“NANA, WHAT DID you put in here? It weighs a ton.” Tito huffed as he loaded the suitcase onto the conveyor belt.
“You need to exercise some more, Tito. Young man like you should be able to lift that,” Nana scolded.
Nico ignored them as he stabbed the end button on his phone. He’d been trying to reach Anna on her cell; it had been going straight to voice mail for a day. She hadn’t answered any of her texts or emails, either. Had she done something drastic again like sign up to go work in Syria? He pulled up Caro’s number on his phone. It was a decent hour in DC, so if Anna was just avoiding his calls, he wouldn’t embarrass himself.
“Hello?” Caro sounded groggy. It was early morning on a Saturday in Washington, and Nico remembered that she liked to sleep in on the weekends.
He handed his passport to Nana so she could finish checking them in, waving to Lando behind the counter.
“Caro, it’s Nico.”
A loud shriek on the other end of the line made him pull the phone away from his ear. “Shh, Ethan, it’s okay,” came Caro’s soothing voice. “Nico, I’ll call you back,” she said, hanging up.
“You all are really late. I can’t guarantee your bags will make it, but I’ll call the gate to hold the plane. They’re boarding now.” Lando handed over their boarding passes then exited the ticket counter and put up a closed sign amid the moans of the passengers behind them. Lando was an old family friend. He was the son of Nana’s best friend from high school. That was practically family.
“Come on, I’ll take you to the front of the security line.”
Nana hugged Tito, who started sobbing. He squeezed Nico as Lando yelled at them to hurry. They ran through the terminal to security. Lando took them to the VIP lane and spoke to the security guard at front. Nico’s phone rang.
“Caro, where’s Anna?”
“What do you mean? You don’t know where she is?”
Nico’s heart came to a stop. “Why would I know where she is?”
Before he could hear her response, the phone was unceremoniously taken from him by the security guard. He put the phone in a plastic container already on its way through the X-ray.
“Shoes off, smart guy. You’re lucky Lando vouched for you. I don’t let anyone cut.”
Nana was already through the metal detector. Nico took off his shoes and belt and slapped them onto the conveyor. He stepped through the detector, grateful it didn’t go off. As soon as he got to the other side, he picked up his phone, but Caro was gone.
Where’s Anna?
He knew he’d taken too long to convince Nana to go to the mainland. Almost eight weeks had passed since he’d seen Anna. Unsure of whether his plan would really work, he hadn’t told her what he was planning. He was going to show up at Caro’s door and surprise her. The big hiccup had been Nana, who wanted to attend her “last” fiesta in Talofofo. Each of the villages in Guam held its own festival each year. Nana was the church organizer for the fiesta and didn’t want to let the congregation down. The concession had been that Nana had gone to California for her tests. The next battle would be getting her to agree to the surgery the oncologist recommended. Nico figured the small delay wouldn’t make a difference given how long they’d already waited. But what if he was too late?
He was about to try Caro again as he followed Nana to the gate. There was a woman in red walking in his direction. He could’ve sworn it was Anna. It seemed he couldn’t stop thinking about her and seeing her everywhere. The woman passed right by him and Nana. Wait.
“Anna!”
She halted and turned. Leaving her carry-on bag, she ran toward him. He met her halfway, his arms automatically reaching for her. He held on to her tightly, kissing her with everything he had. Every day they’d been apart, all he could think about was this moment when he’d get to hold her in his arms. Whatever happened, he wasn’t going to let her go. They were done being apart.
“You’re the other half of me, Anna. I’m not a whole man without you.”
She lifted her head, eyes shining. “I couldn’t stand being apart anymore.”
Something was different about her. Before his brain could process what it was, she stepped back.
“Anna! Look at you!”
Nana had caught up with them and she hugged Anna.
“You shouldn’t be traveling in your condition.”
Nico frowned. What did Nana mean? Anna put a hand to her belly and then it dawned on him. “I’m only four months along. It’s perfectly safe to travel. But I’m having the baby in DC. I came to get you.” She looked at Nico, then Nana. “Both of you.”
“Would Nico and Teresa Atao please make their way to Gate 23? Your flight is about to leave.”
They all looked at each other and laughed. Nana put a hand on Nico’s arm and nodded. Nico pulled out his phone and called Lando, explaining what he needed. He held the phone away from his phone as Lando screamed at him about the impossibility of his request. Nico gestured to Anna and Nana, who made their way to the gate. When they got there, the gate agent was standing in the doorway, holding out her hand for Nico and Nana’s boarding passes. Nico shook his head and motioned to the desk where another agent was on the phone. He looked at Nico, rolled his eyes and hit some buttons on the computer.
“These flights are usually full—how did you get me a ticket so last minute?” Anna asked.
“Nana’s transferring her ticket to you.”
Anna stared at Nana. “No! I’ll catch the next flight. You need to go…”
Nana shook her head. “I’m going to stay here and let the Lord take care of me. The only reason I was coming was to reunite you two, that’s what I prayed for. And look, here you are.” She put Anna’s hand in Nico’s. “I never want to see either of you without the other. Understand?” They both nodded and hugged Nana.
The desk agent hurried toward them and asked Anna for her passport. After verifying it, he gave her a boarding pass.
“So, is Caro ready for houseguests?”
Anna shook her head. “She doesn’t need to be.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him and gave a mysterious smile. “I have a surprise for you, kind of like the one you gave me on our wedding day.”