by David Barron
Chapter Five Molly finds a Stowaway
It was the morning of departure, and the whole house was in an uproar, dad looking for the passports, mum looking for her bikinis, and Molly trying to cram everything in to her new pink trolley bag that mum had bought her. Molly could not understand why she couldn’t get her teddy in, there looked like there was enough room, she tried everything and every way she knew to get him in but the case just would not close. She called her dad, but he got so stressed he told her to leave it, they could get another when they got to Spain, and then said as a parting shot, he might get her one of those nice donkeys instead, everyone brought them back. Molly was not amused, but did as she was told and shut the case, then heaved it out onto the landing and pulled it down the stairs to the front door, where the rest of the bags were waiting. Dad had finally found the passports, and after a final check of everything, tickets yes, passports yes, bags yes, everything locked up, water off, electricity off, he decided they were good to go, and opened the door.
"Ok", he said "Let’s get those bags into the back of the car; we have to be at the airport by one to check in you know."
They drove through the village and out onto the motorway and headed for the airport, arriving just before twelve thirty, plenty time dad said to get the car parked up, and to get to the check in. Once they were through check in, dad took them to the departure lounge, where there was a restaurant he said we could get something to eat in, and that he needed a cuppa, as he was feeling really stressed from all the driving on that damned motorway, and needed this holiday badly. Mum just laughed, and watched as dad went to the counter to order. After they’d been in the restaurant for a while, they went and sat on the seats in the lounge and waited to be called for their flight, which dad said wouldn’t be long. After what seemed like ages for Molly was getting bored of looking out of the windows and watching aircraft landing and taking off, the speaker crackled into life and a woman announced the departure of Flight sa412 to Malaga, leaving from gate number ten. That was their flight so they made their way to the gate and boarded the aircraft. Arriving in Spain they collected their bags from the carousel, and headed outside to the taxi rank. Dad had told the driver to take us to the Hotel Tropicana, and we sped off. Once we were settled in our rooms, dad insisted we had our dinner by the pool, so we all put on our bathing suits and went down. The poolside was not very crowded, but Molly did notice that there were a lot of foreign people there from all over the world. Molly loved it and played in the water for hours, first swimming back and forward, and then trying to hold her breath for as many minutes as she possibly could, whilst underwater. Dad told her she was doing great and lay back on his sun lounger, drinking a beer, and reading the English newspapers. Mum was lying next to him but every so often she would come down into the pool and have a little swim, as she wasn’t really that good. Most of the time she just lay there, and eyed up the young Spanish waiters, who seeing it every day pretended, that they hadn’t noticed. Molly was really tired by the end of the day, and dad carried her up to the room and laid her on her bed, then went back down to be with mum, but first he had made sure that she was going to be quite safe, asking the hotel receptionist, to ask the staff to swing by and check she was ok.
Molly was nearly asleep when she first heard, then noticed something rustling inside her case. Thinking something had crawled in; she tentatively opened it, to see Fluff staring up at her. She was bemused and asked,
"My lord Fluff how did you get yourself in there, and what are you doing here." He said, "I’m sorry Molly, I think I may have missed you too much, so I decided to come too." Molly laughed for she now understood why she couldn’t get the case closed. She told Fluff of her great fight with the case and he laughed too, they jumped into each other’s arms and hugged, "And too think", said molly, "That I was going to bring teddy with me; I’d much rather have you any day."
"I’m sorry I didn’t think to ask you Fluff for I thought you might show up on the scanners when the bags go through." Fluff laughed some more and said,
"Oh no not me Molly I’m invisible to everything when I want to be", and promptly disappeared from view. Molly said,
"Where are you Fluff?" and before she could blink he was back and under her cover at the bottom of the bed. Molly said she was tired and it had been a long day, and Fluff said he was tired too, so both went to sleep. That week was the happiest molly had ever been, and with Fluff in tow they had been horse riding in the mountains, on a jeep safari, walked on the beach, and collected shells from everywhere. Molly was having the time of her life, but knew that soon they would have to start packing for the trip home. Dad came in to her room the morning of departure, and was cradling something under his arm, he reached out and gave her a hug, and said,
"Look what I’ve gotten for you love." Molly looked up from her bed to see a felt covered plastic donkey with a brass bell round its neck,
"Oh dad"; she said "He’s great."
"Ok love you’ll have to get up now and start packing, our flights at three and we can’t be late." Molly got up pulled some things out of her case for the journey back and then looked down again at the case and realised she would never be able to get it in, if she was taking Fluff home with her.
"Oh my lord", she said, "Fluff, Fluff where are you?" Then he appeared and said, "What is it molly."
"Dad has bought me this donkey and I’ll have to put it in my case, what are we going to do, you won’t fit in there as well Fluff." Fluff thought for a moment and said,
"It’ll be all right molly, you can carry me through, I don’t weigh much and no one will see me." Molly agreed and she carried on with the rest of her packing with Fluff helping. Her mum poked her head round the door five minutes from leaving, and asked if she was ready, and after telling her she was all set, she closed the room behind her, and they made their way to the lobby of the hotel. Once her dad settled the bill, they got into a waiting taxi back to the airport. At the airport molly was quite nervous as she had Fluff wrapped round her neck, and although she could feel him, she could not see him, but she shouldn’t have worried they got through the check in without any problems. An hour later they were boarding the plane, and were making for their seats at the back. Molly made to sit down, and realised that she couldn’t as Fluff was round her neck. So she told her mum and dad that she needed the toilet, dad looked at her and said she should have went before they boarded. She then went to the toilet and Fluff reappeared.
"Look Fluff I can’t sit down and strap in if your round my neck, if you follow me back to my seat, I’ll open the overhead locker and you could fit in there." Fluff said that it was a brilliant idea, and followed her back down the aisle.
Molly opened the overhead locker, and her dad asked her what she was doing now, he was getting quite stressed again. Molly quick as a flash told him she wanted her sweets to suck as her ears hurt,
"Ok said dad but be quick and get your belt on." Molly rifled through her hand luggage and noted that Fluff had gone and that her luggage was now all in the one corner of the locker, so after retrieving the sweets she closed it up and sitting down, put on her seat belt. Molly was glad when she seen the lights of the city as they came into land in England. An hour later and they were all on their way home, Molly felt a great relief. Back at the house she ran upstairs, and opened her bedroom door. The place was a mess, and from downstairs Molly heard a scream, and was sure it was her mother.
"Oh my", she heard her say, as she pounded back down the stairs, "We’ve been robbed." Her dad was checking things over in the living room, and noting down on a piece of paper what had been taken, he said the police would need to know. Later that day the police had come and after speaking with her dad had left, but dad sitting with his arms around her mum was saying that he did not see that they would be able to help, as the officer had told him that the stuff had probably been moved on by now. Her mother was in floods of tears as she had lost all her jewellery and some of that had come from her mother,
molly’s gran. Dad and mum tried to clean the place up the best they could, and molly helped, as did Fluff and then they all went to sleep, but molly although dreadfully tired could not. The thought that some stranger had been in her house and stolen lots of her things, and been through her most precious possessions, filled her with unease. Fluff tried to comfort her and soon he had managed to get her off to sleep, but it was a fitful sleep, and he stayed up the whole night and kept watch
