Peter and the missus #11

Ready.. Set.. Go..!

"Where are you?", the missus asked over the phone.

"I am on my way. Just got off the bus and walking to the platform", Peter said. They were going to meet a friend that day and they had agreed to meet on the train.

"The train leaves in two minutes!! I have been waiting in the last car of the train forever!!", the missus was tensed which made Peter realize that his watch was running slow. He was going to make a run for it without any further delay.

Peter hated running. He hated moving, for that matter. He would take the slow train after fifteen minutes from the closest platform instead of running to get the faster one from the farther platform. He was laziness personified most of the time. But he decided to break the mould for once. It was time to unleash the Usain Bolt in him.

He sprinted through the crowded station. However clumsy his running looked for the other people, he did not give a damn. He felt that everything around him came to a standstill. He felt as if he was in the Chariots of fire. He imagined the beach. He could hear Vangelis’ immortal background score. A few people had to run for cover. And some had to drag their children out of the way. But he could hear them clapping and cheering, ‘Peter! Peter! Peter!’ as he leaped across a few hurdles of suitcases and trolleys.

He reached the platform and the alarm on the doors already announced that they were closing. The missus was saying something into his headset but he did not hear a word. He was on a mission and he was not going to be distracted.

He took one extra stride and jumped into the train with the doors closing a split second later. He threw his arms in air triumphantly. He almost shouted loud in excitement!

The train started moving and Peter took a few deep breaths. The missus was going to be proud of his sprint, he was sure.

"Honey, where are you?", he said finding the last car in the train almost empty.

The missus was laughing her hearts out. She was laughing louder than he had ever seen her laugh. "That's exactly what I have been trying to tell you - for the hundredth time!! I am on the other train, Dumb-ass!!"

If Peter’s biography was ever to be written, the embarrassing train-chasing-episode of his life would end with the lines, "She laughed and laughed about it for generations to come".

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