Shoulder to shoulder with countless strangers, I move with the tide.
A river made of people.
The rush of city traffic hums alongside us, a river made of wheels.
That rumbling sound is a bit of an adjustment.
Not as loud as a tractor or a chainsaw.
Just a constant groan of engines that never stops.
Signs and billboards clutter every corner and every building.
Words, words, words everywhere.
Still can’t find the sign I’m looking for.
Crumpled paper map in one hand, everything I own in the other.
I pause for a moment, letting the people flow around me.
Remember to breathe.
Remember to breathe.
Then I follow the path that Beth has marked in blue.
the twelfth chapter
AMOS
The rush of city traffic hums below us.
Friday morning sun spills along the blanket in stripes.
I lay on my side, one hand draped loosely across the pillow.
Rolling to the left, I hear the clatter of fingers on a keyboard.
“Morning,” I murmur.
“Morning, you. Give me just one second. Blah, blah, blah. Send... and... done.”
Marco closes his laptop, setting it aside.
He eases the covers up to his chin, eyes sparkling and mischievous.
“I know that look. What are you planning?”
I’m right to be suspicious.
“Ah, see you'd be proud of me. Because for once, I'mnotplanning.”
He waits for my reaction, but I’m still half asleep.
So he blurts it out.
“He was cheating on her!”
