Chapter 20
Carly kept her eyes pasted on Gage’s text as the rest of the passengers boarded.
She wasn’t a fan of the whole running-away-from-your-problems type of solution, but what else was there to do?
Stick around and let Gage talk her into being his on-the-side girlfriend?
Things on the side were set in that place for a reason; they were optional.
Not the main event. Often dismissed or forgotten completely.
Please call me as soon as you’re up. It’s important. Love you.
Did he, though? She couldn’t figure out why he’d bother saying it if he didn’t.
But that was just it, wasn’t it? What good would it do if Gage loved her?
Jimmy loved her too. A lot of good that had done over the years.
Love wasn’t the end all—it’s what a person did with that love that mattered.
She’d learned that now. The irony was, Gage had been the very person to teach her.
She had to answer him back. If she didn’t, he’d be waiting at the hotel forever.
“It’s important, huh?” she mumbled under her breath.
He must have seen it too. It, being the image portraying the most poignant, painful, and private moment of her life.
Her hand shot to her throat at the mere thought of the sweet infant in her arms. When she felt only the collar of her shirt, Carly looked down in a panic, patting further at her neck and chest.
Gone. Ava’s necklace was gone!
Carly checked her lap with hurried fingers. She shoved her hands into the cracks lining her seat next, one side against the plane itself, the other separating the empty neighboring seat.
Please, God. Please. It’s all I have left of her.
She lifted her feet to check the floor around her, then stood to retrace her steps.
They’d announced seconds ago that the flight was only half-full, a fact Carly had been thrilled about, but even still there were too many people.
She spun to see a toddler-aged child inspecting something in his small hands.
She stretched her neck and leaned into the aisle to see if perhaps he’d picked it up.
When she saw that it was a small trinket instead, Carly shuffled into the aisle, gaze darting from the open space down the center, to the floor surrounding the aisle seats.
“Ma’am, if we could have you take a seat and buckle up, we’re getting set to take off.”
“Just a minute,” Carly mumbled. Her hands were going numb. Her head was too. She was breathing too fast. “I just…I need help, please.” She moved her gaze from the tan carpet strip, up to the rounded shape of the flight attendant.
A woman in her early fifties perhaps met her gaze. Her green eyes were kind and concerned. “What did you lose, dear?”
“It’s a pendant. A necklace. It’s on a leather string but…
it means everything to me. Please.” Carly scanned over the aisle once more as the woman gained the passengers’ attention.
She overheard her asking the passengers to look around for the pendant on a leather strand while Carly made her way to the jet way.
It was obvious they meant to close it up now and pull away, but Carly spoke up.
“Wait, please, I have to see if it’s out here.” At once she jumped over the gap and hurried into the corridor. The carpet was flat, beige, and dented with the traffic that had just come through. Please, please, please.
Carly was well aware that they were calling after her, but she didn’t care. If they hadn’t found Ava’s charm then it didn’t matter.
When the jet way showed no sign of it, Carly slowed for two or three steps, wondering what she should do next. Keep looking. You need it.
She broke into a run suddenly, eyes set on the area just beyond the corridor.
“Ma’am, if you don’t come back and get into your seat, we’ll have to leave you here and let you board a different flight.”
Carly continued to run until she realized that her purse was on the plane. All of her luggage too. Reluctantly, she spun to look over her shoulder. It was a different attendant. Not the plump middle-aged one, but a tall brunette with poised shoulders and high heels.
Timing was crucial when an item turned up missing. But what if the press came? Started flashing new pictures and asking questions about her baby? Carly would lose it for sure. Lash out at them like a crazy lady.
With a defeated sigh, Carly gave the woman a nod, pressed her hand against her chest, and set her eyes on the beige, matted floor once more. “They didn’t find it?” she asked in a whisper.
“No, ma’am, I’m sorry.”
“Can you please call in to the airport lost and found and have them be on the lookout? I don’t…I lost my baby. She died. It’s the only thing I have left of her.” Carly’s hands went to her face as she fought back the tears.
The woman rested a reassuring hand on her back. “I’m sorry for your loss. I’ll let them know. Now follow me. I’ll lead you to the bathroom so you can get yourself together, okay?”
“Thank you.” There was the gap she’d hopped over before. This time a gentleman took her elbow and helped her over. “There you are, hon. Welcome back.”
“Clear the aisle, please,” the woman’s voice came. “I need to get this gal to the back of the plane.”
Carly kept her eyes, now blurred with welling tears, on the sight of those high heels as they moved down the aisle. “Here you go. Take your time.”
She couldn’t get away from the other passengers fast enough.
What must they be thinking about her outburst?
But Carly couldn’t spare a thought to care anymore.
Instead, she collapsed against the tiny bathroom door and let the emotion have its way with her.
She’d managed to hold it back while driving from the hotel to the airport, having put up a shield of sorts. But that was gone now.
There in the quiet spot, Carly recalled what it felt like to have Gage wrap his strong arms around her. Next, she imagined holding sweet little Ava, so warm and close.
Would she ever have moments like those again? The uncertainty in that question made her wince. The truth was, after everything she’d lost today, Carly’s arms had never felt so empty.