Chapter 3

Sarah said nothing.

Not a word about the email, not a question about Italy.

Instead, she became a model of efficiency.

She located their passports, checked the expiry dates.

She pulled their suitcases from the attic, airing them out.

She made lists: travel-sized toiletries, comfortable walking shoes, adapters.

She asked David, Mike, and Jessica for their packing preferences, her voice calm, betraying nothing of the storm inside her.

They took her efforts for granted, as always.

"Oh, Mom, you're a lifesaver," Mike said, handing her a pile of wrinkled shirts.

Jessica gave her a list of Leo's favorite snacks.

David just grunted, preoccupied with choosing which of his band t-shirts to take.

As she packed David's bag, she found an old, faded photograph tucked into a side pocket of his worn leather wallet.

It was from their honeymoon, a cheap tourist snap from a local fair.

They were young, smiling, him with his arm around her, promising her the world, promising her Italy.

She looked at the hopeful girl in the photo, the one who believed in those promises.

A wave of something cold and hard washed through her.

Not sadness, not anymore.

It was a quiet, steely resolve.

She carefully folded their clothes, arranged their shoes, zipped up each bag with meticulous care.

She was packing away more than just their belongings.

She was packing away a lifetime of her own deferred dreams.

The morning of their departure, Sarah drove them to the airport.

The car was filled with their excited chatter, Leo bouncing in his seat, Emily's laughter ringing out as she shared an anecdote with David.

Sarah focused on the road, her knuckles white on the steering wheel.

At the curb, as they unloaded the luggage, Mike slung his carry-on over his shoulder.

"Take care of everything here, Mom," he said, a casual, thoughtless command.

"We'll bring you back a postcard!"

A postcard.

David and Emily were already walking ahead, deep in conversation, Emily's arm linked through his.

Leo, clutching a new video game Emily had bought him, skipped excitedly, holding Emily's other hand.

Jessica hurried after them, calling out about checking in.

No one looked back at Sarah.

She watched them disappear through the sliding glass doors of the terminal.

Take care of everything.

She would.