I apologize, everybody. I am still catching up on everything else, including all the FlyerTalk forums (fora?). The story is being posted in pieces simply because I post each segment just after I finish writing it!

Day 2 Part I

I wake up in the dark about a half-hour before the alarm clock, which was set to go off at 4:45 in the morning. I did not get much sleep because I am excited that I will get to go on the Concorde — or will I? My return flight has already been cancelled, and my outbound Concorde flight is in jeopardy.

I call my answering machine again. No messages. Maybe everything will work out after all. I have to think positive.

I groom myself and skip breakfast because of the anticipation of being in the Concorde lounge. I am downstairs at 5:15 for the 5:30 shuttle to the airport. Everybody boards, and the shuttle is crowded. There is only one seat left. The shuttle driver waits outside to assist two more people. It is now 5:35. Darkness eventually gives way to a cloudy, dreary grey morning. What is he going to do, use a shoehorn to pry them into one seat? They sure are taking their time! What is the problem? 5:40. “Come on, please!” I thought to myself, “Drive this stupid thing to the Air France terminal, just in case there are problems with Concorde! If I were the one for whom you were waiting, you would have left me behind already!” I can tell that the other passengers on the shuttle bus were also starting to get anxious. The shuttle driver, finely dressed in a black suit and tie, finally decided the two potential passengers will not be ready, gets into the driver's seat and we proceed to the airport.

The excitement and nervousness builds. In what seemed to be an eternity, the shuttle bus finally approaches the Air France terminal at approximately 6:00.

I grab my bags and get off the shuttle bus. The driver closes the door and drives off. I look around. Nobody is outside the terminal. It appears to be dark inside. I reach for the door.

The door is locked...