Have You Ever Been Lost?

The screeching was so loud that it reached into the vehicle’s interior. The occupants grimaced in pain as the sound careened inside their heads.

“Must you go this fast?!” Nadine’s yell was barely audible over the roar of the engine as Brian floored the pedal again.

“Brian!”

There was no answer.

The red coupe’s tires audibly swiveled around the bend; its driver clearly had lost control for a moment, but soon regained it. As the car vroomed past, bystanders were witness to the mechanical racket and the wind that was helplessly flung in its wake. WHOOOOSH!!!! The coupe was here in an instant and gone the next.

“Brian!” This time, her plea was much more urgent, but still there was no response.

“Brian! Kid, Brian! Kid in the street, GODDAMNIT!”

“Whaaaa-“ he replied, glancing to the side of the road and finally seeing the young child that had been in the periphery of his vision. He desperately flicked the wheel.

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Outside the church, 9 year-old Addy embraced her new aunt. “Congratulations on the wedding,” she said with practiced solemnity, and then she paused and added with a mischievous grin, “I’m glad that you’re finally not living in sin.”

“Thank you, Addy,” the new bride said. “Now, I wonder where you learned that ‘living in sin’ phrase,” she jokingly mused aloud, while looking at Addy’s parents.

Addy’s mother blushed the brightest shade of red. “I… I…,” she began to stammer but was cut short by the heavy sound of clicking heels.

Addy, her parents, and the new bride all turned heads to see Brian and Nadine positively hoofing it up to where the group stood. Nadine arrived first, clearly flustered.

“Oh, Debby, Debby, I’m so sorry! We missed it, didn’t we?” Nadine asked the new bride, even though she already knew the answer.

Shaking her head, the new bride smilingly said, “That would be an affirmative but, you know, you can be there on time when Kevin and I renew our vows in 10 years or so.”

“Well, if we had just bought a GPS unit from ActionGPS.com like I had suggested, none of this would have happened,” Nadine said, barely controlling her voice.

A tall gentleman strode to the edge of the group; it was Nadine’s father. “How many times have I told you about not listening to my little girl, Brian?”

“I tried to tell him, Dad, but he said that he could get by using his atlas. So, we got lost instead,” came Nadine’s reply.

“Aw, Hell! An atlas is about as useless as tits on a bull. Can’t you do anything right, Brian?,” asked Nadine’s father. All in the small group of people laughed…, well, all except Brian.

“Shoot, I even use a GPS when I go fishing. That GPS unit can find the fish! The darn thing is damn near indispensible. I mean, boy, it basically gets you where you want to be in life.”

Brian’s eyes lit up, thinking that he had found an instant to rebut all the negative attention. “Sir, I don’t know if I would go that far,” he said bravely.

But, Nadine’s father was more than ready. “You want to find your way to the chapel with my daughter, don’t you, son? Then, I would suggest that you get yourself a GPS.”

“I know one thing; he’ll certainly need it to find his way to the couch tonight!” said Nadine.

The group roared with laughter… well, all except Brian.