CHAPTER 12: The Airport

At the airport, Nora expected to feel relief.

Instead, she felt alert.

Every announcement made her flinch. Every man in a blue shirt looked briefly like Daniel. Every family passing with luggage made her wonder whether they were happy or merely well-rehearsed.

Tessa stayed with her until security.

Caleb woke and began babbling at the bright lights.

Nora laughed despite everything.

The sound startled her.

At the gate, she checked her phone.

Twenty missed calls.

Seven texts from Daniel.

Three from Margaret.

One from Arthur.

His message was short.

I am sorry I stayed silent. I gave your attorney a statement.

Nora read it twice.

She did not reply.

Not yet.

The boarding began.

Nora held Caleb’s hand as they walked down the jet bridge. He pressed his face to the airplane window after they sat, fascinated by the ground crew moving below.

Nora buckled him carefully.

She touched the place in her dress pocket where her passport used to be.

Now it was in her bag, where she had placed it herself.

That small fact nearly made her cry.

Ownership can feel enormous after someone tries to make your own documents disappear.