“Come on, hurry up before the door closes on us”, Michelle said in her motherly voice as she scurried the stroller with two kids and one on foot,  in to the small elevator.

 

Cheerfully she says,  “Yea we’re going to the 10^th floor to meet up with your grandmother. She’ll be so surprised to see us!” 

 

“On no………Not today, not now. No this can’t be happening to me; just when I was about to see a friendly face that would take these kids off my hands.”  Bewildered,  Michelle reaches for the cell phone.   Will picks up on his mother’s panic.

 

“What’s happening Mommy” Will asked.

 

“The elevator has stopped between floors honey”, she informed him.

 

“What does that mean?  Why ain’t we moving?”

 

“Honey, something has malfunctioned with the elevator and it won’t move until someone fixes it.”

 

“Mama, what is mal..fun….?”

 

 “Will, it is a technical problem, maybe the electricity has gone off or something.”

 

“Can they fix it?  If they can’t find the tricity can they open the door for us?"

 

“I’m sure there is someone in the building that will open the door for us in a little while.”

 

“If I holler real loud, will anybody hear me?"

 

“No there is no reason to holler.  Someone will realize the elevator has stopped and come to help us soon”

 

“Are we gonna die?”

 

“No Will, we aren’t going to die, we’ll be alright.”

 

“You want me to stand here and be quiet, Mommy?”

 

“Will, that will be a good thing.  Mommy will get us help soon I promise”.

 

Axton in the meantime looks around, assesses the situation in his 2 year old mind and starts screaming, Things aren’t going the way they are supposed to, so he panics.  “It’s OK babe, Aunt Schell will get some help, it will be alright!  We will see MIMI in a little while. Please don’t cry!” She reaches down to caress him with one hand while still trying to dial the phone with the other.”

 

Will, not quiet convinced that everything will be alright, moves his way around the stroller, over the bags and feet and finds his way to the control panel with all the buttons.  He gives them a good once over before he starts pushing.  Didn’t matter if the button is  red, up or down, or blue he methodically pushes each one, thinking maybe this will help, or that he is the man to get them moving again.  Mommy pushed a button to get the elevator moving, so maybe pushing one again would do the same.

 

Baby Alex has just been watching the activity and has heard the conversation between his mother and brother.  Even though he hasn’t made a sound he decides he’s hungry.  The screaming cousin has not bothered him, and his little stomach keeps calling for food.  Its been 15 minutes since he had a snack but his stomach doesn’t seem to know.  His stroller seat is close, but not close enough, to the diaper bag where he knows the snacks are hidden.  He stretches his arm and his little fingers as far as he can but is still a few inches from the bag.  He stretches his body, he wiggles, he strains, until finally he turns and finds a way to get out of the stroller. 

 

With one arm, Michelle reaches down to keep him from escaping from the stroller and tries to push him back in. In the meantime she is still waiting for Mike to answer the phone. 

 

Will is pushing buttons.  Axton is screaming and Alex is beginning to get hostile.  He has one thing on his mind, and that is what he thinks is in the bag.  If he can’t get to it, and his mother won’t get it for him, the next thing he remembers to do is kick and yell.  That should get her attention!

 

“Mike?.....Where do you think I am!  I am stuck in an elevator with these three kids. I’m trying to get to Mama to leave this child that is not mine!.... Yes, that is Axton you hear screaming to high heaven.......

 

“No, I don’t know what is going on.......I just know we are between the 7^th & 8^th floors…

 

“We’ve been in here about four hours – OK  more like 15 minutes. .....

 

“I know, I know,” she said slowing down her voice a bit, “they usually get these things fixed pretty quick. It better be soon or I will need a Psychiatrist’s couch in the morning” she continues to pick up speed in her tirade.

 

“I don’t mean to be short with you honey, but do you hear the chaos I’m in the middle of.  Alex wants food, Axton just wants to be moving  he’s trying to get out of the stroller, and Will is pushing buttons. 

 

"Get back in that stroller Axton; we will be going in a few minutes. 

 

“Alex, I will get you something to eat when we get out of here, you ate your last cracker a while ago.

 

“Will, quit pushing those buttons, you’ll make it worse!”

 

“I know honey you wish you could help.  But you better pray I make it through this, my patients is about to run thin.....

 

“No I'm not going to kill a kid, but I am about to tear Axton’s bottom up and tell his mama he got it caught on a wire fence....

 

“Oh hold on a minute Mike, Axton is puking all over the place!”

 

“Babe you are making your self sick by crying so much”, even in her frustration she tries to remain calm.  Continuing to wipe up the spill while bending down, her purse slips off her shoulder and hits baby Alex on the head. 

 

Alex whimper becomes a good yell and he thinks his mother has hit him.  She reaches over, brushes his blond hair, “Oh I’m sorry son”.

 

“Oh nothing my purse just hit Alex and he thinks I’m mad at him I guess.”…

 

“OK, Mike,  I think I hear someone, I’ll call you back in a few minutes”.

 

“Yes – we are in here.  I have three children with me and I want out of here quick!”

 

“I want a nak mama!  A nak mama!”  through tears Alex gets louder

 

“Alex I can’t get you a cracker in an elevator, there is not a store in here.  Do you see a store in here?   Axton, shut up! 

 

“Oh God, give me patients.  No I don’t mean that!  Give me Grace.  Or Better yet, please Lord please help me not to kill a kid.  And thank you for getting us out of here quick.”  Her prayer left her lips in a wish.

 

Will stands back and gives the buttons another accessing.  He has pushed each one several times.  He doesn’t know what all those letters are but they look interesting.  There is one high up on the panel board that he has not been able to reach. It has big red letters.   “Maybe if I push that one it will make us go up”  He surmises.  So on his tip toes he stretches his right arm and fingers as far as he can reach.  Finally his fingers barely touching the button, it is enough to push.  Straining every muscle in his four year old body, he pushes with all his might and immediately an alarm sounds. 

 

“Wow”!  Will arms go up,  he jumps back with wide eyes half afraid, half wondering what he had done.  Alex and Axton stop crying momentarily. The quiet sounds wonderful  to Michelle’s ears, but it was short lived.

 

“Yes sir, we’ll be alright, they are just hungry, wet and afraid,”  Michelle yells to the elevator repairman as Axton begins his ear piercing screaming again.  Alex decides that the alarm bell is funny.  He stops crying long enough to giggle and say “bell ring?”

 

“Yes, baby a bell is ringing.  It is telling the people that we are stuck in here.”

 

“I  need a nak mommy, need a nak!”  Alex starts again.

 

“Did I help mommy?” Will asked enthusiastically jerking on his mother’s shirt tail. .  “We won’t die now will we mommy?”

 

“No Will we are going to be alright!  And Alex I still don’t have a snack.  We will get one soon.”

 

Alex lies back in the stroller and closes his eyes.  Axton has not let up.  He is supposed to go see his MIMI and it ain’t happening, so his way of coping is screaming.  Alex doesn’t notice the crying, he is used to it by now.  He accepts that Mommy will get him something to eat soon and he’s tired anyway, so his eyes start drooping.   Will is pleased with himself, he punched the buttons and then the repairman came, so he must have helped.

 

Michelle leans against the wall of the elevator, takes in a deep breath, closes her eyes trying to drown out the crying Axton, that can’t be consoled.  Momentarily she feels the elevator give a jerk nearly throwing her off her feet. The big motors start to  hum and the elevator starts upward.  After a few short minutes the door opens.  There stands smiling MIMI with her arms open wide  to receive the crying babies  and give Will a high five– ignoring her daughter who has, herself, just been traumatized.  Michelle watches as her mothers wraps her arms around the babies, and walks over to the repairman, and said “I need a hug..”