A Family Divided

Our last morning in Paris we were to spend sightseeing after checking out of our hotel room, but that was not to be. As Steve went to pay our bill, our card was denied. The credit card company had a system wide failure and could not be contacted by phone or by internet. We could not get enough cash from the bank at once and since it was 2:00 a.m. in the U.S., no one could help us at the bank for another five hours. The problem was that time was ticking all the while and it soon was past time for us to leave for the train back to England. We finally decided to split up. I left with the boys to catch the metro to the train station while Steve stayed with the suitcase in the lobby of the hotel trying to pay our debt. As we sat on the train, the boys and I hoped and prayed that Steve would be okay and join us soon, and I realized that we didn't have a key to the flat. When we arrived in London we saw that the next train from Paris was to arrive in an hour, so we decided to wait and see if Steve was fortunate enough to be on it. If he didn't show up then, we would take the tube and rail back to Reading and hope that we could find a way to get into our apartment. It was quite a nail biter waiting for the train's arrival. Fortunately, Steve came walking out of the exit and we were once again together as a family. What a relief! It turned out that shortly after the boys and I had left the hotel, Steve asked the attendant to run our card again. That time it went through. He ended up taking a cab across town, ran for the train, was slowed at customs and missed the train by mere minutes. It was fortunate that he didn't have to purchase a new ticket, but instead was allowed to board the next train. Needless to say, it will be nice to stay in one place for a couple of weeks. Travel isn't always what it's cracked up to be.