Normally, visitors’ departure isn’t much of a story. They get in the car and go, or we drop them at the airport, pausing for a last quick, goodbye hug.

This time, though the adventures didn’t end when we left them at the airport in Raleigh. We got a call at ten-thirty that evening from Joe. Their plane had not taken off and they were now stranded for the night.

We’d worried that there might be problems with them taking off, since Tropical Storm Debby was drawing closer. However, the issue had nothing to do with weather. Though they didn’t know the details, they were told there was a security incident.

Their flight had boarded a little late but not terribly so, but then they sat on the tarmac for a long time. A very long time. Eventually the plane returned to the gate where, apparently, someone was escorted off the plane by police. For reasons unknown, though possibly due to difficulty locating the baggage of the person removed, the pilot announced he was cancelling. However, American Airlines later said they were just delaying it for 24 hours.

The line at the American service counter was hundreds of people long and it was late at night. Did we have any suggestions for what we and they should do?

I briefly considered driving to Raleigh to pick them up. My husband quickly convinced me that was a bad idea. It was an hour’s drive each way, neither of us likes driving in the dark, we were very tired, the outer rain bands of the tropical storm had moved in, and we’d each had a drink.

Instead I got on the computer, found a hotel near the airport, and called right away to reserve a room for four. I got very lucky. The desk clerk told me the very last room the Holiday Inn Express had was one with a king bed and a pullout sofa bed. And they would send a shuttle to the airport to pick them up.

It worked out about as well as it could have for them. They got to the hotel a little after midnight and were able to get some sleep. Meanwhile the storm had moved in, bringing heavy winds and rain all morning and into the afternoon before moving on.

As promised, American did reschedule their flight for that evening, so they hung around the hotel for the morning, then headed back to the airport and re-checked in. Fortunately, the weather had calmed by then.

Although it was slightly delayed, the plane did take off this time, and they arrived safely home the next morning. We miss them. A lot!