She twisted in the seat to watch Shane and Eve disappear into the distance. Once she couldn’t even see the billboard any more, she turned face front and took in a deep, trembling breath. I will not cry, she told herself. I will not.

It finally occurred to her to ask the obvious question of her father. ‘Where’s Mom?’

‘She said she’ll meet us at the airport. You okay, kiddo?’ her dad asked. He kept his eyes on the road, and his voice was neutral, but he held out his right hand, and she took it. ‘That’s my girl. You’re okay. I remember driving you here, you know, to school. You seemed so much smaller then, honey, and so much more vulnerable. Look at you now – you’re a lovely, confident young woman. I’m very proud of you. And I know that was hard for you.’

She didn’t feel lovely, or confident, or a woman. The only thing she felt was young, and right now, very raw with loss. But she smiled anyway, and gulped back the tears, and when her voice was steady she asked him how his job was going, and what the doctor was saying about his heart condition, and a thousand little things that made up love.

They talked all the way to Midland.

It wasn’t just Mom waiting at the airport, to Claire’s astonishment. It was a party. When she came inside with Dad, wheeling her two suitcases, she immediately saw a giant bright pink banner that said CONGRATULATIONS!, with giant clusters of balloons lifting either end. And a crowd. A cheering crowd.

She didn’t know what she was seeing, honestly … and then faces started to come into focus. Her teachers from high school – Mrs Street, Mrs East, Mr Popp, Mr Shelton … her favourites. And then classmates, at least ten of them. Some had been friends, but casual friends; most of them would have just graduated from high school, she guessed, since they were all about her age. She’d been two or three years ahead of them, thanks to testing out of most core subjects.

She hadn’t missed them, but it was nice to see them, anyway – and strange, too, like having a dream where everything from the past was suddenly in the present, throwing everything out of whack. It was weird and funny and wonderful, and as she got hugs and backslaps, passed in a dizzying dance from person to person, she felt as if everybody in the airport was staring at her and wondering what the hell was going on.