I can remember when she taught me not to be afraid of the ocean, diving headfirst into its vastness until I laughed away my fears. And I can remember Dad piggybacking me along the boardwalk while he walked hand in hand with his soul mate, in the calm before the storm.

Chapter 115

I show Jamie the image on my phone of Clara’s old school photo, and he stares at it for a long time before nodding and saying, “Got it.”

“You sure? She’s going to look older now.”

“Yep. I’ll recognize her.”

I need her to be away from the school, away from her teachers and her friends, before I approach her.

Jamie can wait by the front entrance with the other parents without being noticed, but I don’t know how many of them watch my show, and I’m not prepared to find out.

When we first arrive, there are only a few moms there, gossiping and paying no attention to us. We hang back until it starts to get more crowded, then Jamie takes a few steps forward while I pull a baseball cap low over my face and hope no one recognizes me.

By three o’clock, the place is packed, and I’m glad I brought help.

The youngest students come out the side entrance, all screams and giggles and hyperactivity. Then the older ones follow, and I try to find Clara without looking suspicious. I think I see her a couple of times, but a quick glance at my phone says otherwise.

There are too many people all crowded together, and I start to panic. I can’t even see Jamie now.

I must look suspicious, a weirdo waiting outside a school for someone else’s child, but when my phone buzzes, it’s Jamie, and he says, “Can you see me?”

“No.”

“I’ve found her. Go left, toward the bus stop.”

I do as he says, and when I see him, I follow at a distance, waiting until the group she is with starts to split up.

Jamie looks over his shoulder and smiles, but I pretend we don’t know each other. I still think Clara will run if she realizes how close I am. I’m lucky that she’s a walker, not a bus rider, and that her parents trust her to come home on her own.

When it’s just Clara and one other girl, talking loudly like they don’t have a care in the world, I catch up with Jamie, and he grins but doesn’t say anything.

The girls turn in to a side street, and we follow until Clara waves goodbye to her friend and continues on alone. She reaches into her pocket, and I hear the jangle of keys, realizing she’s almost home, that if I’m going to do this, it needs to be now.