Page 71 of Wait for Me

“In a few minutes, we will reach our first glacier,” the geologist said through the intercom.

Enough time for Marie to go back inside and get Jonas.

The deck was not as crowded as Marie had expected. She was able to look past the crowd, toward the distance, where two cruise ships were making their way back. Those ships were probably why this ship had to wait its turn until this afternoon.

Zaid must have spotted her. He came her way.

“Good afternoon.” He did not use her name.

Marie returned the greeting. She switched to Arabic. “Is everything okay?”

“Very safe, ma’am.” Zaid seemed pleased that Marie chose to speak to him in his mother tongue. “Where is your family?”

“Hiding in the lounge until I tell them that the coast is clear.” Marie looked that way only to see Jonas’s face plastered to the window.

Zaid grinned. “The coast is clear. Look around and be assured.”

So Marie did.

And was surprised to see men with earbuds and wearing thick jackets spread all over the deck, trying to look normal and trying to blend in. They were from all nationalities, it seemed. Had they been onboard the ship all this time?

“They arrived this morning,” Zaid said quietly, as if sensing her question.

“Did you get any sleep?” Marie regretted asking. She did not want Zaid to think she was showing any interest in him.

“Did you and Logan get any sleep?”

“Barely.”

“Same.”

“Why can’t we have a nice family vacation?” Marie asked, knowing the answer was never simple in a complicated world.

“Because of evil people.”

“Bad.”

“No. Evil. Absolutely evil.” Zaid stepped away. “You have a nice day.”

Marie walked toward the door that led to the lounge. It had three doors. Two on the inside, and this one on the outside. She waved to Jonas at the window. He waved back.

The kid had no idea how complex life was. All Marie could do was try her best to make their environment as safe as possible for Jonas and the next generations to grow up in.

Sometimes it felt like a losing battle.

But then God is always victorious.

Praise the Lord.

“Mommy, look who’s inside too?” Jonas pointed to Abdul at the next table.

Sitting next to Jonas, Logan pointed to an empty spot on the upholstered bench that went all around the bottom of the windows.

“Thanks for saving me a seat. Where’s Mrs. Ping?” Marie sat down.

Logan pushed a mug of hot chocolate toward her on the small table in front of them. “She’s gone to check if we could meet the geologist.”

On the other side of Logan, Jonas was showing Abdul his new notebook. “This is Mommy’s pen. Want to see how it works?”

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