Two red suitcases lay open side by side on her bed. Daisy, sitting quietly next to them, her hands in her lap. Reviewing things again.She had packed and repacked several times. Sometimes the baby blankets made the cut; sometimes they didn’t. Sometimes she thought it was stupid to take them; sometimes she thought it would be nice to have them. Sometimes she didn’t have the space for them; sometimes she did.Checking her passport, tickets, flight information, U.S. currency. She had gone to the hairdresser. She had called her friends to say good-bye. She talked to her new boss at the library and explained that she would be gone for a month or more. The new boss smiled sweetly and suggested that Daisy needn’t call when she got back, thanking her for her past services. Daisy didn’t mind. Without Grace Parker she no longer had the same appetite for the job.Going over all the travel plans in her head. The baby blankets—for the moment, anyway—omitted. Daisy, looking at the clock. Only seven.
