CHAPTER FOUR MAKAYLA
CHAPTER FOUR
M AKAYLA
Present
God, help me find him.
Makayla scans the rows, her eyes fixing again on the small pillow left in the bassinet in place of Liam. Who would do this? She steps through an empty middle row to the aisleway on the other side, searching the rows for Liam. A young couple, no older than twenty-five, glance at Makayla as she marches toward their seats. Their faces glow from the flashing lights on their screens.
Liam. Where are you? Please, please, be here. Makayla stops, seeing the blond head of hair poking out above a blanket on the woman’s chest.
“Liam!”
The woman gapes at her as Makayla reaches over the man to grab her son.
“What are you doing? Stop!” she shrieks as Makayla starts to pry him away.
“That’s my son .” Makayla tightens her hold on the child’s chest as the man clenches his hand around her forearm.
An unfamiliar wail erupts from Liam as Makayla draws him toward her. She strains to lift him out of the woman’s grip. Makayla tugs harder and the blanket falls away, exposing the toddler’s shoulder-length curls.
The man stands from his seat and pushes Makayla back. She lets go, staring at the screaming girl in a pink onesie. It’s not Liam.
“Get your hands off my child!” The man takes a step toward Makayla, blocking her path to their row as the woman tries to console their toddler. Even in the dim light, his eyes are fierce.
“What’s going on?”
Makayla turns, recognizing the auburn-haired flight attendant who greeted her upon boarding.
The man swings his finger toward Makayla’s face. “She tried to take our kid!”
“Ma’am.” The flight attendant’s voice takes on a firm tone. “I need you to return to your seat right now and to remain in the main cabin.”
A platinum-blond attendant emerges from the first-class galley, appearing startled by the commotion. She marches toward them.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to take your child.” Makayla closes her eyes, trying to think through the near-debilitating pain between her temples. When she opens them, light floods the cabin. “My baby. He’s—” The aisle sways beneath her feet, and she forces herself to inhale. “I can’t find him. Have you seen a baby brought through here?”
The man shakes his head. He shoots Makayla a cautionary glance before taking his seat, then rubs his palm up and down his crying daughter’s back.
“Ladies and gentlemen.” A female voice comes over the intercom. “We have a passenger who is looking for her infant son, and we would appreciate your assistance in locating him. We’ve turned on the cabin lights and ask that you please look around your seats and notify one of the crew if you locate the infant. Thank you.”
“I haven’t seen your baby; I’m sorry,” the auburn-haired attendant says.
“What about the lavatories up in the front?” Makayla asks, turning to the blond attendant standing behind them.
“They’re empty.” The first-class flight attendant purses her lips; then something in her face shifts, and Makayla imagines she must see her desperation. “But I’ll check them.”
“Thank you.” Makayla watches her proceed to the front of the plane, scanning the rest of the first-class seats on the way.
In business class, Makayla spots the gray-haired woman setting down her knitting supplies and standing. Makayla continues to the now brightly lit main cabin. Several passengers are up from their seats, looking around for Liam, along with three flight attendants sweeping the aisleway. Every overhead bin has been opened, but it does nothing to ease the constriction in her heart.
She crosses the middle row to her seat, where Liam’s bassinet remains empty. Even the young woman seated across from her has gotten up to look for Makayla’s baby, leaving her pink headphones draped over her armrest.
It feels like a rock has been dropped into the pit of her stomach. This cannot be happening.
Makayla drops to her hands and knees to peer beneath her seat. “Liam.”
She runs her hand atop the thin carpet, knowing he couldn’t have gotten out of his bassinet on his own. And even if he did, it didn’t explain the pillow being in his place. Makayla grips her armrest and stands.
She follows the young woman down the aisle, scanning every row and overhead compartment in horrified disbelief.
None of this even feels real.