“Shall we begin?” Leslie asked her.
“Yes. Thank you,” the woman replied.
It took several days to make accommodations for this woman’s particular set of circumstances. They were discussed with no one beyond those absolutely necessary. By the end of the week, this young woman would be gone forever, given a new chance to make a life in which she could find happiness. Those she left behind, those who had hurt her, would not find her. A lesson had been learned with Leslie, one that changed one more thing in the machine that issued freedom to those who needed to take flight from cages.
As for Leslie, she would receive nothing for her efforts other than the ability to keep an eye on her client. She alone would know how and where to find her and, when and if the time came that she could be of further assistance to her, she would do so. It was the way the system had been designed. No one knew who had created the network nor what had become of her. Records were not maintained. Even the existence of such a place was a well-kept secret.
On Friday, Leslie stood on a helipad, watching her client get on board with only a few possessions. Beside her was a man who required her only to pretend to be his wife for the purposes of inheriting a large sum of money. He had been well vetted and would be closely monitored for several months, without his or the client’s knowledge. Leslie backed away, waving as the couple left. She returned to her car, feeling relieved, then got in it and headed home.“HOW WAS THE LIBRARY?” Tucker asked.
“It was good. I got a lot of studying done,” she told him.
It was their own code. Tucker knew what she did, was familiar with her volunteer work, but even he was not aware of where the center was located, and they never discussed any of it past her telling him only the generic information that she intended to help women like herself and would not be able to talk to him about it. He understood.
She had flown back to the place where Constance had last existed and went to National Insurance to attend a meeting with Monica Rochelle, which she had set up under a false name. Once inside, she had removed her sunglasses and scarf to look at the woman who was no longer named Kate. She had thanked her for her work in broad terms, though each knew the underlying meaning. From there, she had been sent to another destination where she had met a refined older woman in all black. She, too, wore dark glasses and spoke only to say what was necessary, telling Leslie she would be in contact with a location in Wyoming for her.
It had been weeks later when Leslie had been called to the center and met with another woman who had put her on the path to take her place within the network and Leslie was pleased by this. Not only was she now a coordinator for the network, she was also a benefactor, providing anonymous funding for women who required it to achieve their new lives without fake marriage arrangements. Though that was the main objective of the agency, there were also women who were too wounded, too jaded, to accept such an assignment.
That was where Leslie came in, helping them in whatever way was required to buy them a new future. For her, this was her redemption. She had found happiness with Tucker and their children, happiness beyond her dreams. Now, she fully intended to keep giving that same chance to any other women she could help achieve it.
“Mom!” cheered five voices as she entered the den where they were all piled up watching an animated movie that seemed to have them in stitches.
“What do we have here?” she asked, slipping off her heels and plopping down in the middle of them.
“Dad ordered us pizza!” Ella said with a giggle.
“I hope he ordered more than one with the likes of you hungry beasts,” Leslie asked.
“Oh, trust me. I did,” Tucker said, joining them to wait for its arrival.
“I guess it pays to own a restaurant,” Leslie laughed.
“It certainly does,” he laughed, knowing he was taking advantage of his position, but no one delivered this far out other than the people he employed, who were more than willing to accommodate his rare orders of pizza for eight.
Leslie looked around at them and smiled, cuddling up against her husband. Life was good. It was so good, in fact, that she couldn’t imagine how it might get better. Tucker leaned down and kissed her on top of the head, bringing another smile to her face. Their relationship had only gotten better with every year they were together. He was the love of her life and their children her greatest joy beyond that.