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.I tried your cell phone, but the number’s no longer in service.Your sister called the house, but the housekeeper acted very strange.Told Paula you had moved out.We both left messages for Steven at his office, on his cell phone and at home, but he never returned any of our calls.I was just about to book a flight to Santa Barbara when you called.” Madeline covered eyes, as if that could dispel the visual of her father on the verge of a stroke because of her.“Dad, I’m alright.Please calm down.I’ll explain everything, but please relax.I don’t want you to have another heart attack.” Mack Dawkins heaved an emotional sigh, making Madeline feel even worse.“Just tell me what the hell’s going on, would you please?” Madeline took a deep breath and gave it to him straight.“Steven and I are getting divorced.”“Oh, for Chrissakes,” Mack said.Madeline could hear the devastation in his voice.“Daddy, I don’t want you to be upset.Please, don’t be upset.It’s all going to work out for the better.I’ll have to go into it some other time.But for right now you just have to believe that I’m okay and things will work out in the long run.”“Where are you calling from?” he asked, as an announcement went out over the P.A.system.“I’m in Honolulu—”“Honolulu?”“I’m about to board a plane for Guam—”“Guam? Why in God’s name are you going to Guam?” he demanded, making Madeline feel like she was back in the sixth grade.“It’s the most expedient way to get a divorce these days.”“Oh God,” Mack muttered.Madeline could imagine him casting around the room for something to steady himself.“In light of the way things ended with Steven and me, it’s really for the best to get this behind us.”“Why I am only hearing about this now? You never told me there was trouble between you and Steven.”“I know, Daddy, I know.Like I said, I can’t really go into all the details now, but—”“Did he cheat on you?” Mack asked angrily.“Is that what the son-of-a-bitch did to cause this?” Madeline hung her head.She knew she wasn’t prepared for this conversation.“It wasn’t any one thing…”“Then what’s the big rush to get divorced? Have you gone to counseling? You and Steven have been good together.Not all marriages are a cakewalk, you know.Sometimes you have to step back and take a fresh look at the situation.You’ve invested a lot of years in your marriage…” Madeline held the phone away from her ear.She waited for her father’s ranting to die down before trying to speak.“Dad, they’re boarding my flight now,” she lied.“I probably won’t be able to reach you until I get back from Guam.But after I get back to Santa Barbara and get settled—”“Why were you the one who moved out? Why didn’t Steven move out?” Mack snapped.“Okay, Dad—I really have to go now.I’m sorry for all the anxiety I caused you.Please let Paula know what’s going on and I’ll contact you as soon as I get back.” To add believability to her lie for her own sake, Madeline gathered her stuff and started walking in the general direction of her gate.“I love you, Dad.Bye.” She pressed the end button, not giving her father a chance to reply.Now she really hated herself.She could feel the onset of bitter tears and headed for the restroom.After she ran cold water over her wrists and got her breathing under control, she scoped out another secluded waiting area.In an effort to refocus herself, she reviewed her list and revised it.This time she underlined the words Kill Steven so forcefully, she ripped the paper.THIRTY-THREEMadeline dragged her carry-on down the gateway behind her slow-moving fellow passengers.Fortunately for her, the plane was only sixty-percent full and she was able to stretch out over three seats on the flight from Honolulu to A.B.Won Pat International Airport.It was some consolation for being stuck in coach, something she hadn’t experienced since her pre-Steven days.She could already feel the heat and humidity coming through the cracks between the plane and the ramp, and it was almost 9:00 at night.She felt wilted and jetlagged beyond anything she could remember.It seemed like days since she took off from LAX.She followed the signs through the terminal out to the street where she looked for a shuttle bus to the Westin Hotel [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]