Page 117 of Road Trip
Maeve pulled her passport case out of her crossbody purse, flipped it open, and stared. Her passport was gone.
She felt the blood drain from her face.
“Ma’am?” the agent asked politely.
“My passport,” Maeve said. She peered into her purse, but the only other things it contained were her phone, lipstick, pen, and a box of Altoids. She lifted her carry-on bag onto the counter and began rummaging through it.
“Ma’am?”
A trickle of sweat ran down Maeve’s back. “I’m sorry. My passport, it’s not in my purse. Maybe I somehow put it in my carry-on?”
She removed her laptop computer, a paperback novel, her cosmetic case, sweater, and phone charger.
“It’s not here,” she said, her voice hoarse with panic. “It’s gone. It was in the passport case I always keep it in…”
“Oh no,” the ticket agent said. “Check your pockets. Sometimes I put mine there instead of my pocketbook.”
Maeve patted her pockets. “No. I never put it anywhere but in its case. In my bag.”
A young mother behind her had a squirming toddler in her arms. She sighed heavily, signaling her impatience, but the agent seemed sympathetic to her situation. “Could you have left it in a cab, or maybe an Uber?”
The line behind her was growing, and people were beginning to grumble.
“Ma’am? Maybe you could step out of line and do a thorough search of your luggage?”
“I will.” She was near tears as she left the line.
Therese was four passengers back. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t find my passport. I always keep it in my purse. The case is there, but my passport is gone!”
“Okay, don’t panic,” Therese said. “Did you look in your carry-on?”
“Of course. It’s not there, I tell you.”
“Slow down. You don’t think it could have fallen out of your purse, like on the shuttle bus?”
“No! You saw how tightly we were packed in there. I always carry my crossbody bag tight against my chest in crowds, in case of pickpockets. Besides, it couldn’t just jump out of the passport case.”
“How about the hotel? Do you think you left it in the room?”
“No,” Maeve wailed. “I did a thorough walk-through while you were in the shower.”
“How about the rental car?” Therese asked.
“Oh shit.” Maeve ran her hands through her hair in a fit of frustration. “I don’t know. I guess, maybe…”
She glanced down at her phone and made a snap decision. “You go ahead and check in. I’m gonna try and find a quiet corner and call Hertz. I’ll catch up with you at the gate.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Go! The flight leaves in an hour. They won’t let you check your bag if you wait any longer. Go. Shoo!”
Maeve found a spot outside a gift shop that hadn’t opened yet. She found the paperwork for the rental car and called Hertz. After a ten-minute wait, she was connected to customer service.
“Hi. My name is Maeve Dunagin. I turned in my car at the Hertz counter at the Dublin airport yesterday, and I’m wondering if I could have left my passport in the car.”
“I’ll transfer you to lost and found,” the bored-sounding agent said.
