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She worried that it wasn’t enough, that it was too unwieldyshe worried about everything Her daughter looked so young suddenly, her tall, thin body sway denim dress that stopped an inch above her scuffed black co, silver-blond hair away from her pale face Three silver ear
rings formed a curved ladder up her left ear
Annie wanted to manufacture a conversation—toss out bits of advice about roup of kids—but she couldn’t do it
Blake walked on ahead, carrying the two lonely pieces of luggage, as Natalie and Annie followed silently in his wake She wished he’d slon and ith the—just in case Natalie hadn’t noticed that her dad seemed to be in a rush At the ticket counter, he handled everything, and then the three of them headed for the international terminal
At the gate, Annie clung to her navy handbag as if it were a shield Alone, she walked to the huge, dirtyFor a split second, she saw herself reflected in the glass, a thin, flawlessly dressed housewife standing by herself
“Don’t be so quiet, Mom I can’t take it ” The words contained a tiny wobble of anxiety that only a mother would hear
Annie forced a laugh “Usually you guys are begging me to keep quiet And it’s not like I can’t think of a ht now Why, just yesterday I was looking at your baby picture, and I thought—”
“I love you, too, Mom,” Natalie whispered
Annie grabbed her daughter’s hand and held on She didn’t dare turn toward Natalie, afraid that her heartache would show It was definitely not the igage onto the plane
Blake caet you first-class tickets It’s such a long flight, and the food in coach is horrible Christ, you’ll probably have to assemble your own beef pot pie ”
Natalie laughed “Like you would know about the food in coach, Dad ”
Blake grinned “Well, it’s certainly more comfortable ”
“This isn’t about comfort,” Natalie answered “It’s about adventure ”
“Ah, adventure,” Annie said, finding her voice at last She wondered how it felt to have such big dreahter’s independence Natalie was always so sure of who she was and what she wanted
A voice booht three-five-seven, with service to London ”