Flight by GINGER STRAND Read Free Book Online Page B

was exhausted. She and Will had driven down the day before, arriving just in time for the cocktail reception. The next day they had tried to do some things from the list of recommended Chicago activities Margaret had included in the welcome baskets, and barely made it in time to the rehearsal dinner. There, they were stuck sitting with David’s parents for the entire dinner, and once it was over and everyone was up and mingling, David’s parents remained staunch at her side. Somehow, Will had escaped and left her to man the ship. Running out of conversational topics, she got stuck on her latest project: opening a children’s clothing store.
    “I’ve always had a thing for kids’ clothes,” she told David’s mother. “Ever since the girls were little.” David’s mother was nodding and smiling in what could only be described as a matronly way. She was gray-haired and plump, and she treated Carol as if she were Margaret’s sister, not her mother.
    “It’s so brave of you,” she told Carol. “Starting up a new business like that. Your own store! I’m sure I wouldn’t have the energy.”
    She glanced at her husband, propped blandly at her side, and Carol wondered if the kindly matron was quietly disapproving.
    “Oh, lots of people are doing it these days,” she said. She could feel the tightness in her smile. “It’s so much easier with all the new computers and software they have to help you do the accounting part.”
    She glanced around the room. During the endless string of small courses—what kind of cuisine had Margaret said it was, anyway, Armenian? Andalusian?—she had noticed the waiter refilling Leanne’s wineglass at least five times. David’s parents stood, waiting for her to carry on.
    “I’m hoping to find a commercial space in Kalamazoo,” Carolcontinued, at a loss for anything else to talk about. “It’s a good-sized town with lots of kids.” Her eyes traveled to a group of smartly dressed young people, standing close together and laughing loudly. “Pre-millennial angst,” she heard one of them say. Chicago friends of Margaret or David. Leanne was not with them.
    “So there really is a Kalamazoo?” David’s father cackled. Carol pressed her lips together in an attempt to smile at the worn-out joke.
    “But Will flies out of O’Hare? Isn’t that awfully far?” asked the matron.
    “Not for a pilot,” Carol said. She hoped that would suffice. She had been waiting for years for Will to get sick of the three-hour drive to O’Hare. But even after all the airlines shifted over to the hub-and-spoke system and he was required to fly out of St. Louis, Will stayed in Michigan. He flew down to Missouri on a competitor’s airline. It added half a day to every trip, but he thought it was worth it.
    “You’ll have to travel, won’t you?” David’s mother said to Carol. “To do your buying and such.”
    “Oh yes,” Carol answered vaguely. “I’ve always liked traveling.” It wasn’t strictly true, but it was part of her new persona as entrepreneur. She imagined herself driving to the Chicago Merchandise Mart, dressed in a smart jacket and pants.
    Leanne emerged from the little hall leading to the restrooms and stood surveying the room. Carol tensed with predatory alertness. Leanne couldn’t get past without walking by Carol. The minute she was within reach, Carol grabbed her arm.
    “Leanne, have you met David’s parents?” she said brightly. She felt Leanne stumble a bit, thrown off balance. She was wearing high, tottery heels and a formfitting black dress that showed off her trim figure. It had cutouts in sheer black netting around the waist. She had never dressed that way before moving east.
    “Leanne lives in New York!” Carol told David’s parents. “You guys are almost neighbors.” She was aware of a slightly galled feeling as she said this. One daughter in New York, another heading forSan Francisco. She had always wanted them to get away, and once they did, she