“Missed the Boat”

As the servant packed never before had such an opportunity been so close! To actually be offered a job on the Titanic was a dream come true. Others had applied and tried every dirty trick in the book from intercepting mail to spreading rumors trying to take ANY opportunity from each other in the run down, cheap, boarding house. Somehow, everything still came together and the dream opportunity was now a reality.

As each item was packed away for the trip the special memory attached with every one flooded the server with emotional recall. Each piece had it’s own story and was personally special. The only thing more difficult than getting anything was keeping it. That was another lesson the server had learned along the way in life. As the final items were being packed away there was a knock on the boarding house bedroom door. The cab was there to go to the pier.

As the server said goodbye to a few friends there and took a last backward glance at the sparse room something felt odd. A gut wrenching fear was suddenly ruining the moment. There was no reason why and the server assumed it was just seeing a nemesis still lurking and watching the departure from a distance after a near fatal altercation involving stolen mail from abroad. In the process of trying to apply the initial interview invitation had been stolen from the mail and that boarder had tried impersonating the server to take the job and steal a new identity. Glad to be leaving after that horrific incident the server rushed to the cab and helped the driver load the belongings into the trunk.

On the ride to the pier the server’s life path to that point was relived like a tour as those landmarks were passed again. The servant remembered everything from Ellis Island and the immigration process to a first Coney Island hotdog. “The American Dream” had become a reality. It had been a very difficult life in the homeland that was left behind and now the servant could see more of the world while also sending money home to family still there. Suddenly the taxi that had been driving smoothly stopped. There seemed to be a great deal of traffic. The server hadn’t thought of the crowd and festivities the maiden voyage of a vessel of that magnitude would generate. Due to the incident with the interview and stolen mail everything had happened very last minute.

Filled with panic the server asked the cab driver if they’d make it in time. The cab driver assured the server they would. Regardless, of the cab driver’s assurances as time went on the server became more and more concerned. The servant told the cab driver to help get the cases from the trunk to try to walk the rest of the way. As the cabbie and servant pushed through the crowd one suitcase accidentally opened spilling it’s contents all over the ground. Members of the crowd began snatching and stealing them as the servant screamed and cried trying to take them back before giving up with what little was retrieved to proceed onward.

Just as they reached the pier the servant heard a horrifying sound. It was the sound of a large vessel sounding it’s horn and the cheers of the crowd! The server and cabbie eventually got there just as the Titanic was departing. Worse than THAT the other boarder was on the vessel waving, pointing, and laughing in one of the new uniforms. Apparently, the cabbie had intentionally spilled the suitcase after being tipped to along with taking a longer “scenic route”.

The heart crushing disappointment and rage turned to happiness and relief as the story of the tragedy that befell the Titanic became news. That other boarder was one of the many dead.