Still, Rachel had been so kind to him. He really liked her a lot, as if she was his real mother. He wondered what it would be like to meet his real mother. Marty had said there was no such person, but maybe Marty was a liar. Not maybe, definitely. Steven was certain he had a mother.
The plane landed so lightly that Steven didn’t even feel a bump. Even though the stewardess asked the passengers to remain in their seats until the plane came to a complete stop, many of them were already up and getting their things ready. Steven wondered why they were in such a big hurry. As for himself, he really didn’t have a place to go. At least, not until Marty called him. He tried to contact the other boy, but there was no response.
The airplane came to a halt at last.
Swinging his bag over his shoulder, Steven wriggled into the line and made his way off the plane. To his relief, the stewardesses were too busy to notice him. He really didn’t want to deal with their questions. He was pretty sure most airlines wouldn’t allow a kid his age to travel alone without strict supervision.
He passed through a short tunnel, then walked past a number of waiting areas that led to various gates. When he came out on the other side of the security area, he was overwhelmed by the activity around him. There seemed to be people everywhere! They all looked over his shoulder and around him, eyes focused down the hallway in search of arriving loved ones. Steven watched fathers hug children as they returned from business trips. A grandma made a fuss over a baby she was seeing for the first time. Everywhere, families seemed to be reuniting.
Steven felt an odd pressure around the orbits of his eyes. Combined with the heaviness he still felt in his ears, it gave him quite a headache. He bit his lip—more pain, but enough to keep tears from falling. Anyone who saw him crying would start asking questions. He couldn’t handle that.
Instead, he moved as quickly as he could past the group. There was a staircase leading down, marked “EXIT—BAGGAGE-CLAIM AREA.” Well, he had no baggage to claim. But he wanted to get as far away from this crowded place as possible.
The doorway out was just a short distance from the bottom of the stairs. Steven paused to look out the big plate-glass windows that cut across the front of the terminal building. There were taxis and limousines and one bus. Cars waited in a parking garage across the street. Steven remembered that Marty had said he was to make his way to Atlantic City. But how, he wondered, was he supposed to do that?
Marty? Are you there now?
Marty didn’t answer.
Please! I don’t know what to do, Marty! I don’t know where to go!
Still there was no response from the enigmatic Marty. Wearily Steven sank into an empty seat in the waiting area, his head resting on his hand. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, he thought. What if Marty didn’t answer him for hours and hours?
He began to wish that he hadn’t listened to the other boy, and that he’d trusted Rachel to help him.
Five hundred miles away, as Steven’s plane was circling Newark, Rachel stepped out of the shower and began to dry herself. She was pulling a slip over her head when she was suddenly struck by an incredibly powerful dizzy spell. She grabbed for the sink, but her fingers slipped off its steamy surface. She sank to the floor, the room spinning around her. Rachel closed her eyes and tried to let it pass, unable to cry out for help.
It was just a few moments before the floor came to a stop beneath her. When she opened her eyes, she wasn’t looking at the bathroom wall. She was looking out a window, at a city skyline. The vision lasted less than a minute, and in that time she clearly heard Steven’s voice:
I don’t know what to do, Marty! I don’t know where to go!
Then it was all over. Rachel pulled herself to her feet and hurried from the bathroom, calling Steven’s name. She opened the door to Tatiana’s room, but the child’s bed had already been made.
“Rachel, what’s wrong?” Eric asked as she raced down the stairs.
“Have you seen Steven?”
“Not this morning,” Eric said. “Why?”
“I think he’s run away!”
Eric followed her to the kitchen.
“Helga, have you seen Steven?”
“No, Mrs. Frelong.”
Rachel turned to the girls, but they both shook their heads.
“Where did he go?” Olivia asked.
“How the hell should I know?” Rachel snapped. She swung around and gave Eric a burning stare. “It’s your fault. He must have overheard what you said last night. He’s run away.”
Eric yawned. “Don’t be ridiculous, Rachel. Of course he didn’t run away. Check the bathroom.”
“I did that,” Rachel said, as if she was talking to a moron. “I checked the entire upstairs, as well as down here.”