Our trip to St. Croix was winding down.
News of a snowstorm blew from the north.
Boarding pass advising arrival at least an hour before the flight.
We followed instructions.
Only to be barred from checking in.
By an American clerk, standing firm.
Pointing to the sign.
Check-in at least ninety minutes prior to departure.
We beseeched.
Begged.
Panicked.
No dice.
No entry.
No re-booking till tomorrow at 6pm.
What about the connection in Miami?
That would have to wait three days.
Then, photos on the phone flashed by.
Snow blanketing streets, lawns, roofs in Philadelphia.
Where it was obscenely cold.
So, maybe, just maybe, though appointments
would have to be rearranged,
this was lucky happenstance.
Or was it more Freudian?
Unconscious wish to remain in paradise.
With lizards.
Pelicans.
Terns.
Engineered just slightly by mistiming to materialize?
Lynn Benjamin
January 29, 2022