“Madden?”
Henry smiles, nods. “Yes. He’s leaving too, right?”
The young man stares at Henry but doesn’t answer.
“You know,” Henry says, “he did some good here too. He wasn’t all bad.”
The man smiles. “No, he wasn’t. I imagine no one is. But apparently he was bad enough.”
~ * ~
The line moves slowly. Henry’s mind drifts. At one point a man taps his shoulder. He says he represents the largest Coca-Cola distributor in Asia. “A friend of yours pointed you out to me earlier, before . . . well, you know, before this. Big Aussie.”
“Madden?”
“That’s it. He told me that you had some admirable ideas.”
Henry stares at the man. “He was a good soul.”
The man smiles. “If by ‘good’ you mean full of life, then you are correct. Anyway, here.” He hands Henry a business card. “Call me when and if your life regains a bit of normalcy.”
~ * ~
A few minutes later, he’s tapped on the shoulder by Maya’s brother. “Follow me.”
Henry sighs and follows him across the terminal to the entrance to a small office. Outside the office stands Shug, who nods and jerks his head for Henry to go inside.
When she sees him, Maya hugs him and touches her hand to the most recent rising bruise on his temple. “I’m sorry this happened.”
“I’m sorry too. But for the best, right?”
She looks through the doorway at the line of foreigners. “My brother said this was your idea.”
“Sometimes they actually work out.”
She smiles. “The other thing, the way it turns out, it wouldn’t have mattered.”
“I thought everything mattered. Every gesture. Even my presence in this room.”
“You’re right. It does. It did. They won’t let you stay, you know. Legally. I tried.”
He nods.
“But perhaps someday you can come back.”
He nods again, hugs her, and says, “I’d like that.”
~ * ~
She doesn’t walk with him back to the line. They won’t allow it. At the desk a small man who reminds Henry of the prince looks at his papers and asks him what his final destination will be.
He touches the bruise on his temple and answers with another question. “What are my choices?”
Holy Water Page 30