Page 102 of Exchange of Heart

Her window remained closed, but the one next to hers screeched open. A head of brown curls poked out, wrinkly eyes squinting down at me, smoke blowing from her mouth.

‘What do you want?’ she rasped.

Her skin sagged enough that I worried it would droop down and brush my face.

‘Ah, I’m looking for Nora Claremont.’

‘Nora Claremont?’ she repeated. ‘She’s not here. Packed her bag and left this morning.’

Gravity crushed me to the ground and my knees scraped the pavement.

‘She moved?’ I gasped.

How the hell would I find her now?

‘No, you idiot.’ The lady rolled her eyes. ‘She blabbered about some holiday and how this pretty little blonde girl better have a good excuse if she showed up with her perfect curls. I think they were fighting over some guy. She threatened to hide a pair of scissors in her bag to cut her hair.’

My lips twitched at the thought of Nora wielding sharp blades towards me in an airport filled with security guards.

‘Anyway, she’s gone for two weeks. Come back then.’ She shrunk back into her apartment and slammed the window shut.

My fingers scrambled through my pocket for my phone. The holiday, why hadn’t my reminder gone off? I tapped the screen into my calendar.

Holiday with Nora.

Great. I’d typed it in with no alerts. The plane would be hurtling down the runway and swooping into the air in an hour and a half. I didn’t have time to go home and pack, but if I left right now, I might make it. I shoulder-barged a man twice my size to the ground, locking my doors and revving the engine before he’d even made it back to his feet. Nora would have told me karma would have my head for that. I didn’t care, they could have my head as long as they left my heart.

My fingers impatiently drummed the steering wheel as I managed to stop at every red light on the way, giving me no choice other than to illegally park my car in the taxi zone and run inside. Bouncing from foot to foot in a queue to check in, a sharp voice vibrated through the speakers.

This is the boarding call for flight QF549 from Sydney to Darwin. We are calling forward tickets seated in row fifteen to twenty-four. That’s flight QF549, rows fifteen to twenty-four. Thank you.

My finger jabbed the skinny shoulder in front of me. Her brown hair whipped around, creased mouth and laser-eyed.

‘Excuse me?’ she snapped.

‘I’m so sorry, that’s my flight they called. Any chance I could pop ahead to check in?’

She scowled and shook her head. ‘Should have been here sooner.’

I’ll bet Nora could have sweet talked her into it with a charming smile and optimistic cheer. She would have placed her hand on the side of her arm so gently they wouldn’t have noticed until she spoke with the soothing voice she reserved for tough situations. Then she would have suggested shit about karma and good deeds.

I sighed at the twinge in my chest, then reached forward and gave it a go.

‘Aren’t these self-check-ins the worst?’ I whispered.

Her head twisted halfway, pausing at my hand on her arm.

‘A bit of human interaction and help goes a long way when you’re battling those computers. Earlier, I tried to organise an uber here and the darn app needed updating. A man on the street thought I’d gotten bad news and stopped to check on me, then let me use his phone to book the car. I’ll bet he’s got a lot of good luck coming his way now.’

The lady sighed. ‘I know you’re trying to butter me up. Now get your hand off my arm.’ She jiggled it as my hand fell back to my side. ‘He’s about to miss his flight,’ she barked to the people in front.

Everyone turned back and surprised me by stepping aside so I could move forward. I opened my mouth to say thank you, but she clapped her hands together twice for me to hurry up.

Nora’s spirit lived on. I might make the flight after all.

Security gave me a thorough pat down, and the sniffer dog sniffed my shoes for what felt like seventy-five hours, but I made it to the gate as the final boarding call came through. I handed over my ticket and walked through the tunnel to business class. The air hostess greeted me and re-checked my ticket, then motioned to my seat inside. I slid my sweaty hands over my jeans and glanced to the empty seat next to it.

Empty.