I can haz do-over?
I admit: I was running late. I had foolishly convinced myself I had time to unload the dishwasher before I left (Never unload the dishwasher!). As I pushed off from the curb I realized I'd forgotten my lock, but, Ah well, too late to go back for it now. I'll just haul Aubey into the office with me. Because that never goes wrong. I hightailed it up the street and arrived at the bus stop at the exact same moment as the bus.
I would've made it, too. This driver is the nicest man in Metro Transit's employ, and one of the nicest people, period. He would have waited ten seconds while I got my bag and folded up my basket. He would have let me bring Aubey on the bus, because both rack spots were full. He might even have helped. I know this because he has done all of these things for me in the past.
Alas, when I grabbed my bag, my breakfast went flying. Spoon-sized shredded wheats all over the sidewalk. I sighed, waved the bus on, and stared down at the most important meal of the day, trying to pinpoint the moment at which my morning had turned into a Mister Bean sketch.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. This amazing man had gotten off his bus to see if I was OK, and if I wanted him to wait until I cleaned up my mess and was ready to board. It gave me a smile, which I desperately needed. I thanked him but said I'd be fine. He drove off, and I gathered up my fallen soldiers with some half-formed plan of disposing of them later.
Five minutes later, in the mysterious way of the 21, two arrived right on top of each other. All four of their collective bike spots were full. And these drivers were not inclined to let me bring Aubey onto the bus. At least they had the decency to wave apologetically as they zoomed past.
I called Dolphin and asked them to tell my boss I'd be ten minutes late, biked home, and traded my Lake Street cereal for the clean stuff. I toyed with the idea of laying down for a few minutes in hopes that the day would reset itself. Instead, I drove to work and ate my cereal. Damn it all, I earned that cereal.