Our Flight to Botswana

We boarded the plane and our new life had begun. 

On the plane, the kids couldn’t be happier with their own TV screens with new movies, games, music. Peter and I were so lucky the kids were entertained. 

When we arrived at Johannesburg, a young man took care of us. He helped us through customs. He escorted Peter to check on Oz. He left me with the kids saying he’d be back as soon as possible. It should be fine because there was a three-hour layover. While he did have to leave the international port, the young man assured us they would be back in plenty of time. So, the kids and I waited and waited and waited. A clerk came up to us and said, where are you going? I told her Botswana. She was alarmed. Botswana! You missed your flight! What?!? She urged us to gather our things and ushered us towards the gate. ‘But my husband.’ I stammered. ‘He won’t know where to find us.’ ‘Ma’am, you must go now. This is the last flight today. If you stay, you will not be able to leave again until tomorrow.’ She told me.

Oh my god! Where would I go? Would we get a hotel? Would Peter be able to find us? How could I go on without him? 

She pushed us onward. We lugged our carry-on bags, one per child and I had two because I also had Peter’s.  Trying to get us to the gate, she pushed us past the other passengers. ‘They will miss their flight!’ She shouted in order to get us ahead of everyone else. Macallan kept saying, ‘But what about daddy? I don’t want to go without daddy.’ And I felt the same way. But what could I do? What should I do? 

At the bottom of the escalator, as they took our tickets, I could hear a commotion. I turned around just in time to see Peter making his way toward us. He told me later that he felt like OJ running through the airport. The kids hugged him so hard and we were indeed the last people on the plane. 

When we arrived in Botswana, we were told that the crew from the game reserve had been waiting for hours for us. Shocked and worried when the entire plane had disembarked but we weren't on it, they didn’t know what to do. I didn’t realize there would be people waiting for us. In any case, we wouldn’t have been able to call them  - our cell phones didn’t work in Africa and we didn’t have their phone numbers. Just one of many things we hadn’t thought through. Communications would be a huge issue and something we just took for granted. Our families in the States would have no clue about our ordeal in Johannesburg or even that we had landed safe and sound, including Oz. 

While he was let out a few times, once we finally got to Botswana, he let out a pee that has never been equaled to this day by any of our animals. He held it because he’s such a well-behaved dog. He held on until he knew he was safe to let go. Oz. The only one of us that would never leave Africa. Oz. How we miss him.