“Will he know me?”
The question stopped me.
I crouched beside her and held her shoulders.
“Of course he’ll know you.”
“But I got bigger.”
“He knows, sweetheart. I’ve told him all about you.”
She studied my face as though deciding whether I was telling the truth.
Then she lifted the sign.
“Do you think he’ll like this?”
“He’ll love it.”
The waiting stretched on.
Every announcement made the crowd shift.
Every movement near the double doors caused people to stand taller.
Then the military arrival gate opened.
A wave of uniform-clad soldiers walked through.
The terminal erupted.
People shouted names, cried out, and rushed forward. Lily climbed onto her toes, trying to see around the adults.
“Where is he?” she asked.
I scanned the crowd.
Then I spotted Marcus immediately.
He looked exhausted.
His face was thinner, his cheeks hollowed, and there were shadows beneath his eyes. His hair was shorter than I remembered, and he carried a heavy olive-green duffel bag over one shoulder.
