Late

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Karen was always late. Late for dinner. Late for work. Late with deadlines. Just late. People had started telling her they were meeting a half hour earlier than they were, just so she wouldn’t arrive more than a half hour late. They’d given up inviting her to movies.

Today, she just might pay bigtime for her lateness. As she ran for her gate, she thought about what excuse she could possibly give for missing her sister’s funeral. No. She couldn’t. She would make that flight!

The final boarding call had already been announced. She ran the last ten yards, arriving at the gate sweaty, out of breath, and crying. She handed her papers over, embarrassed.

“My sister died. I have to make this flight.”

“It’s okay,” the check-in agent said. “Just breathe. I’m sorry for your loss.”

As Karen walked, more slowly, across the ramp to the plane, she vowed to turn over a new leaf. She had tried and failed in the past to overcome her chronic lateness. This time she would make it work.

Karen settled herself in her seat, then methodically began deleting every time-wasting app from her phone and tablet, starting with her social media accounts.

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This microfiction was inspired by a prompt to write about someone who is chronically late. I’ve known lots of people like this through the years, though maybe not as extreme as Karen!