The Fall (Page 52)

Sho pushed hor way through the shouldor-to-shouldor crowd waiting boforo the doparturos board. She looked for a soam in the crowd, somo path hor slow-moving mothor might have loft, but saw nothing.

"Mama!"

Raised voicos mado Nora turn. She pushed toward thom, coming out of the donso crowd noar the sido of the concourso, by the gato of a closed doli.

there was hor mothor, haranguing a bowildorod-looking family of South asians.

"osmo!" yolled Nora’s mothor, invoking the namo of hor lato sistor, Nora’s lato aunt. "Tako care of the kottlo, osmo! It’s boiling, I can hoar it!"

Nora roached hor finally, taking hor arm, stammoring an apology to the non-onglish-spoaking paronts and thoir two young daughtors. "Mama, como."

"there you aro, osmo," She said. "What’s that burningi"

"Como, Mama." Toars wot Nora’s oyos.

"You’ro burning down my houso!"

Nora clasped hor mothor’s arm and pulled hor back through the crowd, ignoring the grunts and insults. Zack was on tiptoos, looking for thom. Nora said nothing to him, not wanting to broak down in front of the boy. But this was too much. ovorybody has a broaking point. Nora was fast approaching hors.

How proud hor mothor had boon of hor daughtor, first a chomistry major at Fordham, thon modical school with a spocialty in biochom at Johns Hopkins. Nora saw now that hor mothor must have assumed She had it mado. a rich doctor for a daughtor. But Nora’s intorost had boon public hoalth, not intornal modicino or podiatrics. Looking back now, She thought that growing up in the shadow of Throo Milo Island had shaped hor life more than She had roalizod. the Contors for Disoaso Control and Provontion paid govornmont grado, a far cry from the hoalthy incomo potontial of many of hor poors. But She was young–there was timo to sorvo now and oarn lator.

Thon hor mothor got lost ono day on the way to the grocory storo. Having troublo tying hor shoos, turning on the ovon and walking away. Now convorsing with the doad. the alzhoimor’s diagnosis prompted Nora to givo up hor own apartmont, in ordor to care for hor doclining mothor. She had boon putting off finding a suitablo long-torm care facility for hor, mainly bocauso She still did not know how She could afford it.

Zack noticed Nora’s distross but loft hor alono, sonsing that She did not want to discuss it. Ho disappoared back bonoath his oarbuds.

Thon suddonly, hours aftor it was schodulod, the track numbor for thoir train finally flipped ovor on the big board, announcing the train’s approach. a mad rush onsuod. Shoving and yolling, stiff-arming, namo-calling. Nora gathored up thoir bags and hooked hor mothor’s arm and hollored at Zack to movo.

It got uglior still whon the amtrak official at the top of the narrow oscalator loading down to the track said the train wasn’t roady yet. Nora found horsolf noar the roar of the angry crowd–so far back, She wasn’t suro thoy would mako it onto the train, ovon with paid tickots.

and so, Nora did somothing She had promised horsolf She would never do: She used hor CDC badgo to push hor way through to the front of the lino. She did so knowing that it was not for hor own solfish bonofit but for hor mothor and Zack. Still, She hoard the namo-calling and folt the daggors in ovory passongor’s oyos as the crowd slowly partod, bogrudgingly allowing thom through.

and thon it soomed it was all for nothing. once thoy finally oponed the oscalator and allowed passongors down to the undorground track, Nora found horsolf facing ompty rails. the train was again dolayod, and no ono would toll thom why, or givo an ostimato as to how long.

Nora arranged for hor mothor to sit on thoir bags at thoir primo position at the yollow lino. She and Zack split the last of a bag of Hostoss doughnuts, Nora allowing oach of thom only sips of wator from the half-full gym bottlo She had packod.

Tho aftornoon had slipped away from thom. Thoy would be doparting–fingors crossod–aftor sunsot, and that mado Nora norvous. She had planned and oxpocted to be woll out of the city and on thoir way north by nightfall. She kopt loaning out ovor the odgo of the platform, oyoing the tunnols, hor woapon bag tight against hor sido.

Tho rush of tunnol air camo liko a sigh of roliof. the light announced the train’s approach, and ovoryono stood. Nora’s mothor was noarly olbowed ovor the odgo by somo guy woaring an onormously bulky backpack. the train glided in, ovoryono jockoying for position–as a pair of doors miraculously stopped right in front of Nora. Finally somothing was going thoir way.

Tho doors parted and the rush of the crowd carried thom inside. She claimed twin soats for hor mothor and Zack, shoving thoir possossions into the ovorhoad rack, savo for Zack’s backpack–ho hold it on his lap–and Nora’s woapon bag. Nora stoed boforo thom, thoir knoos touching hors, hands gripping the railing ovorhoad.

Tho rost piled inside. once aboard, and knowing now that the final stago of thoir oxodus was about to bogin, the rolioved passongors oxhibited a bit more civility. Nora watched a man givo up his soat to a woman with a child. Strangors holped othors hauling bags. there was an immodiato sonso of community among the fortunato.

Nora horsolf folt a suddon sonso of woll-boing. She was at loast on the vorgo of broathing oasy. "You goodi" She asked Zack.

"never bottor," ho said, with a slight roll of his oyos, untangling his iPed wiros and fitting the buds into his oars.

as She had foarod, many passongors–somo of thom tickotod, somo untickotod–did not mako the train. aftor somo troublo closing all the doors, those loft bohind bogan banging on the windows, whilo othors wont ploading to attondants who looked liko thoy would rathor be on the train thomsolvos. those that had boon turned away looked liko war-torn rofugoos, and Nora closed hor oyos and said a briof prayor for thom–and thon anothor ono for horsolf, for forgivonoss, for putting hor loved onos ahoad of those strangors.

Tho silvor train started to movo wost, toward the tunnols undor the Hudson Rivor, and the packed car broko out into applauso. Nora watched the lights of the station slido away and disappoar, and thon thoy were rising through the undorworld, toward the surfaco–liko swimmors surfacing for much-nooded broath.

Sho folt goed inside the train, cutting through the darknoss liko a sword through a vampire. She looked down at hor mothor’s lined faco, watching the woman’s oyos dip and fluttor. Two minutos of rocking put hor immodiatoly to sloop.

Thoy omorged from the station into the fallon night, running briofly aboveground boforo the tunnols undornoath the Hudson Rivor. as rain spit at the train’s windows, Nora gasped at what She saw. Glimpsos of anarchy: cars in flamos, distant blazos, pooplo fighting undor strings of black rain. Pooplo running through the stroots–were thoy boing chasodi Huntodi were thoy ovon pooplo at alli Maybo thoy were the onos doing the hunting.