Raised by a single mom, Emily, Deborah and Victoria, all chose different lives. Now that their father’s secret is revealed, they find themselves struggling with truth and forgiveness.
As Emily approached her flat, Joshua stood waiting for her. Again, a sense of foreboding gripped her. She searched his face, looking for hints of why he was there.
“Hello, Mrs. Stewart. I just wanted to let you know we’ve heard from your husband. He’s not going to make it home tonight. Bad weather is keeping him grounded. But he said to tell you he would fly home tomorrow, no matter what.”
“Not coming?” Emily’s mind was slow to absorb the news. “There’s a terrific storm
between Kitui and Nairobi and all today’s flights were grounded. But I’m sure it will move on and he can be back tomorrow.”
She thanked him for bringing the message and carried her bag inside. No special meal to cook tonight. Instead another night alone. She missed terribly the familiar chatter of her family. Once Sukari left, Emily wandered about the flat, touching the sheets on Shannon’s bed, wishing her daughter were tucked inside. She stopped in the open doorway of her bedroom, reluctant to enter its emptiness. Instead, she would grab a blanket and sleep in the living room tonight.
After a restless night, Emily faced a day with no classes to occupy her mind. Time hung heavy on her hands as she sat, open textbook in her lap ignored, and stared out the window. Sukari had left to do the washing.
A sharp rapping on her door shattered the silence. When Emily opened it, Joshua stood outside, his face blanched and pulled into a tight mask. They stared at each other for a moment, Emily feeling like the floor had fallen away from her feet.
“I’m sorry… I… it’s bad news. There’s been a crash. Mister Stewart and your daughter…” he couldn’t go on.
“With supreme effort, she gripped the door’s edge, her knuckles turning white.
“He tried to get home, even though the warnings were still out. We won’t know until they can get to the site, but considering the terrain, there’s not much hope of either being alive. I’m so sorry.”
It shocked Emily to see tears streaming down Joshua’s face. She reached forward to touch his cheek lightly as if to brush them away. Her own face felt like it was chiseled in stone.
“I’ll need to leave a note for Sukari. Just a minute.”
Copyright 2008 Gay Ingram. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
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