Linnea reached for her cup of tea, wishing now it was a glass of wine.

“So, now that he’s cheered everybody up with his paper airplanes, is he still there or did he go back to California?”

“No, he’s still here.”

“Really. Still there. That’s good. That’s perfect. Is he planning on making dirigibles next? Maybe a nice big zeppelin?”

“I have no idea,” she replied, glad she could be honest. She looked around the room, at the white curtains, her perfume bottles on the mahogany dresser, at Luna sleeping again curled up beside her hip.

“I have some good news and some bad news,” Gordon said.

“Oh?”

“Which should I tell you first?”

She always hated being asked this question. Really, what did it matter? She was going to hear both anyway. “Surprise me.”

Gordon scratched behind his ear with a curious smile on his face, like he knew she was deliberately giving him a hard time. “Okay. The good news first. My research project in South Carolina is arranging for me to continue my work on a limited basis, providing, of course, I follow strict protocols.”

“Oh, Gordon, that’s wonderful! That means you’re coming back?”

He smiled and it lit up his face. “I only just learned today. I couldn’t wait to get off that floating nausea machine and call you.”

“When do you arrive?”

“That’s the bad news.”

“Oh no.”

His face was somber. “Maybe as soon as two weeks.”

“What?” Her face brightened. “You’re wicked. That’s amazing. Wonderful! However did you manage it?”

“Well, it seems there’s this amazing loophole. It’s called the fiancé visa.”

Linnea froze, a lump in her throat.

Gordon laughed and put up his hand in mock surrender. “I’m joking.” He laughed again. “I guess that joke fell flat. In fact, looking deeper into it, I found it would take six to nine months to even get that visa.”

Linnea feigned a laugh, but inside she was in shock. What? He really looked into it?

“I found a workaround for the visa,” Gordon continued. “I could fly to another country like Costa Rica for fourteen days. They haven’t been hit with the virus yet and the US is still allowing travel from there. So, I’ve made a plan to meet with Leatherback Trust. I have some business I can do there. That means I can be in Charleston in maybe less than two weeks, give or take a day and praying no cancellations.”

“Genius,” she said, impressed.

“Not really. I travel a lot. You learn the ins and outs. And I’m desperate to see you—I can’t wait to get there.” He paused. “I’m guessing there should be a whole slew of paper airplanes by the time I get there. Probably a fleet.”

“You’ll have to quarantine when you arrive here, of course. Cooper is in quarantine now, at my parents’ house.”

“Oh, so he made it home. Good for him.”

“Yes,” she replied, relieved to be talking about her brother. “He got out pretty quickly.”