to take this guy on.
“Sir, I politely suggest that you cooperate if you plan to make your flight.” Was it Nick’s imagination, or did this guy actually appear three inches taller than when they’d started this discussion?
“Aw, come on,” he tried once more. “Please? He’s not feeling well anyway, and-”
He stopped short at the expression on the guard’s face, and noticed that two other security guards had now appeared and were standing silently by. Biting his tongue to keep from starting an international incident, he set the carrier down and carefully removed the sleeping baby. Garrett fussed a little, but settled down against Nick’s shoulder, his tiny thumb in his mouth. It lasted all of thirty seconds. That’s when the metal buckles on the carrier set off the x-ray alarms. The bells and buzzers shrieked and so did Garrett, who was now wide-awake and not happy about it. Nick muttered an obscenity and looked helplessly for Becca, but try as she might, she had already cleared security and they wouldn’t allow her back through to help.
It took five more minutes before they had it all straightened out, and they raced to their gate with only minutes to spare.