Summer Island - A Prince in Peril

2 - The Airport

Mario carefully added sulfur dioxideto the test tube. Immediately, the liquid inside turned from fuchsia to lime green. He placed it gently in the centrifuge just as his sister barged through the door, causing his equipment to rattle dangerously.

"Dinora!" he snapped.

"Oh!" Dinora glanced at the closely averted catastrophe and tried to look contrite. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Mario said skeptically.

"Truly I am, but Mario, we need to get going! Papi has gone to get the car and you're still fooling around in here. If we miss the plane in Mexico City, there won't be another until tomorrow. Already, we don't know for sure if it will connect in time with the one in Miami and Tia asked me to meet Greta and I told her I would and that's a big job and what if I'm not there and-"

"Tranquila,Dinora," Mario told his little sister. "We'll make it in plenty of time."

"Aargh," Dinora growled, rolling her eyes. She would never understand him. He was just like their father, always in the lab with the bottles and plastic glasses. Not to mention those chemicals that stank up the whole house.

Mario shut off the centrifuge and turned to face his frenzied sister. "Okay," he said calmly, "no more chemistry." He shifted easily from Spanish to English, "You said Father is getting the car?"

"Yes. Are you going to bring anything? I put my bag in the car last night. I wanted to be sure to remember it because if I forgot it, not that it is the most important thing, but still.... I'm ready whenever you are," Dinora rambled, also in English.

They were probably not even conscious they did so, but each summer, before they got on the plane, they found themselves conversing more and more in the language they would use over the summer.

"Little sister, I may be running late but you are running too early," he teased her as he nodded his head toward a small leather bag in the corner.

She grabbed it and ran out of the room. Mario made some quick notes before abandoning his experiment. After cleaning up, he took one last look around the lab to make sure everything was in place. He smiled wistfully before closing the door.

* * *

Greta gripped the arms of her seat as the plane descended. The stewardess had given her a piece of gum to chew so her ears wouldn't hurt with the change in pressure. Greta chewed it with all her might. She was so focused on this job that she didn't even look out the window until the lady next to her pointed out BostonHarbor, one thousand meters below them. Minutes later, it looked like they were about to drop right in. Then the wheels of the plane skipped along the runway and they were on the ground. It was the successful completion of her first plane ride. Greta breathed a deep sigh of relief and almost inhaled the gum which she had forgotten was still in her mouth.

"Miss Washington, will there be someone here to meet you or would you like me to escort you to your next flight?" the stewardess asked her sweetly.

"No, thank you," Greta answered quietly. "I mean, yes, someone is meeting me. I'm fine."

The stewardess smiled and progressed down the aisle. It seemed like no time at all had passed when Greta found herself disembarking with her small bag in tow. Her mother had told her she wouldn't need much, just some comfortable shoes and her underclothes. That seemed strange but her mother assured her it had always been like that at Tia's. Of course Greta had asked her mother nearly a hundred questions about her summers spent at Tia's. Who was Tia? How did she know her? What was "The Island" like? Why wouldn't she need anything? But Mrs. Washington was elusive in her answers, rendering Greta even more curious. As it turned out, the invitation had arrived just in time. The plane was scheduled to depart on Sunday morning, leaving little over a day to prepare.