“When is she due?”
“December twenty-third.”
Rachel was silent again.
Julia heard the sound of a door opening and then Aaron’s voice.
“Jules, I’m going to have to go.” Rachel’s voice was muffled. “But I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Sure. I love you, Rachel. Don’t give up hope.”
“That’s all I have left.” Rachel sniffed again before hanging up the phone.
Julia placed the handset back in its cradle on the desk before saying a long prayer for her friend.
“This is ridiculous.” Julia pushed her cell phone away from her the following evening.
“What’s the matter?” Rebecca breezed into the kitchen with a stack of dish towels, fresh from the laundry room.
“Gabriel. I’m receiving his messages, but we haven’t been able to speak since he left. I keep calling and calling and all I get is voice mail—on his cell phone and in his hotel room.” She placed her head in her hands. “I found the charger cord to his phone upstairs. He’s going to have to buy another one. Or call me from the hotel. But he seems to be out all the time.”
“They took most of the pay phones off the streets of New York. He’ll have trouble finding one while he’s out.” Rebecca folded the dish towels and placed them in a drawer.
Julia drummed her fingers on the granite countertop while staring daggers at her cell phone.
“I should have gone with him.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I had papers to finish. I still have one left to do, but now I can’t concentrate.” She lifted her face to look at Rebecca. “I’m worried about him.”
“I’m sure he’s all right. Although it isn’t like him to forget something.” Rebecca gestured toward the phone cord. “He’s usually so—fastidious.”
“That’s a polite word for it.”
Julia glanced at the mail that Rebecca had stacked on the kitchen island and noticed an envelope addressed to Gabriel from JetBlue.
She stood up straight.
“Do you think I could get a flight to New York tonight?” Julia reached for her laptop.
“It won’t be cheap, but you could try.” Rebecca smiled gently. “Gabriel has only been gone two days.”
“It seems like forever,” muttered Julia.
Rebecca’s face wore a knowing look. “That’s because you’re still newlyweds.”
Julia pulled up the JetBlue website and began typing furiously.
“The prices are a fortune,” she lamented, as she scrolled through several pages.
“Think of it as an early Christmas gift.”
“It isn’t as if I spend a lot of money on things,” she rationalized. “Gabriel is the one who insists on paying top dollar for everything.”
“He’ll be glad you bought the ticket when he sees you.” Rebecca glanced toward the stairs. “I can pull out your suitcase and help you pack. If your flight is tonight, you’ll probably have to leave right away. You don’t want to be stuck in rush hour traffic on the way to the airport.”
Julia lifted her arm and gave Rebecca a hug. “Thank you. He’ll be so surprised.”
“He’s probably in worse shape than you,” Rebecca observed, as she headed toward the stairs.
Within two hours, Julia was at Logan Airport, waiting for the last flight to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. She left a message for Gabriel with the concierge at the Ritz-Carlton, telling him that she would be checking in later that evening, and she ordered sparkling water, strawberries, and truffles to be delivered to their room.
Rebecca had been in the middle of packing her carry-on when she’d flown into the bedroom, telling her that the taxi was on its way. Julia was in such a hurry, she’d quickly grabbed her makeup and toothbrush, leaving her other essentials behind.
She packed up her laptop and research (which were far more important than personal items, since she needed to finish her seminar paper), located her purse, and made it to the front door just in time to greet the arriving taxi.
Gabriel was going to be surprised.
The Professor ordered the cabbie to wait for him before exiting the taxi. They’d parked down the street from the house he was interested in, so as not to attract attention.
He walked down the street slowly, noting the numbers on the houses. It was a residential neighborhood on Staten Island, populated by old, small homes.
Then he saw it.
The house itself was unremarkable—small and white with a detached garage and a short, paved driveway. It was situated on a very small lot, with a tiny fringe of lawn that separated the front of the house from the sidewalk. A new-looking black Mercedes was parked at the curb.
Gabriel stood, two houses down, watching.
To his surprise, the front door opened and a man with gray hair exited. The man turned his body, coaxing an elderly woman. After she’d closed and locked the door behind them, he took her arm and painstakingly escorted her down the front steps.
Gabriel approached.
The woman must have been hard of hearing because the man’s voice was raised, but not in anger. Gabriel heard something about a doctor’s appointment and Joey’s birthday party.
The woman caught sight of Gabriel and stopped, staring over at him.
He slowed his pace, finally pausing on the sidewalk across the street.
This was his moment.
Now was his opportunity to speak to her, to demand answers to questions, to reveal himself.
The man she was with glanced in Gabriel’s direction, then began tugging at the woman’s arm, his voice still raised.
The woman turned away from Gabriel and obediently followed her escort to the Mercedes, where he opened the door and patiently waited while she situated herself.
The man seemed oblivious to the Professor’s presence as he closed the car door and rounded the vehicle. He started the car and drove away.
Gabriel watched the Mercedes turn the corner and disappear out of sight.