CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR ANNA
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
A NNA
After being towed to their gate and briefly questioned by the FBI, Anna and Miguel step off the shuttle bus that dropped them at the crew parking lot, pulling their roller bags side by side. After they got to their gate, maintenance informed them of the cause for their jammed elevator: a piece of aluminum from the plane’s outer skin, after being cut free from the plane, had flown back and jammed between the elevator and fuselage, immobilizing it.
They didn’t say much afterward as they moved through the terminal and rode the employee bus. Derek’s death, and not knowing what happened to the baby on board, has left them both feeling somber.
“I hate leaving not knowing what happened to the baby,” Miguel says as they cross the street, echoing her own thoughts.
“I know. Me too.” She can only imagine what his mother is feeling right now.
She turns to Miguel, suddenly remembering. “Has your daughter been born yet?”
“Not yet.” He cracks a slight smile. “I think I’m going to make it.”
“That’s great.”
When they reach the parking lot, Miguel looks over his shoulder at her before going in the direction of his car, the collar of his trench coat pulled up around his ears. “I know it’s none of my business, but I think you should tell your husband what you were wanting to tell him before we landed. If not, you might regret it.
“Bye, Anna,” he adds, casting her a final smile before speed walking away.
“Goodbye,” Anna calls. She watches him duck out of the rain and into his car, grateful to have been paired with such a capable pilot on their flight from hell.
She turns in the opposite direction, toward her car, and pulls out her phone. She has a missed call from Joel along with a text. She reads his message as she walks. Knowing what she must do fills her with a sense of dread.
Are you okay? I woke up and saw the news about your flight. I’m so glad you landed safely! I can’t wait to see you if you’re still up for coming to my hotel. Call me when you get this.
She waits until she gets to her car to respond. Leaning against her sedan, she flips the hood of her raincoat over her head, debating what to say. What Miguel said at the start of the flight replays in her mind. Hard to see what’s right in front of you sometimes. After a moment, she types out a reply.
I’m okay, thank you. But I can’t come see you. I’m married and I can’t do this. I’m sorry.
After sending the text, she loads her roller bag into her trunk. Her phone rings in her blazer pocket. She reaches for it, expecting it to be Joel. But it’s Carter.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” he says. “I just saw the news. Was that your flight? Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She’s surprised by the tears that spring to her eyes now that her adrenaline has worn off. She blinks them away and opens the driver’s door.
Carter exhales into the phone. “Thank God. They reported you were having a mechanical issue, along with the storm. I was afraid ... Are you on your way home?”
“I’m just leaving the airport.”
“I’m at the hospital, but I’m going to see if someone can cover for me for the rest of the day. I want to be with you.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I want to.”
His words cause a release of tension from her upper body along with fresh excitement at the thought of seeing him. She peers at the rain beating against her windshield. “Okay. I’d like that.”
“Anna?”
“Carter?”
She smiles as she starts her car. “You go first.”
“I love you.”
Fresh tears blur her vision until she blinks them back. “I love you too.”