He was indeed back, but he had Jessica with him. Noelle sat in the Uber and watched as they came out from the terminal together. He was pushing a cart with their suitcases on them—one pink and one blue. It was obvious they were a matching pair.
Jessica had her arm in his as she leaned against his shoulder.
“Was your trip tiring?” Noelle asked.
“No, it was fine. Oh, right. I remember you mentioning that today’s the day I can unwrap the gift you got me.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I can’t believe you kept me waiting for a whole week! Every day, I tried to guess what it could be. It must be something meaningful since it’s an anniversary gift,” he said.
“It means the world. You’ll understand when you see it.”
“Alright. Wait for me, okay? It’ll take me about two hours to get home.”
Two hours was enough for her. By then, the plane probably would’ve left this airspace.
“Okay,” she replied.
“See you later, then. I love you, Elle.”
After hanging up, Noelle saw Jessica pout in dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, Shawn leaned down to kiss her, seemingly appeasing her.
The driver said, “You haven’t paid for the ride, miss.”
Noelle retracted her gaze and transferred all the money she had in her account to him. He was startled seeing the amount. “You’ve made a mistake, miss. It’s 130 dollars, not 13 thousand dollars! I’ll transfer the balance back to you.”
“No, it’s fine.” She opened the door to get out. “I won’t be using the money in the future. Thanks for taking me here.”
“You’re welcome. I was just doing my job. Besides, I had to bring you here since you paid me.”
“It’s different. You’ve brought me to the start of my journey to being reborn.”
After getting out of the car, Noelle turned off her phone, removed the SIM card, and threw it into a trashcan. Then, she gave the phone to a child.
He was happy. “Thanks, miss!”
She ruffled his hair with a smile. “You’re welcome.”
His mother felt embarrassed. “We can’t accept something so expensive.”
“Are you guys going abroad?” Noelle asked.
“Yes, we are. We’re heading to Arilla to look for his father,” the woman replied.
Noelle smiled. “Take it, then. It might be of use to you there.”
“Alright, then. Thank you.”
She waved them goodbye. “Have a safe trip.”
She entered the airport to hear an announcement. “Ms. Aria Byrd, please proceed to gate H23 once you hear this announcement. Your flight is about to depart…”
Noelle turned one last time to look outside the airport. Then, she headed to the boarding gate while holding her passport, feeling resolute.
