Laura said, occupying the same seat in Stahlman’s van as this morning, “we’ve got to set some ground rules.” By late this afternoon, after a long conversation with Steven and a lot of thinking, she’d made up her mind. She called the number on Stahlman’s card and the van showed up in front of her house forty minutes later. As before, the driver stayed behind the wheel up front while the silent Hayden occupied a sofa toward the rear. “Of course,” Stahlman said. As before, a green cannula encircled his head, pumping oxygen into his nose. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. What do you propose?” “Well, first off, it can’t be an open-ended trip. We have to set a time limit.” Stahlman nodded. “That’s reasonable. What do you have in mind?” “Two weeks.” She waited for his reaction. He rubbed his chin. “How did you come up with that?” “Because right now my ex-husband says he’s in a place where he can take a two-week leave of absence from his firm without making major waves.
