Alan simply could not insist on them staying indefinitely in Zakra. To her dismay, everything—from the business clothes they were wearing to the clock ticking away on the wall—seemed absolutely normal. Well, she wouldn’t let Mr Smiles do this to her. She had a mortgage to pay, a credit card bill and a few more car repayments, but that didn’t make her a slave. She and Tim could sell the house if they needed to and move to a more modest suburb. She bit her lip. The truth was, she and Tim might have to sell the house, only not for simpler life, a life with a child of their own to love, nurture and watch grow, a more meaningful existence. No, she and Tim would probably have to sell the house if they divorced. Was that really what awaited her? Was there no other way? There was. She would quit her job. Yes, that was the answer. She would quit and fly home. She would turn things around in her marriage.
