Lost Keys. Part 3

It has been awhile since I've had a key incident (entries here and here). Sure, I've had a few episodes of misplacing my keys, but not a big one, not like last night. I went to the park to take pictures and enjoy the evening.  The park was crowded last night and the area I initially wanted to sit was occupied, so I sat at a different bench. Not long after I sat down, a bench closer to the pond opened up and I moved again.  Not long after I relocated, some girls began feeding bread to the ducks nearby.  I moved for a 3rd time, this time sitting in the grass near the action.

The ducks were fighting over the bread, and I sat for a long time photographing the feeding frenzy. There was one duck in particular that was good at stealing bread right before it landed in the bill of another duck. He was chased by his victims, and at one point, he was surrounded by 4 hungry ducks. I went between watching the activity and taking pictures.

When the girls ran out of bread, the ducks settled down to sleep. Twilight had set in and it was getting dark. I packed up and looked to the grass next to me, thinking my keys would be next to my camera bag, but  they weren't there. I stood up and checked my pockets. Nothing. I checked every pocket in the camera bag and came up empty handed. I was beginning to worry but wasn't panicking...yet.  I retraced my steps, slowly searching the grass and revisiting the benches. There were 2 older ladies sitting at the bench I was on before I moved to the grass. I thought about asking if they had found my keys, but decided against bothering them.  Instead, I called Danno.

"OMG I can't find my keys. They must have fallen out of my pocket. I haven't checked my car yet. Let me call you back." I rattled.

" Uhhh ok." He replied.

I went back to the car, looking under the vehicle and at the ground as I walked. Still nothing. I called Danno back and told him I still had not found my keys. After hanging up, I sat down at the first bench and took all the items out of my camera bag. I looked through the pockets again and still no keys. I finally approached the women.

"Have you by chance found a set of keys here? I was sitting here a while ago and I can't find my keys." I said.

Both ladies immediately stood up and asked their questions on top of each other.

"Where were you sitting last?"

"Have you retraced your steps?"

I answered both questions and thanked them for their time. But they weren't done with me yet. They walked with me as I again retraced my steps. I felt guilty that they were helping me search. The women didn't even know me. But they were so friendly and I immediately felt at ease with them. I told them each place I had sat and where I had looked, and as we walked, they both retold their horror stories of lost keys.

I stopped where I was photographing the ducks and put my bag down.  "This was the last place I was sitting." I said.

"Did you search absolutely every place in that bag?"

I looked down at the bag and realized I didn't check the back outer pocket. I completely missed it. The pocket lacked the telltale bulge of keys, but figuring I had nothing left to lose, I unzipped it...and found my keys.

I pulled them out and dangled the keys in front of the ladies.

There were cries of joy as we engulfed in a group hug. I thanked them repeatedly and they both exclaimed they were so happy I found them.  After chatting for a few moments they returned to their bench and I tried to call Danno to tell him that I found my keys. But it was too late. Not long after I found my lost keys, he showed up.

Sorry honey.