So, the plan was to take the boys over to Ocracoke to meet my dad, who would then take them back home with him to Hatteras, because I have to be in Durham from Sunday-Wednesday and my parents were generous enough to watch them for us. Pretty simple plan I'd say. The boys and I would take the 2 o'clock ferry to Ocracoke, which would arrive around 4:30 on the island. We'd get off, my dad would be there, and he'd take the boys and I'd jump on the 5 o'clock back to Cedar Island, and be back home by 8:15. That would give me time to pack my stuff for Durham and get a good night's sleep for my trip. My dad would drive back across the island of Ocracoke and catch the Hatteras ferry (they're 10 miles apart) and they'd be home in Hatteras by 6 (Their ferry was only 40 minutes.)
Everything was going really well. The boys were doing great. Roman asked a billion questions about things that live in the ocean and why there were boats out in the water, and insisted on sitting in the upper deck of the ferry, even though we had to climb up and down the stairs 3 times with the laptop in tow (I don't trust strangers, too much.) to go to the bathroom. Raiden was saying HI to everyone who came by, going in circles around the tables to make himself dizzy, and even rubbed his head and laughed when a man who was balding came by. Things were going great. I looked like the bag lady with my big sweatshirt on because it might be cold on the ferry and there's no way to carry it with my 3 bags in tow (diaper bag, their overnight bag, and the laptop), it was pouring down rain when we boarded in Cedar Island, so I had the big umbrella, and a 4 year old who walks only 2 inches in front of you, while carrying a 20 month old who would jump in the ocean if I put him down. But still, things were great compartively speaking.
So, we arrive in Ocracoke. It's not raining, PRAISE THE LORD! Roman agrees to carry the umbrella and my dad meets us half way across the loading bridge of the ferry. Things are good. We take the boys over to the car, and get the strapped in. I grab the laptop, and kiss the boys goodbye. My dad offers me money to grab something from the snack machine, and I say, "Nah, I'm good. Tim gave me some ones." So, as they drive off, I think "Oh, where did I put my car keys?" I put them in the computer bag, "WHEW!" found them. I'd put them there when we got our of the car at Cedar Island, just in case I forgot about them later. Better be safe than sorry, I thought.
Anyway, I walk over to the snack machines, about a tenth of a mile up the loading area for the ferry. There's this guy from the ferry system standing there. He's already pushed the button for his drink to come out of the drink machine, and he's busy selecting his 2 items from the snack machine, and I'm thinking, "No biggie! I've got time. So what if I'm the last to board on the 5 o'clock ferry? I don't care too much where I'm going to sit." The guy finally finishes, and I reach into my pocket to grab the 2 dollars in quarters that I had safely tucked away that morning. I use those to buy my snacks, and I reach back in my pocket for the couple ones I had in my pocket to buy my Mt. Dew. And I think, "Hmm, this is my last one. Do I have another dollar? I don't want to break my twenty dollar bill to buy my ferry ticket." My next thought was normal too, "Sure, I have those ones Tim gave me. They are right in front on my twenty in my wallet." Then suddenly, "MY WALLET!!!! IT'S IN THE DIAPER BAG!!!! IN MY DAD'S CAR!!!!" Oh, no biggie, I'll call my dad and have him come back, they might miss the 5 o'clock ferry, but there's another one at 5:30 going to Hatteras, no big deal. "MY PHONE WAS WITH MY WALLET IN MY DIAPER BAG!!!"
By this point I began to panic. The people walking outside of their cars waiting on the ferry to load have now began moving back to their cars. "Quick Renata! Think! What's the best thing to do? Do I really need my wallet and my phone? Could I just go home on this ferry and get them on Thursday when I come back to get the boys?" Pause. "NO, I am going all the way to Durham. I'm staying in a hotel. They're going to ask for ID." Pause. "Could I take this ferry back home and come back with my car tomorrow?" Pause. "No, I have to be in Durham by Noon and the first ferry doesn't leave until 7. There's no way to make that." Pause. "IDEA! I can call my dad using someone else's phone." So, I ask the nice looking couple who's walking hand in hand with a little boy who looks about 2. They very sympathetically said, "We don't have one with us." I then remember that I don't have my kids with me, so the sympathy factor has decreased. I move to the ferry line, where I ask this lady who had been pushing a kid in a stroller had left the kid waaaayyy over in the parking lot to hand some guy in their truck a quarter she had found on the ground. Again, a no. The motorcycle guy at the front says, "There's no cell phone reception on the island."
So, I think, hmm, maybe a pay phone. So I see one down by the ferry loading dock, and I head down there. One dollar for long distance. I reach in my pocket and find 75 cents. That Stinks! I need some more change. Of course no one has dropped any on the ground. So I ask these ladies saying their goodbyes at the ferry if they have any change and one graciously grabs her purse out of her car and gives me a quarter! YES! I have a dollar to call! NO! I have no idea what my dad' s cell number is!
Stay tuned for the rest of the story....
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