Gemotions

The announcement crackled over the loudspeaker, each word a fresh wound. Sarah, already perched on the edge of her seat, slumped back against the headrest, her face losing its customary composure. Her wedding ring glittered, reflecting the harsh fluorescent lighting of the airport.

Her grandfather's last will reading. He was the only family she had left. And now, thanks to some bureaucratic nightmare, she might miss it. She fiddled with the strap of her handbag, her knuckles turning white.

She could picture the cold, impersonal room, the lawyer’s dry tone, the distant faces. Tears burned behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "Of course," she said through gritted teeth, as if talking to the heavens, "of course."