“Stay safe.”
“You too.”
I’m aware that Tiffany’s exit from the convent is planned for tomorrow, and so she will only have one night to worry about me before she is caught up in her own adventure.
With a tentative smile, I pull her in for a hug and whisper, “You’ve got this. We all have. Make the year count.”
“What if?—”
I shake my head. “No Tiffany. There will be no what-ifs or maybes. This will be the adventure of our lives, and we will speak of it often. Make yours count for something because I will.”
“In New York?” Her smile wobbles along with a lone tear that escapes, and I shrug. “Of course.”
It’s probably best that I don’t let on I have no intention of arriving in New York or any other American city. I am heading somewhere else entirely and in just a few short hours I should be well on my way before anyone realizes I’m not where I’m supposed to be.
We pull apart and I cast a glance at the suitcase, grateful there is nothing in there I wanted, anyway. I have everything I require on my person, and what I don’t have I’ll pick up later.
Tiffany walks beside me toward Sister Agatha Maria’s office, much like we did with Rose before she left The Order of the Holy Mother of God.
Rose is our sister, and we are all extremely close. Not anymore though—physically, anyway. Mentally we will never bedivided, and as we reach the wooden door, I waste no time in knocking sharply.
“Enter.”
The soft, serene voice of the woman who has been more like a mother to us always brings a smile to my face.
My stomach is churning with anticipation, and I am fighting hard to conceal my happy smile and sigh sadly in the hope of disguising it.
If anyone in this room discovers my plan, it’s doubtful, I would make it out at all.
“Alice. Tiffany.”
Sister Agatha’s smile is a genuine one.
“Do you have everything you need?”
Her concern isn’t lost on me, and I seek to reassure her.
“I have it all, thank you, Sister Agatha.”
A moment’s doubt creeps into her smile before she says with a lighter tone.
“So, today is the day you spread your wings and fly. Remember, this year will be the most important one of your life, Alice, and you must embrace it. If at the end of the year your wish is to return to the Order of the Holy Mother of God, I will be waiting with open arms. In the meantime, know that we will all be praying for you—for all of you.”
Her smile encompasses us both, and as Tiffany casts her eyes down, I detect her heavy sigh.
“You should leave at once, Alice. The bus is waiting, and the other sisters are on board already.”
“So, this is really goodbye.”
“Merely au revoir, darling.”
Sister Agatha blinks away her tears, and it almost casts a chink in my armor.
Almost.
She hugs me and whispers, “May God be with you, Alice.”
“Thank you, Sister Agatha and not just for the prayer but for, well, everything.”
