I Didn't Ask

In light of our "three couple" recent trip to New York City, I have to share this true story. I will leave the names out to protect the innocent. But you can't help but laugh.

This story has to be true. You couldn’t make this stuff up. Actually this sounds like something that could have happened to us. It definitely could happen to me.

The truth is it could happen to anybody.

Three married couples (who I happen to know) went on a trip together. When they were getting their luggage at the airport at their destination city one of the ladies told her husband she needed to go to the restroom before they took their limo ride into the city. A reasonable request because of the excitement of the trip and the large breakfast they ate earlier in the day that she was not used to eating. But when she realized she had to go back up the escalator to the restroom she did not want to hold everybody up and decided to wait until they got to their hotel.

Although a little queasy in the tummy the lady and her five travel companions all climbed into the back of the stretch limousine for the journey into the city. Everything was going fine until they ran into a major traffic jam. While most everybody was taking the delay in stride, the husband noticed his wife with the queasy tummy was not taking the delay in stride. In fact she was getting that panic look on her face that was screaming, “I’m in trouble!”

After a few minutes, the husband of the now panic stricken wife with the queasy tummy, hit the button to let the window down between the passengers and the driver to find out what was causing the traffic jam. The answer was not encouraging at all. An 18 wheeler had jack-knifed a few miles in front of them. The driver explained to his clients that he had heard on the radio that cranes were being brought in to move the tractor trailer. The husband pushed the button to raise the window back up.

By now the other four travelers knew their friend with the queasy tummy was in trouble. She had now resorted to the techniques of Lamaze breathing. And she had her eye on the sideboard that has the drinking glasses and a well that is normally used for storing ice. In fact all of a sudden she put off all her dignity and went for the ice well. The husband was thinking quickly and pulled a pillow case off a pillow and threw it to one of their friends. She got the pillow case in the ice well just in the nick of time. Two of the guys (including her husband) and one of the ladies got out of the limo as the proceedings began. The other two did not make it out. In fact they never had a chance.

When three of the traveling companions were standing outside the limo which happened to be on an overpass bridge, the limo driver having no idea what was going on in the back of his limo, got out and told them the traffic was finally about to move. The husband of the lady (whose wife was now sitting on the pillow case lined ice well inside in the close company of her other two friends) asked the limo driver if he could ask the crane operators to take their time.

After a few minutes, the proceedings were completed inside the back of the limo. The husband very lovingly placed the pillow case with all its contents on the side of the highway as the limo pulled off.

Not wanting to embarrass the poor lady further, everybody climbed back in the limo and continued their journey into the city without mentioning what had just happened or the odor. And they ended up having a wonderful trip together. I suppose they had gotten pretty close after all that.

I didn’t ask but I wondered if the next group that rode in that limo used the ice well.