The Bible

On the way to the airport John suddenly realized with horror that he had left his tablet in the hotel. It was absolutely out of the question to go to the meeting in Belfast without the investor presentation he had so painstakingly prepared a week before. The car had not yet covered a quarter of the distance to the airport, so John told the driver to turn around and head back. If he didn't have his slides to show to the partners, they would not be likely to get interested, so the whole trip would be pointless.

John wondered silently how on earth he could have become so absent-minded. He was neither a Nobel prize winner, nor a rocket scientist. The explanation came easily: it was all because of his wife and her sudden phone call in the middle of the night. The dumb thing was not even aware of the jet lag, or else she wouldn't care to know. How much longer is she going to get on his nerves? He had trouble getting back to sleep after that conversation. And then, when he finally did fall asleep it was almost time to get up, and the alarm clock in his cellular went off, and it kept ringing singing 'Jingle Bells' until John came to his senses. His wife was still haunting him from his dream, a terrible nightmare that was reluctant to give way to reality, and the new sunny day. He remembered he had to catch that 9 o'clock flight, he remembered to brush his teeth, take a shower and shave. He remembered to check out of the hotel and say goodbye to the receptionist. The only thing he had forgotten was his small tablet now staying there underneath the Bible.

Just imagine that all that happened because that hellish woman from the nightmare refused to completely disappear from his mind, which was still busy trying to find the right words to put the message across, even though all these attempts were doomed to failure to begin with. They didn't seem to have anything in common left, except for the property and the children. How in the world could he have married such a monster twenty years ago? Or had she changed beyond any recognition since then? Or was it himself who had changed even more? Hard to say.

That is why he had opened that damn Bible just to calm down a little, to recover some peace of mind. He had never really understood the text, but no matter where he started to read, the Bible had always had a comforting effect on him, the way a fairy tale might have on a baby.

Time plays cruel practical jokes on you sometimes. God, if you are there, I tell you what: why should it be that nothing can be helped? All you need in life is really a stroke of luck, a piece of luck in that interminable chain of coincidences. Ironically, instead of helping me, you should put that Bible on top of my tablet so that in the morning I have an impression that there is nothing left in the drawer, except for the Bible that belongs to the hotel. Well, with luck it should still be there, and there is still a chance to catch that 9 o'clock flight, after all. Now that a multi-million contract is at stake. Unless there is a traffic jam.

No luck. The driver discovered he had had a flat tyre, so he had to wait for the servicemen to arrive and change the wheel. The motherfucker wouldn't do that himself, no way, not for the kind of money he was making. And he wouldn't take money from John, either.

Now I am done for. No way you can file a lawsuit against God and his angels. As long as they made up their minds to get it their way, they will get it their way, by hook or by crook. Now he had the whole day at his disposal, the whole day all to himself, and the casino, and the whiskey.

- God damn it, John! How come you were not on that B-3908 flight to Belfast you were supposed to take? Can you hear me all right? Where are you at? Are you drunk or something? I tell you what, happy birthday, John. I know you were born in December, but you are a lucky bastard, because that plane dropped into the sea last night.
Shit happens. So many things that can go wrong with the plane. Thanks God you missed it. Now, you can sober up and book yourself another flight for tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll get in touch with the guys in Belfast and tell them you had a good reason to miss that flight. Hugs and kisses, John. You are a nice son of a bitch to work with!