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What if I’ve been fooling myself?
What if I can’t have it all, no matter how carefully I plot and plan?
What if I have to choose between professional success and personal happiness? What if tonight was the place in the woods where the paths diverged, and I’ll never know what it’s like to have a partner or a family?
Or what if you’ve just been looking at this all wrong? the inner voice whispers. Maybe you just need to change your perspective.
Change my perspective…
I turn away from the donut shoppe toward the other side of the terminal—curious as to what fresh perspective my current situation might have to offer—to see a baby gator dashing across the gleaming white tile at an impressive speed.
Two out of shape security guards give chase, walkie-talkies buzzing, while just behind them, Alligator Man shouts, “Run, Gavin! Run like the wind, buddy! I’ll meet you by the fountain in terminal two.”
Seemingly inspired by his owner’s encouragement, Gavin speeds faster, until his clawed feet barely touch the floor. When he reaches the donut shoppe, he seems poised to dash past the crowd without most of the weary travelers even noticing. But at the last second, a fussy toddler breaks free from her mother and darts out of line, right in the path of the scaly fugitive.
Pulse racing, I surge to my feet, but before I can rush for the little girl, Gavin skids to a stop, claws scrambling on the slick tile as he reverses direction. He seems as scared of the little girl as she is of him.
Though, to be fair, the child’s squeal of—“Green Puppy! Mommy, green puppy!”—doesn’t sound frightened. She sounds delighted and is still giggling when Gavin succeeds in changing course, scuttling between the legs of the flustered security guards, and heading straight for yours truly.
Heart in my throat, I move in front of the kittens’ carrier, digging my heels in and standing my ground. I can’t leave them undefended with a natural predator, even one who’s probably full of Chex Mix and way too freaked out to stop long enough to claw his way into a zipped-up carrier.
But how to stop a baby gator?
I don’t want to kick him and risk hurting the little guy, but I don’t want to get anywhere near Gavin with my hands, either. This night has been hard enough without getting gnawed on by a teething reptile, and I’m not trained in hand-to-hand combat.
But maybe I don’t need to fight him…
Maybe I just need to distract him a little.
Moving fast, I grab my cell from my purse and jam the flashlight icon on the lock screen. With seconds to spare, I turn the phone around, aiming the light directly into the baby gator’s eyes.
Gavin emits a startled chirping sound and goes stiff, his claws skidding a few inches on the floor before he comes to a stop and topples over onto his side. Once he’s down, he just…lays there, legs limp and his jaws lightly parted.
For a moment, I’m scared I’ve given the poor thing a heart attack, but then Alligator Man calls out from just a few feet away. “It’s okay! He’s just playing dead. He does that when he’s scared. Let me pick him up and get him back in my sweater. Please,” he pleads with the security guards, who are slowly closing in on Gavin from his other side. “He’s a good boy. He didn’t mean to cause trouble. It’s just all the holiday excitement, and it’s his first time away from his mama. Baby gators need their mamas for the entire first year after they’ve hatched. I should have known better than to take him so far away from Sheila for more than a day or two. This is my mistake, not his.”
The taller security guard with the flushed pink face shoots a meaningful glance at the guard with the thick mustache.
“And maybe you could promise to get a carrier for Gavin from one of the travel shops,” I pipe up, trying to be helpful. “I’m sure these nice men would feel better about letting you two go if you had him in a more secure situation than tucked under your sweater.”
Alligator Man wrinkles his nose, but grumbles, “Yeah, I guess I could do that.”
“You could even follow him while he does it,” I add to the guards, earning a grunt from Alligator Man that sounds equal parts irritated and grateful.
“Yeah, that would be fine.” He eases closer to Gavin. “So, can I pick him up now?” he asks the guards. “Or are you going to taser me?”
Mustache Guard sighs. “Go ahead. But don’t let him get loose again or emotional support animal or not, we’re going to have to take him into custody. We can’t have alligators running around the airport.”
“Even baby alligators,” the taller man says.
