He delivered the remaining nine papers. He rode home. He cleaned the scrape behind his ear with peroxide from the bathroom cabinet. He set Opal's morning medication beside her water glass.
He sat at the kitchen table and ate a bowl of cereal and did not tell his grandmother what had happened. He did not call the emergency number Wendell had left. Not yet. At 8:22 a.m., a black sedan with government plates and tinted rear windows exited I 285 and turned south onto Maynard Street.
The man driving it was 42 years old. He had not slept in 26 hours. His carry-on bag sat on the passenger seat, and inside it, beneath a folded dress shirt and a Ziploc bag of travel toiletries, was a leather credential case he had not opened in public in 23 months. He had a fresh haircut from the barber at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where he had spent his last 72 hours completing an afteraction debrief that would be classified for the next 30 years.
He wore a navy polo shirt, khaki trousers, and plain frame reading glasses that made him look like a high school guidance counselor. This was intentional. Wendell Kaine pulled into the driveway at 11:42 Maynard Street and sat in the car for 45 seconds before turning off the engine. The house looked the same.
The porch light was on, which meant Opal was awake. The bicycle was not in the yard, which meant Micah was either at school or on his route. The lawn needed cutting. The gutter on the east side had pulled away from the fascia.
The mailbox had a new dent in it that had not been there when he left. He picked up his bag, walked to the front door, and knocked twice. The door opened. Opal Kaine stood in the doorway in a house coat and slippers, holding a coffee mug with both hands.
And for 3 seconds, she did not speak. Then she set the mug on the hallway table without looking at it and put both arms around her son's neck and held on with the specific strength of a woman who had spent 23 months not knowing where her child was, whether he was safe. Whether the next knock on the door would be him or someone bringing news about him. I'm home, mama.
I can see that. She did not let go. You eat yet? No, ma'am.
Then sit down. He sat at the kitchen table. Opal made eggs. He noticed the plastic organizer with the day labels.