Second Chances(12)

"But Paige, please listen..."

She held up a trembling hand, silencing him.

"Please let me finish. They say everyone has a double somewhere out there. I never actually believed that, but maybe it's true. From those pictures, I have almost no choice but to believe it is true. Maybe that woman is my double."

"Paige Elizabeth Kendall."

"So you know my name. After the last half hour, do you think that is going to surprise me?"

"No. Paige Elizabeth Kendall is the name of the woman I met three years ago. The woman I fell in love with and the woman I married."

"Well that woman was not me," she insisted.

"You don't find it strange that she had the same exact name?"

"Strange? Hell, I find everything about this strange. I do not have any answers for you though. I...yes, I find it...eerie, to say the least. To know that there was another person out there with my face. And I find it almost down right unbelievable that she had the same name as me, but...but she is not...I mean, I am not her. She and I..."

Paige shook her head, words failing her.

Nathan could feel his heart thundering in his chest, could almost feel hers as well. She had gone pale again. Her hands had stopped trembling, but that was only because she was gripping the armrests so tight that her knuckles had turned white. He opened his mouth and then closed it again without saying anything. He debated with himself on how to proceed, on just how much he should push.

The captain came back on the intercom and announced they had reached their cruising altitude, but asked that everyone remain seated with seat-belts fastened as they had some rough air ahead, but assured them that they would pass through it quickly at which time the flight attendants would begin beverage service.

"Kline, Kansas," Nathan whispered.

She may have made a sound, a whimper of sorts, but he thought that might have only been his imagination. He also thought she might have tightened her grip on the armrests.

"My Paige," he began again, his voice still barely a whisper. "She was from Kline, Kansas. A very small town. A farming community was what she always said. We never got around to going there, but she talked about it fondly. She was an only child. Her mother worked at a local grocery store. She kept the books. Her father was a retired doctor, who taught chemistry at the high..."

A sob broke from Paige. She fumbled for her seat-belt, almost thrashing around in an effort to free herself. When the clasp finally came free, she launched herself passed Nathan and into the aisle. Around her people stared as she rushed down the aisle, a few letting out startled cries. A flight attendant called out for her to return to her seat, then called out again as Nathan got up and followed her. Both requests went unanswered.





CHAPTER EIGHT



She looked at her watch and then at the phone. It was only five minutes later than the last time she had checked, but it seemed so much longer. She should have received the call by now, shouldn't she have?

She reached in her purse and pulled out the pack of cigarettes. She fished the last one out and popped it between her lips as she dug around for her lighter. She found it and tried it. It sparked a bit, but didn't produce a flame. In her head she heard her husband's voice telling her it was yet another sign that she should quit. She cursed him and flung the lighter across the room. She plucked the cigarette from between her lips and snapped it into two pieces.

"Happy?" she asked the empty apartment and then looked at her watch again.

She sat down at the desk and her hands flew over the keyboard. Her right leg bounced involuntarily up and down. When she finished typing, she placed her hand over her knee in a useless effort to stop it.

The screen flickered as the information she'd requested was loaded.

She looked at the torn cigarette longingly. "Shit. Shit. Shit."

She snapped up her phone and looked at it, considering her next move. She was no longer expecting it to ring, but rather was now wondering if she should be making a call. Did this warrant a call? Did she really want to disturb him for something that might be nothing?

She snatched up the torn cigarette and went to look for some matches.





CHAPTER NINE



He stood outside the door. He could hear her sobbing inside and it tore at him. He hated that he had been the one to cause her anguish and it pained him that he could not comfort her. He wished he could hold her, soothe her, promise her that everything would be okay. He despised the looks he got from the passengers around him. They didn't stare openly, but rather kept sneaking glances, peeking around the corner of their chairs, looking over the tops of their newspapers and magazines. He wanted to scream at them, tell them all to just go to hell. Tell their questioning glances that it was none of their business, that his pain, Paige's pain, was not for their consumption and entertainment. It didn't bother him what they might think had had happened. He didn't care if they thought he was an abusive husband or perhaps thought they were witnessing a messy breakup, it only bothered him that they were able to witness Paige's pain.