5 Chapter 5

“Well,” he said. “Wish me luck.”

“Luck’s not gonna cut it in this,” I told him.

“Yeah, well…”

I took up one of Amira’s business cards from their Lucite countertop holder and scrawled my name and cell phone number across the back of it before I handed it to him. “Look here,” I said. “You must call me the second you get anywhere safely, I don’t care if it’s the McDonald’s across the highway. I’m not going to check you out of your room. Please come back if you can’t be safe out there.”

“I will.”

“I wish you would just stay.”

“I know.”

“It’s not like the baby can tell time. I’m sure he’d be just as happy to meet you tomorrow.”

He smiled. “I have to try.”

“Alright, alright. You don’t have to keep saying that. So go do it.”

“Thanks for everything.”

I waved this off. Sure, I’d attached emotionally—lustily? Crush-ily?—but really we hadn’t shared more than the most basic of business transactions. “Now you have my number,” I said. “Send baby pictures.”