“Finding a way into tricky situations has never been a problem for me - although I still haven’t learned the art of getting out of them.” Jim thought. “It is a great opportunity to learn,” he was not losing his usual optimism “I got from a much worse situation before, everything will be fine. Everyone will have a great laugh out of this.”

“Okay, think where to go? Up or down?” Jim tried to structure his thoughts. “The goal was to go down there, so why change the route now?“ Jim tried to wiggle his body and push himself further down, but it didn’t bring any progress. The walls were tightly pushing him from all four sides. “Wendy was right, I should lose a few pounds” the pressure on his belly reminded Jim about the gym membership, he was dutifully paying, but not using. “If I can squeeze in my old wedding pants I can squeeze here.” Jim inhaled deeply, trying to pull in his stomach all way to his back. Reliable pants tricks proved to be useful here too, as Jim drop down a few inches. “Great, a few more of those, and I will be down there” Jim started celebrating his progress. But it felt like the pressure from the walls was increasing. It was getting harder for Jim to fully inhale and exhale. His breathing became shorter and faster. “Okay, down is not an option,” Jim adjusted his plan, “let’s go up”. He pressed his shoulders and tried to push up with his toes, but Jim couldn’t get any grip on the walls. “This is a defeat.” Jim gave up. “At least Gordon will be home with his family soon. I am sure he will be surprised and that I wanted to do in the first place” Jim humored himself. “Just need to wait a few hours”

It was hard to keep track of time here, but after what felt like hours Jim started worrying. “Hey, is there anybody there?!” He tried to scream as loud as possible, but the walls were pressing on his chest making every cry for help quieter and more painful than the previous. The panic settled in, and Jim started sobbing and cursing himself for his constant desire to entertain people with over-the-top stunts.

“Home, sweet home,” said Gordon dropping the luggage as the kids rushed into the house. Christmas in Hawaii was not a such bad idea. The last-minute tickets were nearly free making this an even better experience.

“Daddy, daddy look Santa forgot his sack in our fireplace!!!”