Caroline didn’t have the nerve to ask what had happened to the former Mr Desiree. Husbands and traditional relationships didn’t seem to matter in the world of a pop star, if you could believe the newspapers. Teddy was over the moon that he was going to see his daddy and fly on a plane to a house with a swimming pool. Josh arrived. They exchanged polite pleasantries, and off Teddy went. Caroline watched him bounding with excitement into the taxi, then waving through the window, a big smile on his face. And she tried not to feel betrayed and resentful.

Teddy telephoned her almost every day. He was really good at swimming now. He could dive off the side and pick up a ring from the bottom of the pool. Daddy and Desiree had taken them to Disneyland, and he had been on the Matterhorn and it went really fast and Autumn was scared of the haunted house, but he wasn’t. Caroline had to admit he was having a wonderful adventure, but worried he’d find his old life a disappointment when he came home.

During the summer, Caroline had given more thought to Granny’s suggestion. She had checked out schools near Granny’s house in Surrey. She could easily commute up to London until she decided what she wanted to do with her life. And she wouldn’t be paying rent on a flat she didn’t really love. She’d wait and see how she fared with expenses after child support until she made the final decision, she decided. When Josh came back with Teddy at the beginning of September, she’d know.

She wondered how much Teddy had grown during the summer and looked forward to buying his uniform. Would he sound like a little American now? She counted off the days, but on September 1, Josh called and said that they’d arrived back in New York, but that Teddy had a bad ear infection. The doctor said he shouldn’t fly for a week or two. He was sorry that Teddy might miss the first few days of school, but, since he was only six, it didn’t matter that much.

It did cross Caroline’s mind to wonder if what Josh said was true. Was he stalling? Did he never intend to return her son to her? She tried to quell the alarm bells. Be patient, she told herself.

And then, on September 11, the Twin Towers in New York City fell.

CHAPTER 6

Caroline, England, September 2001

The first Caroline knew of it was a strange hysterical sobbing that came from the conference room. Just coming back from grabbing lunch, she followed the sound and found people already crowded inside the door, staring at the television screen that sat on a shelf at the far end of the room. One young secretary had her hands to her mouth and was producing great heaving sobs while an older editor had an arm around her. The others were strangely silent. Caroline stared at the screen, unable to realize immediately what she was seeing. She looked to a colleague.