Decker hung up on him. He grabbed his keys, jumped into the unmarked, and gunned the engine. His gut was a mixture of fury and anxiety. He was mature enough to know that there were always a few trouble spots in a marriage, but he hadn’t expected them to surface so soon. Rina was pushing him beyond the pale, as if she got a charge out of driving him crazy.

The honeymoon was definitely over.

For the seventh time tonight, Rina explained to a security officer the purpose of her visit. This time she was at TWA, the domestic terminal farthest from the entrance to the airport. The place was eerie in the wee hours of the morning, not deserted but lots of open space for very few travelers. Footsteps echoed, voices rang out even if you spoke at normal volume, so Rina began to whisper. People were scattered around the gates, some dozing in their seats, fingers tightly clutching the handles of their suitcases. Others were awake, scanning the room with glazed eyes that never quite focused on any single object.

The woman manning the security checkpoint was big-boned and black, agreeable but not really helpful. She took the flier, gave a quick glance at the printed faces, then asked if these guys were so bad, why hadn’t she heard about it through official channels?

Rina had no answer. She hadn’t any idea what the procedure was for this kind of thing. She wasn’t even clear on the details about what had happened in Hollywood. But she couldn’t tell the security lady that, so she mumbled something about things like this taking time.

Her lack of success and lack of sleep were dragging her spirits down. She should call Peter, tell him what she was up to. But she knew how he’d react and wasn’t in the mood for his temper. Not that Peter was temperamental, but he could be very parental. Lecturing her all the time…

Well, what did she really expect when she married a man twelve years her senior? Wasn’t that what she wanted after all these years of living alone? After having sole responsibility for her children, didn’t she want someone to lean on?

Peter had been sent to her by Hashem, her special gift for surviving that terrible ordeal. From the beginning, Peter had been nurturing and reassuring, his physical presence so formidable she’d felt instantly safe whenever he was around. Over the last two years, he had rebuilt her sense of self, and now, thanks to him, she was strong and self-reliant.

She was fine, but Peter was having a hard time adjusting to her independence. What bothered her most was that he didn’t trust her judgment.