The terminal smelled like coffee, disinfectant, and impatience.
That was the first thing I noticed as we stood near the security checkpoint at Hartsfield–Jackson, watching people rush past us with rolling suitcases and half-finished drinks. The fluorescent lights overhead were too bright, flattening everything into harsh clarity. A TV mounted near the ceiling murmured about traffic on I-85 and a storm system moving east, the volume just low enough to fade into background noise.
It should have been ordinary.
Just another Thursday night. Just another business trip.
I was exhausted in the quiet, dangerous way you don’t notice until it’s already taken root in your bones. The kind of tired that doesn’t come from lack of sleep but from holding everything together for too long without ever being asked how you’re doing.
My husband, Quasi, stood beside me, perfectly put together as always. Gray custom suit pressed sharp enough to cut, polished Italian shoes, leather briefcase hanging easily from his hand. He wore confidence like a second skin. The expensive cologne I’d bought him at Lenox Mall for his birthday clung faintly to the air around him.
To anyone watching, we were the picture of success. A polished Atlanta family. A Black executive on the rise, his loyal wife and well-dressed child seeing him off.
By my side was our son, Kenzo.
Six years old. Small hand tucked into mine, fingers damp with sweat. He wore his favorite Hawks hoodie and light-up sneakers that blinked red and blue when he shifted his weight. His dinosaur backpack hung crooked on one shoulder, stuffed with a coloring book and a plastic T-rex he took everywhere.
Kenzo was usually quiet, but this was different. He was too still. His body rigid, his eyes tracking everything around us instead of bouncing with curiosity like they usually did. It felt like he was holding something in, something too big for him.
“This meeting in Chicago is crucial, babe,” Quasi said, pulling me into a hug that felt practiced. Familiar. Almost hollow. “Three days tops. I’ll be back before you know it.”
