A pebble rolled down the slope. The waiter trudged down the steps toward the pontoon. The women’s huddle dissolved. Huda and Rania pasted on smiles. Ally busied herself with her handbag, needlessly rifling through pockets and unzipping zips, while the blood drained from her face.

The waiter clattered across the ramp, balancing a tray with three small bottles of Pepsi and a bucket of ice. He set three glasses on the picnic table and ladled out ice cubes with a small set of tongs. The river surged for a moment. The waiter paused, cube halfway to glass, and softened his knees like he was surfing. Ally faked a smile.

After the waiter left, Huda and Rania explained their plan and what would happen if she didn’t save their children. Each new horror crashed on Ally like a wave, one on top of the other, so fast she didn’t have time to catch her breath. The women swayed on their benches, while the Tigris pulsed below, moving relentlessly south, immune to the desperation of those struggling on its surface.

“I’d like to help, I really would,” stuttered Ally. “But it’s too dangerous. Tom will never agree. I can’t do it.”

“Yes, you can.” Rania gripped her hand. “You tell Tom you are going to Jordan for a holiday. Huda already has the exit permit for you. She will use the embassy Land Cruiser to drive you out of the city. I will meet you at Lake Habbaniyah with the children. They will get in the vehicle with you, and then you drive straight to the border.”

“What about the embassy? They’ll notice a missing vehicle.”

“I will change some travel orders,” said Huda. “And I know where the keys for the vehicles are kept. You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Please, listen,” said Rania. “After Lake Habbaniyah, you simply keep going until you near the Jordanian border. Then you turn off the road and drive due north. Five miles later turn east and keep on going until you cross the border. ”

Ally glanced up the riverbank, at the waiter sitting near the firepit, puffing on a cigarette like it was just another ordinary day. How was that possible? she asked herself. Couldn’t he feel the earth shifting beneath them?

“Let me get this straight,” she said. “You want the kids to go with me, while you and Huda return to Baghdad?”

“I can’t leave until Allah decides to gather my mother to his side.” Rania took a shaky breath. “And if anyone asks about Hanan, I’ll say I’ve sent her to Basra. Uday is summering at his northern palace, so with luck, it’ll be a month or more before he bothers trying to hunt her down. By then, God willing, I’ll have the money to join her in Jordan.”