Super

Chapter 67: Homecoming

Lex had bought a paperback at one of the newsstands nearby as she'd paced back and forth while Rolf visited the men's room. She hadn't been able to help it at the time, since she hoped the wandering would settle her shaky nerves, but she felt unable to keep her eyes away from the group that would be traveling, as well as those who'd come to see them off.

True to her word, she saw Serena doing her best to distract everyone who'd come to say goodbye, dressed in a form-fitting black mini-dress paired with a long green coat and high-heeled black boots that only reached her ankles. She'd taken Captain Shapiro's arm and had turned him away from the charter departure gate, enough so that Lou and Riss, who stood more or less in front of the two of them, now blocked their sight line to the gate. A number of their friends from work had come to see them off, as well, and Lex let her eyes run over Meg and Lily hugging goodbye and Derek and Victor deep in conversation with Kate, Tamara, and Jan. Raising an eyebrow, Lex realized that the last two stood holding hands.

She felt a gentle touch on her arm as she tried to digest what she'd seen, and moved her attention to the sight of her husband's face.

"Got something to read during the flight?" he asked, looking at the new book in Lex's hands.

Lex shook her head and turned the paperback over to look at the back. "I don't think so, it doesn't even appeal to me now that I bought it."

She turned to look at her husband without one more word, and he reached to take one of her hands. "You don't have to keep it, you know," Rolf said in a soft tone, leading her to a nearby bench to sit down.

"But what if-" she began, turning to look at Captain Shapiro, then stopped as Rolf took the book from her hand, put it down on the bench, and turned to look at her.

"Don't worry about it," he replied in a confident voice. "Look over there, but take your time."

He'd gestured with his head in the direction of the departure gate, which lay several yards beyond the area their friends occupied. She glanced at her friends again, but upon seeing no one looking in their direction, Lex turned her head to look where Rolf had suggested.

She spotted Casey heading in that direction right away, dressed in loose jeans and a blue turtleneck underneath her pink fleece jacket. Lex's eyebrows knitted together as she watched her friend, however, realizing that she'd also seen the shadow of a person walking on the far side of her, and recognized Art as the two of them reached the check-in counter and had to separate as Art handed the woman at the counter his papers.

Turning her attention back to Rolf, she found him smiling again. "You missed it as you were talking to Lily, but I overheard Casey say to Lou that she felt tired since she'd stayed up late packing, so she wanted to check in. The two of them must have planned it with Riss, because she had Art waiting over by the restrooms. I spotted him falling into step with her as I went in, and I figured that's where they must be headed."

Lex couldn't help but smile at the plan, and as she glanced over at their other friends, it didn't seem anyone had spotted Art or Casey. A minute later Art had passed behind a metal detector that blocked the view of the gate from where they stood. The relief Lex felt made her sigh out the breath she'd been holding and drop her shoulders, closing her eyes in the certainty that at the moment, at least, everything was all right.

Lex opened her eyes to see concern and care in Rolf's. "So, do you want to say goodbye to anyone else before we have to go?" he asked.

Lex smiled in reply. "I guess that makes more sense than lurking here," she admitted, taking his hand again. "Let's make sure we don't leave anyone out."