Justine held her husband’s hand. Ever since he landed in Detroit just a couple hours after she did, he hadn’t left her or West’s side. Even when the federal agents wanted to question her about the events that took place during the skyjacking, Steve refused to separate from her for even a few minutes.
She was thankful he was here. Glad for his support. Now, two days had passed since she landed in Detroit, but her lungs sometimes still stung from the smoke.
West was running up and down the hospital hallway. Justine had snapped at him once, but Steve reminded her that there were worse things her kid could be doing than expending a little extra energy.
Her husband gave her hand a squeeze. “You sure you’re ready to do this?” he asked.
She nodded. Ready or not, this was why she had flown to Detroit in the first place. If she didn’t carry through, her and West’s traumatic experience would be for nothing at all.
“Do you want us to come with you?” Steve’s voice was gentle. They’d had this same conversation multiple times before, and each time Justine’s answer was the same.
“This is something I need to do on my own.”
Steve gave her hand one last squeeze. “All right. I love you.”
“I know.” She smiled at him. She and Steve had gone through a lot of changes this past year. Some of them good, some of them terrifying. She didn’t even want to think about what it would be like once they drove home and Justine had to settle back into life as normal. What’s normal after witnessing your son nearly dying in a plane crash?
She was already replaying all the conversations she’d have with her therapist. She should probably find someone for West to talk to as well. There was no way that kind of fear could be healthy for someone so young to keep bottled up. It wasn’t healthy for anyone, as a matter of fact, no matter what age they were. Justine couldn’t sleep at night without waking up in cold sweats, her lungs stinging with smoke, her stomach dropping as the plane from her nightmare crashed to the ground.
Well, maybe it was good news. After all, she and her therapist had spent so much time this past year analyzing Justine’s mother. Maybe it would be nice to have a change. That was one way to look at it, at least. The other way to look at it was Justine had endured more than any human being should ever have to endure. When would God look down and decide she’d had enough?
“I’m gonna take the kiddo to get donuts from the cafeteria.” Steve spoke quietly, but not quietly enough.
“Donuts?” West did a complete about-face and sprinted back toward his parents. “Are we getting donuts, Dad?”
Steve smiled and tussled West’s hair. Justine noticed he’d been touching his son a lot more than normal these past two days.
Her husband gave her one last kindly gaze. “You ready?” he asked.
Justine nodded. Ready or not, she was here. She was going to do this.
She reached her hand to knock gently on the door of her mother’s hospital room, then quietly let herself in.