It didn’t help when those wings were a little broken.
But I had to figure out how to use mine. And fast.
One
Allegra
Present day
Edinburgh Airport, Scotland
Sudden nerves filled my belly as I watched the frown deepen on the customs attendant’s face. This was taking longer than it usually did, and I should know. Since graduating from art school four years ago, I’d been flying back and forth to Scotland. Legally, I could only stay for six months on a visitor’s visa, so I’d fly wherever the wind blew me for a few months and then fly back to Scotland for another six months.
Suddenly, she looked up, expression blank. “You’ll need to come with me, Ms. Howard.”
My heart thudded in my chest. “Why?”
“Come with me, please,” she insisted sharply.
Okay. Yeah. Don’t argue with customs officials, Allegra!
Feeling like I was being led to jail, I followed the short, scary woman beyond the customs desks, ignoring the curious gazes of the other passengers behind me. She held open a door for me, gesturing me inside a small room.
Thankfully, I didn’t have a ton of luggage because I’d slowly brought everything I needed over here these last few years. But I was going to miss my connecting flight to Inverness if whatever this was didn’t end soon. I said as much to the attendant and she ignored me, gesturing toward a standard table with a chair on either side. To my frazzled, jet-lagged brain, it looked like an interrogation room.
I let go of my small carry-on roller bag and slumped into the chair. “What’s going on?”
She waited until she was seated opposite me. “Ms. Howard, we’d just like to ask you a few questions regarding the reason for your visit to Scotland today.”
I leaned toward the iPad she had in front of her. “Didn’t I put that on my forms?”
“Yes. But considering you’ve spent an accumulated forty-two months in Scotland in the last four years, that suggests to Immigration that you’re permanently living in the UK without the correct visa.”
Oh shit.
I gaped at her, not sure how to respond because she was kind of right.
“Two of my colleagues are on their way to ask you a few questions about this. Hopefully, it won’t be too long and we can sort this out.”
“My sister lives here,” I said hurriedly. “I’m only visiting my sister. I promise.”
“Like I said, my colleagues will discuss that with you.”
An overwhelming panic filled me at the thought of being sent back to the States. The kind that made my breathing turnshallow and my cheeks tingle. As the woman left the room, I closed my eyes and focused on the breathing exercises I’d learned while studying mindfulness.
It will be okay, I promised myself, trying to shove out the fear.
Somewhere between Inverness and Ardnoch
Eight hours later
We were barely twenty minutes into the hour drive to Ardnoch when my cab driver started making disapproving sounds that soon turned into a jumble of Scottish I didn’t understand. Except for the curse words. Those I understood.
“What’s wrong?” I asked from the back seat of the old taxi.
“Warning light’s on. Sorry, doll, I’ll need to find somewhere to pull over.”
I slumped back in the seat, cursing myself for getting in a car that looked like it was older than me. But the guy had been the only taxi left outside the airport.
