May 18, 2022 Opening the boat lock

Barrman sat at the table surrounded by love and friendship. There was an exciting vibe in the lounge where ten people sat eating wings and sharing stories. It was a connection he’d rarely felt in over two years. He didn’t want the feeling to end. 

And then his phone rang.

Barrman stared at his phone. Should I answer it? He thought to himself. It was a number he didn’t know. 

Instinctively, he pressed the button and answered the call.

“Hello we are going to be needing into the lock in ten or fifteen minutes,” said a voice on the other end of the line.

“Oh… Okay I will be there shortly,” Barrman answered.

He turned to his friend, Fryman, and shrugged. “Looks like I gotta go. We have our boat in the lagoon in front of the Delta Hotel and part of the deal is to be on call to operate the lock for other boaters.”

Fryman looked a bit confused, “the lock? what lock? What do you mean you have to go?”

“Ya, you know there is a lagoon downtown Kelowna in front of the Delta Hotel. Well, we have our Luxury Lake Tour Boat parked there right now and part of the deal is we are on call to open the lock after hours on Mondays and Thursdays. Apparently, it’s Thursday and someone needs into the lagoon to park their boat.” Barrman smiled. “Gotta go. Can you take my wife home? Maybe pick up my kid on the way?” He felt a little like a schmuck having to ask, but he knew that his friend would look after him. After all, he would do the same for Fryman. What are friends for anyway? 

“Of course, I will. I’d be happy to help.” Fryman replied without hesitation.

The boat captain and lock operator walked around the table and hugged his wife. “Babe I gotta go. I need to go let someone into the lagoon. Fryman will look after you.” 

“Huh, what? You are what? What about the kiddo?” Kaydee looked confused, and it wasn’t just the wine she’d been drinking.

“Ya, you know I am supposed to be on call for the lock, Cap’n Rob went last time, this time I have to go,”  Barrman pulled her in closer, gave her a quick kiss, and let go. He turned and waved to the table full of friends and said farewell as he moved to the door.

While he walked to the car he had a nagging feeling he was forgetting something.

Ten minutes later he pulled into the parking lot in front of the Delta Hotel. He parked in the loading zone.

“I’m only here a short while,” Barrman thought to himself. He’d never operated the locks, he sure hoped he didn’t screw it up.

Barrman walked up to the lock and looked out onto the dock in front. He saw the surf boat tied up and waved. 

“It should only be a few minutes.”

He opened the control panel and looked at the buttons. There were only four of them. How hard could it be?

Let’s see now. Push the gate open you want to open? Ya ok, this button says open. He pushed it before realizing his mistake. 

There were only four buttons to choose from. Why did he just hit the button that said lagoon open? It was the other button he was supposed to press. Damn, damn. 

The pump started and the lock started to fill. But the water is at the right level. No, no, no! He meant to press the open button for the lake gate. Barrman panicked and hit the emergency stop button.

Nothing happened.

It kept filling. The water level in the lock kept rising. Ok, what if I turn it off and then on. Maybe it will stop now?

Nothing. The water kept rising. He pressed the open button for the lake lock again. Still nothing. Shit, shit, shit. He paced around feeling like an idiot.

“Oh… hey, guys?” Barrman called to the people on the boat who were waiting. 

“Ya, what’s up?” Came the answer from the darkness.

“I fucked up… I pressed the wrong button.” Barrman’s shoulders sank.

“No, way. What does that mean?”

“It looks like the lock is filling up and it won’t stop.” He paced in front of the gate to the dock. He stopped and looked out into the eerie darkness which caressed the lake like a blanket.

He shook his head and sighed. “Do you want to come here? I think it will take a few minutes.”

Two men in their late twenties approached the gate for the dock and came out. 

“Hey I’m Mike and this is Cole, it’s all good no stress. We do have another slip we can use at the Yacht Club. How long is this going to take?” The guy named Mike looked at Barrman and smiled.

“I don’t know man, I’ve never done this before.” Barrman felt like a jackass for pushing the wrong button. At least this guy seemed pretty chill. He felt a small wave of relief wash over him. 

“The only problem is I don’t have the key to get out of the yacht club I’d have to go home for it.”

“How far do you live?” 

“It’s about a ten-minute walk…” Mike looked skyward as if he were making a calculation. “I’m not sure what would be faster walking or waiting.”

Just then Cole walked up to the two men waiting by the control panel. “Ya we could do that but then I’d have to move it into the lock in the morning.”

“Whatever guys, I screwed up, we can wait here if you want.” Barrman resigned himself to a much later night away than he’d planned.

At that moment Barrman’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

It was Kaydee on the line, “Hi hon, I don’t have a key to the house.”

That’s when realization washed over Barrman. That’s what he’d forgotten when he left Kaydee at the bar. He had the house key on her car keys, the car he was driving. “Oh man, what about the kid? Doesn’t she have her key?”

“Nope she may have yelled at us that she had her key, but apparently she does not.” 

Barrman began to pace faster in front of the two boaters. They could sense something was wrong. 

“Um, locked out eh? All the windows are locked? She doesn’t have her key eh?” Barrman looked at the two boaters, they looked back with wondering eyes. “Ok, I’ll get there as soon as possible.” he hung up the phone and his shoulders dropped.

The guy named Cole looked at Barrman, “If you have to go we can lock up. I live right there in the Lagoons condos. I use this lock all the time.”

Barrman saw his escape. “Ok. but I need some ID or something.”

He took a picture of Mike’s Driver’s license and showed the men where to hide the key. The lock was full and now draining again. 

“Take it, easy guys.” Barrman almost ran back to his car. It was still a fifteen-minute drive home. He hoped his two girls weren’t going to fight too much before he got there. He’d heard the kiddo complaining in the background.

A little adversity would do her good. Not everything in life worked the way we want it.

His wife sat on the front step with the two cats as Barrman pulled up. He walked up and hugged her. “Sorry sweetie, I guess I should have given you the keys.”

“Well, kiddo did yell at us earlier that she had her house key when we asked her.” Kaydee was in better spirits than he thought she might be.

“Teenagers…” The exhausted father groaned.

They walked in the door. Barrman was wiped. It had been a long day and he was ready for bed.

Just then his phone rang. 

“Hello?” Barrman was afraid of what it might be

“Ya Barrman? It’s Mike here. Umm, I don’t know how to tell you this but the lock doesn’t close. We’ve tried everything but it is stuck about three quarters closed and it won’t move now.”

“It won’t move?” Barrman was stunned. How could…? What the…?

“Ya, so, since you left us here with the key we thought maybe you better come back and put the key away and see if you can get someone to come to fix it?” Mike sounded like he’d rather ask for a dental procedure instead.

“Umm, ya, k, you’re right. I’m on my way.”  Barrman turned around and hugged Kaydee once more. He looked over at his kid and gave them both a half-smile “I’ve got to go back downtown. The lock is broken.”

With that, he let go of Kaydee, quickly hugged his daughter, and jumped back into the car.

Sure enough, the lock wouldn’t work. 

Cole’s boat was sitting inside it and the gate wouldn’t close nor would it open.

“I think it was karma for not going to the yacht club,” Mike said as he looked into the night sky.

“I don’t know what to do but I called the guy I know who runs this place. He didn’t answer so I have no options for you except to leave the boat here and come back in the morning. By then there should be someone who knows what’s going on.” Barrman felt a sick feeling roll around in his stomach. Pushing all those buttons didn’t screw it up? Did it?

“Ok well, I live right here so no worry I will come back in the morning.” Cole was resigned to leaving his boat behind. Barrman was glad they weren’t upset at all.

There was nothing but the morning to wait for.

The next day Barrman called Cole. “Is it working yet?”

“They just got here and are working on it.”

Only a few minutes later Barrman got the text: The maintenance guys got it working and I have my boat. Have a good day!”

Barrman pumped his fist in relief, when will he learn to slow down and think?

Maybe one day…