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“I’ll keep that in mind. Any last-minute advice?”
“Yeah, don’t answer her phone,” he says. “She hates that.”
“Noted,” I say. “We’re boarding soon. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Go do some work,” he says, stifling a yawn.
I chuckle. “Go get some sleep.”
“What’s that?” he jokes.
“Bye, Graham.”
“Bye.”
I hang up as Paige reaches our gate. She pauses on the thin, stain-marked carpet and glances around, obviously trying to find somewhere to sit that’s not in the only empty seat next to mine.
Finally, she gives up and walks over to me with her carry-on still dragging behind her. I notice a few more hints of red scattered on her like little ruby crystals. Her trimmed, painted fingernails. The pendant around her neck. Her lipstick.
“Hey,” she says stiffly.
“Hi.” I smile at her feet. “Nice shoes.”
She looks down and nods, genuinely pleased by the compliment. “Thank you.”
“Would you like to sit down?”
Her eyes target the chair, but the rest of her doesn’t budge. “No,” she says. “I’ll stand.”
“Actually, that’s a good idea,” I say as I pull myself up. “Might as well stretch our legs a bit.”
Paige twitches in front of me, her eyes barely touching mine for half a second before bolting in another direction. She looks at the chairs behind me, but that escape route is quickly blocked off by two women rushing to steal them before someone else does. I watch as she considers her other options. There’s the coffee shop down the terminal, but we’re minutes away from boarding. No time for that.
She finally looks me in the eye, her timid stare partially blocked by her glasses.
I smile. “So...”
A phone rings between us.
“Excuse me,” Paige says as she quickly reaches into the pocket of her jacket. She spins around and places several paces between us before answering. “Hi, Mom. Yeah, I’m at the airport...”
I nod to myself.
Ancient history, huh?
Yeah, right.
If that were true, then Paige should be able to look me in the eye.
I can’t work with this cloud over us like this. She said there was no reason to bring it up again, but if this is the way it’s going to be for the next two weeks, then I think that’s more than enough reason to clear the air.
I’ll just have to do it somewhere she can’t easily run away.
“Flight number 352 to Chicago is now boarding.”
I check my jacket pocket for the thousandth time to confirm my boarding pass is there while others rise out of their chairs. Paige slowly begins making her way toward the line. I follow behind her, keeping several feet of bubble between us.
“Okay, Mom. We’re boarding,” I hear her say. “We’re boarding. I gotta go, Mom. ... Mom.”
