Fly Away Read Free

was early in the morning.
    “H-hello?”
    “Corrin. I’m sorry to call you so early, but it’s an emergency. Can you pick up the
     boys and take them to school?”
    “What’s wrong?”
    “I need to go to Sacred Heart. There’s been an accident. I don’t want to leave the
     boys alone, but I don’t have time to bring them to you.”
    “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
    “Thanks,” he said. “I owe you one.” Then he hurried down the hallway and pushed open
     the boys’ bedroom door. “Get dressed, boys. Now .”
    They sat up slowly. “Huh?” Wills said.
    “I’m leaving. Corrin is going to pick you up in fifteen minutes.”
    “But—”
    “But nothing. You’re going to Tommy’s house. Corrin might need to pick you up from
     soccer practice, too. I don’t know when I’ll be home.”
    “What’s wrong?” Lucas asked, his sleep-lined face drawing into a worried frown. They
     knew about emergencies, these boys, and routine comforted them. Lucas most of all.
     He was like his mother, a nurturer, a worrier.
    “Nothing,” Johnny said tightly. “I need to get into the city.”
    “He thinks we’re babies,” Wills said, pushing the covers back. “Let’s go, Skywalker.”
    Johnny looked impatiently at his watch. It was 5:08. He needed to leave now to make
     the 5:20 boat.
    Lucas got out of bed and approached him, looking up at Johnny through a mop of brown
     hair. “Is it Marah?”
    Of course that would be their worry. How many times had they rushed to see their mom
     in the hospital? And God knew what trouble Marah was in these days. They all worried
     about her.
    He forgot how wary they could sometimes be even now, almost four years later. Tragedy
     had marked them all. He was doing his best with the boys, but his best wasn’t really
     enough to compensate for their mother’s loss. “Marah’s fine. It’s Tully.”
    “What’s wrong with Tully?” Lucas asked, looking scared.
    They loved Tully so much. How many times in the last year had they begged to see her?
     How many times had Johnny made some excuse? Guilt flared at that.
    “I don’t have all the details yet, but I’ll let you know what’s up as soon as I can,”
     Johnny promised. “Be ready for school when Corrin gets here, okay?”
    “We’re not babies, Dad,” Wills said.
    “You’ll call us after soccer?” Lucas asked.
    “I will.”
    He kissed them goodbye and grabbed his car keys off the entry table. He looked back
     at them one last time—two identical boys who needed haircuts, standing there in their
     boxer shorts and oversized T-shirts, frowning with worry. And then he went out to
     his car. They were eleven years old; they could be alone for ten minutes.
    He got into his car, started the engine, and drove down to the ferry. On board, he
     stayed in his car, tapping his finger impatiently on the leather-covered steering
     wheel for the thirty-five-minute crossing.
    At precisely 6:10, he pulled up into the hospital’s parking lot and parked in the
     artificial brightness thrown down by a streetlamp. Sunrise was still a half hour away,
     so the city was dark.
    He entered the familiar hospital and strode up to the information desk.
    “Tallulah Hart,” he said grimly. “I’m family.”
    “Sir, I—”
    “I want an update on Tully’s condition, and I want it now. ” He said it so harshly the woman bounced in her seat as if a slight current had charged
     through her body.
    “Oh,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
    He walked away from the reception desk and began pacing. God, he hated this place,
     with its all-too-familiar smells.
    He sank into an uncomfortable plastic chair, tapping his foot nervously on the linoleum
     floor. Minutes ticked by; each one unraveled his control just a little.
    In the past four years, he’d learned how to go on without his wife, the love of his
     life, but it had not been easy. He’d had to stop looking back. The memories simply
     hurt too