Just when I thought it was safe to stop worrying about The Pony, I was pitched a screwball by The Universe. Dealt a bad hand. Poked with a sharp stick, to bring me back to reality.
You may recall that The Pony had a friend visiting from out-of-state. After the fireworks call on Saturday night, I left The Pony alone to enjoy his company. As far as I knew, the guest was leaving on Wednesday. I had no contact at all with The Pony until Tuesday afternoon. I was in town, coming out of the Gas Station Chicken Store, when I got a text at 3:48.
"Dropped friend off. Starting home."
Well. That was a surprise. Also a bit worrisome. This put The Pony in downtown St. Louis, starting home in the middle of rush hour. I did not reply, lest it take The Pony's attention off the road. In my mind, I calculated The Pony's ETA. It would probably be at least 90 minutes in that traffic. I got back home, and kept my eye on the clock. By 5:30, I was expecting a text any minute.
Nothing. I did not want to call. Maybe there had been a wreck, and traffic was stopped. I'd just have to wait. And wait. Then I got a text at 6:05 that made matters worse!
"Home. Had to loop back. The bus driver turned her away twice for some reason so I had to pick her back up. They rescheduled her for one at 1:30 a.m. so will drive her back then."
"Yikes! PLEASE be careful! Make sure you have gas!"
"Yup. Filled it on the way out."
"Okay. You might need a Coke on the way home. Might want to get one to take along, and not be in a downtown convenience store at 1:30 a.m. At least you will have conversation on the way up."
"Yeah."
"Keep me updated, but not while driving!!!"
"Yeah. Will text when leaving, then when we get there. Will wait this time to make sure they let her on."
Here's the thing. The Pony is not a night person. Sometimes goes to sleep at 6:00 p.m. Now, after a 3-4 hour round trip to the city, The Pony would be repeating the drive in the dead of night/early morning. Let the record show that the Thanksgiving car-totaling accident occurred when The Pony fell asleep at the wheel in the middle of the afternoon! Yes. I was worried. All evening, night, and early morning.
Midnight:05
"Leaving now. Will text you when I'm at the station waiting for the bus to actually accept her."
1:16
"Dropped her off. Waiting for the confirmation she's on the bus safe."
1:21
"Shouldn't be more than ten minutes to know."
1:31
"She's on it. Starting home, will message once I am."
2:40 a.m.
"Home safe. Gonna use the bathroom and pass the Not-Heaven out. Could I get a call at noon in case I sleep in? Just to make sure I'm up in time for an appointment."
"Okay. Sleep well."
WHEW!!! That is too much stress for Mrs. HM without a helicopter! I need to contract out some of my worrying.
I talked to The Pony the next day, trying to figure out WHY the friend got turned away by the bus driver. The Pony said nobody knows! That she had an actual ticket printed out there at the station. The bus driver scanned it, said, "Nope!" and motioned her away. She went back inside, and the ticket agent looked at it, and said, "That's the right bus for your ticket." The friend went back again, and the bus driver wouldn't even scan it. Just told her no again. So the friend went back inside, and the agent booked her another ticket, this time on a Greyhound bus. I think the other was FlixBus. The Pony said the friend said people she knows have had a lot of trouble with FlixBus before. So who knows what the issue was.
Farmer H said they should have just stayed in the city, and waited until the later bus. That might have been fine during daylight hours, when there were things to do like visit museums or shopping malls. But not late at night! Downtown St. Louis is NOT a safe place to be in the dark! And sometimes not in the daylight.
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