The Holiday Weekend: Unaccompanied Children

Being a hot and humid holiday weekend, the huge airport was extremely busy. Dozens of anxious people pushed and shoved, rushing to have their baggage checked. Frustrated personnel in airport security were less than thorough.

A tall, lanky captain watched two children board the huge airplane. They appeared to be unaccompanied.

“A stewardess should keep an eye on them,’ he decided, making a mental note.

To the children, this was an adventure on a holiday weekend. They were simply going for a holiday in another city, if anyone asked. Tim and Millie desperately wanted to see their father. Their mother had won full custody in a court hearing and refused to allow them to have any contact with him.

“Good, there is an empty seat beside us,” said Tim, a mischievous, ten year old.

A busy flight attendant handed each child a can of pop. She glanced at the empty seat, assuming it belonged to their accompanying adult.

“Thank you,” said Tim, cautioning his sister not to speak.

Millie, a happy-go-lucky nine-year old, simply smiled.

“Once the plane takes off, it will be too late,” whispered Tim. “Mom won’t know we’re gone.  She thinks we are at the neighbors; they think we are with her.”

“Unaccompanied minors?” wondered the elderly woman behind them. They were not disruptive, so she said nothing.

Both children were quiet, as the airplane steward went through the flight directives. To him, they appeared to be perfectly well behaved children, well dressed and well mannered. Everything seemed fine.

Just as the pilot took a final glance at the passengers, a fat, dark-haired man, wearing a business suit and carrying a black brief case, sat in the empty seat. He buried his head in a newspaper.

“Read your fairy tales,” whispered Tim, pulling out a comic book. “We have to look like a family.”

Moments later, the plane took off.

“We did it,” whispered Tim. “I can’t believe it.”

“Your dad will be waiting for you,” the fat, dark-haired man whispered to Tim, several hours later, when they disembarked in another city, thousands of miles from their home. “He said there would be fireworks.”