Page 2 of The Husband's Secret
He was walking away now, only a few yards ahead of her. If she walked faster she would catch up to him and could reach out and… He suddenly paused and glanced toward something or someone across the hospitality area.
Brenda stalled in her tracks.
A woman hurried toward him. Blonde…tall…smiling.
When the blonde reached the man, she kissed him on the cheek.
Brenda’s jaw dropped. This couldn’t be right. Then the man smiled. Brenda only saw his profile, but she knew that lean jaw…that smile so well…
“Scott?”
She had called out his name before she realized she’d opened her mouth.
The man who could not possibly be her dead husband glanced back at her.
Brenda stood there, one hand on the handle of her wheeled bag, like a deer caught in the headlights of a massive truck barreling toward her.
The man blinked and then looked away, put his arm around the blonde, and they continued forward.
The shock holding Brenda in place suddenly fell away like melting ice slipping from rooftops after a winter blizzard. She rushed after the man and woman.
“Scott!” she called again.
The two didn’t slow. In fact, they seemed to be walking faster. Brenda did the same. A crowd of passengers from a deboarding plane abruptly poured from a gate, and Brenda had to weave through the thicker mass of bodies now going in both directions.
By the time she cleared the new throng, the man and the blonde had disappeared.
Brenda stood in the center of the long, wide terminal corridor. Scanning the faces, she turned all the way around.
Where had they gone?
The bank of elevators nearby…the escalators…one of the other gates…the restrooms.
One by one she walked through the waiting areas of each gate. She scrutinized the faces in search of the man who looked exactly like her dead husband and the blonde she had never seen before—but who was exactly his type.
She checked every food service and dining area. Every single shopping spot. From there she went into each of the ladies’ rooms and checked the stalls—waiting for the closed ones to open. Then, with a big breath, she entered each of the men’srooms and did the same. For the most part people ignored her. She’d expected someone to rant at her or to call security. Not that she would have blamed them—her behavior was a little disturbing—but she was on a mission.
Ultimately, she had to admit that they were gone. Either the couple had boarded a plane already or exited the terminal.
Brenda wandered back to her gate, her bag trailing behind her. She surely imagined the whole thing. She’d been thinking about Scott and the past and suddenly there he was. As a writer, she’d done enough research in the field of psychology to realize that during times of extreme stress and/or emotional trauma the mind could play tricks on a person. The eyes…the ears…even the heart could be less than reliable during times of anxiety on such a high level.
She lowered into a vacant seat. It was possible the man had only resembled Scott.
But when she’d said his name he’d glanced back, then quickly looked forward once more. In that infinitesimal moment she had seen something in his face. Surprise? Fear? Or maybe some other emotion that wouldn’t have been there if he were a stranger? Recognition, perhaps?
Was it possible he looked like her dead husband and also had his name?
Sure. Obviously it could happen. Seemed a stretch, but life could be surreal like that sometimes.
No. Brenda shook her head. She must have imagined it. She’d been deep in worrisome thoughts about her daughter and her husband’s affairs. The whole thing was likely some manifestation of her anxiety and frustration. This seemed far more logical. More reasonable.
Really, she needed to stop looking back and start looking forward. This movie thing was really happening. They were months, maybe even years, away, but her novel was being madeinto a movie. No more hoping the dream would see fruition—it was a sure thing. It was a rare privilege to have reached such an amazing milestone.
Whatever the release date, next year or the year after, it was real. A smile pulled across her lips. Her agent had been right. She’d had to be in LA for yesterday’s meetings. And now, she was going home to celebrate with her favorite other human! Janey would be so excited.
No more looking back…only forward.
Chapter Two
