An Unfinished Story(71)

Her heart sank as she put her eyes on the first page. The children were of all ages and colors. Some of the pictures showed two or three siblings. Big, bright smiles, all of them staring at the camera, as if they were all asking for help. Or, at least, for a family. Though Claire was still furious at David for lying, she found herself looking through his eyes, seeing the importance of supporting these beautiful beings that had been dealt a difficult hand.

Claire rolled her cursor over a teenager holding a basketball. She was laughing in the picture—a gorgeous smile—and her image had been captured at the perfect moment. Clicking on the photograph, Claire discovered several more shots. One depicted the girl spinning the basketball on the tip of her finger.

Claire stared at her pictures a long time before wiping her eyes and clicking away. This would take longer than she thought. And it would take more out of her than she could have ever imagined.

It didn’t feel right to rush through the pages. She clicked on each child and took a moment to attempt to understand them, to imagine the strength these young boys and girls had tapped into in order to survive and thrive. It broke her heart to think about how many more were out there, not just in Florida but all over the world. Every one of them belonged down in the pool playing Marco Polo.

Clicking on a boy about Orlando’s age, she broke into a full-on cry when she read the words at the top of his profile. Status: On Hold.

Her mouth went dry. How could we live in a world where a human is on hold? Was he being tested out by a family? Like one might test-drive a car? Claire put her hand to her chest and looked into the boy’s eyes. She wanted to reach through the screen and pull him out, to save him from the hard times he was enduring. She wanted to protect him so that he could grow up gradually, not all at once like she imagined most of these kids had been forced to do.

Claire lost hope in finding Orlando as she reached the end of the last website. Lying there on the bed, she set the computer down and breathed through what she’d just experienced. No wonder David had taken to Orlando. What could possibly be more important in life than helping a child thrive?

But why? Why the hell had he not brought her in earlier? Why hadn’t he included her? Staring at the blank screen of the television in front of her, she tried to imagine how she might have handled it if he’d told her about Orlando. She liked to think she would have welcomed Orlando with open arms.

Claire texted Whitaker, updating him and telling him she would need a little extra time to get ready. She sat up, putting her feet on the carpet. Somehow, despite the thousands of children who needed help, and despite David and his lies, she had to keep on living her life.

And that was it, Claire thought. Your heart was ripped to shreds and then you had to turn right around and keep living. But she had a feeling that these children, this thing David had been doing, wasn’t going to leave her. The compulsion to do her part had wedged itself into her heart. For now, though, she stood and went to the shower.

With the long healing cleanse, sadness began to leave her. She committed to figuring out a way to carry on what David had been doing, not for him, but because she’d stumbled upon the call herself. There was no way she could be shown this world and not commit a part of her life to doing something about it.

Knowing Whitaker had reached this conclusion as well, her thoughts went to him. And she felt a sudden urge to be near him, to hear his voice, to share her emotions with him.

With a towel wrapped around her chest, she dried her hair and then walked to the closet to debate wearing the baby-blue dress she’d brought. Not risqué but certainly a little much for two friends getting a bite to eat. She had wanted to wear it tonight, to imply her feelings for him, but something else needed to be done first.

Returning to the bed and taking a seat, she held her hand out and looked at the wedding band and diamond David had given her.

A flash of good and bad memories hit her, and she nearly saw his face as she spoke to him. “I hate my anger toward you. It seems so unfair to make all these assumptions about you lying to me without you being here to defend yourself. I want to believe this was the only lie you’ve ever told me. That you truly just wanted to protect me and were terrified of how I might react. To that end, I’m going to try to forgive you, but . . .” She clenched her fist. “You’re making it hard.”

Claire paused and focused on what she really wanted to say. Looking at the rings again, she said, “I think I’m doing what you’d want me to do. I like him, David. What a weird thing to say, something I never could have imagined. But I know you’d understand. He makes me laugh, and I feel so good around him, like the way I used to be with you. It’s different but also kind of wonderful. Don’t think for a moment that taking off these rings means I’m forgetting you, and it has nothing to do with me being mad at you. It’s just time I accept that you’re gone.”

She worked both rings off and clasped them in her hand. David wasn’t speaking to her, but she thought that if he was, he’d say something like, “What took you so long? Go for it!” And, hopefully, he’d say, “I’m so damn sorry for keeping Orlando from you.”



Claire was standing in an all-too-tempting, short light-blue dress, looking at her phone. He couldn’t help but peek at her long legs, which eventually led down to rose gold thong sandals. Before he was caught, he forced himself to divert his eyes. He needed to tread carefully. When she turned, he noticed how low her dress was cut, and he thought to himself, Not fair at all.