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I looked ahead. I had to get out of there as quickly as possible. There was no way Dr. Knightly wouldn’t see me if I let her walk past.
Finally, I heard the door to the pressurized cabin open. I didn’t have anything but a handbag with me, so I quickly stood up and marched down the cabin.
“Thank you for flying with us today!” said the flight attendant.
“Thanks,” I mumbled weakly, and pressed on, up the ramp.
Beyond that was a narrow corridor, which I half-jogged down, cursing myself for wearing heels.
The lines were a mile long. It was peak time for arrivals from the East Coast. I cursed myself that of all the flights I could have gotten, I had to choose the one my doctor was on.
Then, I heard a voice behind me. “Alicia?”
I turned around. Behind me, Dr. Knightly was standing. She had a carry case with her and was yawning, as though she had taken a nap. “What are you doing here?”
“I …” I said weakly. “I had to come and see Jake.”
She looked at me, concerned. “I hoped you’d be able to see sense,” she said sadly.
Dr. Knightly caught up to me by the baggage carousel. I was walking as quickly as I could toward the exit.
“Alicia?” Dr. Knightly said, walking beside me. “You’re not … you’re not listening to me. It isn’t a good idea for you to be traveling like this right now.”
“I appreciate your advice,” I said, “I really do. But Jake is in trouble, and he needs me.”
“Alicia, I appreciate that. But what could Jake possibly need your help with?”
I looked into her eyes.
“Maybe you can help.”
“So,”TombeenblackmailingJake?”
“He’s been sending threatening messages,” I said. “To Jake and to me. And now he’s called the shareholders for the meeting. The idea is to push Jake out by telling them about …” I gestured at my stomach.
We were standing outside the airport, in the shadows of an enormous, multi-story parking lot.
“I see,” Dr. Knightly said thoughtfully. “And how are you planning to help him?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’m so confused about it. But I do know one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Dr. Knightly, I know what you said about Jake, and to be honest, I think I agree with you. There are some things I can’t explain about his behavior. But I love Jake. I know that now. I can forgive him for his mistakes in the past, and I just want to help him. He needs my support on a day like this. Just like, one day in the future, I’ll need his support when my baby arrives.”
Dr. Knightly looked at me, a little nervously. “But, Alicia,” she said. “It could be dangerous. You don’t want to put any more stress on your body than there already is.”
“That’s really kind of you,” I said. “But the biggest stress would be losing Jake. I couldn’t bear that.”
“If you insist,” said Dr. Knightly. “But at least let me drive you there. Also, between you and me,” she said, “I think I know where they’re going to meet.”
“How did you find out?” I asked.
“I know a lot more than you might think!” laughed Dr. Knightly. “Come on, we’ve got to get moving.”
We went inside the parking lot. Dr. Knightly took the stairs. As she started up the stairs, she was almost skipping up. I followed, a little more slowly. The dull ache around my stomach was back, though it hadn’t begun to flare with the same intensity as the time before. I was a little worried but tried to breathe deeply and not get too afraid.
“You know,” said Dr. Knightly, as we crossed the second level of the parking lot, “Jake is so lucky to have someone who cares about him as much as you.”
