CHAPTER 7

“I don’t know if I’ll be any good at this.”

“You don’t have to be good at anything,” Kenna told her. “You’re just going to tell your story, and we’ll get Eden’s picture out there to as many people as we can, okay? It’s about trying to get her back to you, not how good you are on camera. Be yourself. That’s important. The more genuine you are, the more people will respond to you and pay attention. If they pay enough attention, maybe they’ll remember something, or they’ll go on our website or Eden’s and look closer.”

“Right,” Raleigh replied as she sat in the comfortable chair on the studio stage.

They’d already gone to her house and had taken what they’d called B-roll footage of Eden’s bedroom, which had been hard enough. Raleigh didn’t want anyone in her daughter’s bedroom. She was afraid someone would touch something, move it out of place, and it would be different when Eden got home. What if Eden didn’t remember it then? What if she didn’t remember Raleigh?

“So,” Kenna said. “I’m just going to ask a question to get the conversation going. It’ll be about Eden and your life together. Nothing too hard and not about her kidnapping. Then, we’ll move into that, but we’ll take it at your pace. If you need a break, just tell me. If you want to stop altogether, that’s fine, too.”

Raleigh nodded and looked into the incredibly bright light over Kenna’s shoulder, which was a mistake. She squeezed her eyes shut, seeing only white now. Then, she opened them again and looked over Kenna’s other shoulder. That was when she saw her. Hollis was standing back behind two cameras. She gave Raleigh a sweet wave, and Raleigh smiled and waved back. Hollis nodded, and for some reason, Raleigh felt better.

“Are you ready?” Kenna asked.

“Yeah,” she replied.

◆◆◆

An hour later, Kenna said they had what they needed. Raleigh was grateful it was over. She’d managed to hold in her tears until about halfway through. Now, she wanted a bathroom and a mirror so she could clean herself up. This thick makeup they’d applied would take a shower to get off, but she could at least wipe her eyes and splash water on her face.

“Hey, you did great,” Hollis told her, finding her in the bathroom as Raleigh wiped her hands on paper towels.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be there.”

“I asked Kenna if it was okay if I peeked in. She said it was fine. I figured, if you didn’t want me there, you would wave me off or something, but–”

“No, I’m glad you were there. It helped,” Raleigh interrupted. “Thank you.”

“For what? I didn’t do anything.”

“You were there,” she replied, opening the bathroom door for Hollis to walk out first. Raleigh followed her and added, “I haven’t had anyone there for me for a while. Well, there was someone for a bit, but she’s married and is with her own kid, so she can’t exactly drop everything when I break down or need to grab coffee in the middle of the night. I appreciate you showing up, I guess.”

“Well, I do work here now,” Hollis replied, trying to make light of it.

“Hey, you two,” Kenna said when she saw them. “Raleigh, you were great. When this episode airs, we’ll get leads. I never guarantee anything, but it’ll at least get people on Eden’s website, and maybe that’ll give you something.”

“I hope so,” Raleigh replied.

“We have quick turnarounds here, so this will be airing soon. I’m sorry we couldn’t get to it before the one-year anniversary. We usually try to time these things better, but we–”

“It’s okay. I’m not the only case you cover. There are thousands of missing kids out there,” Raleigh replied.

“Babe, hey,” someone spoke behind Kenna.

“Oh, hey. Come over here,” Kenna said, turning to see who it was and motioning the woman and the little girl to join them. “Rip, this is Hollis and Raleigh. Ladies, this is my wife, Ripley, and this is our daughter, Aaliyah.” She placed both of her hands on the little girl’s shoulders and moved Aaliyah in front of her.

“Nice to meet you,” Ripley said, holding out her hand for Hollis to shake first and then Raleigh. “Did you finish up, or should we wait?” she asked Kenna.

“We’re basically done. I just have one more thing to do. Then, we can go.” She kissed Ripley’s cheek. “Do you want to watch me shoot the outro?” she asked Aaliyah.

“Yeah, cool,” Aaliyah said, looking up at her mom.

“We’ll be right back. If I don’t see you before you go, Raleigh, I’ll make sure you have the air date, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you,” Raleigh said.

Kenna and Aaliyah walked off, but Ripley stayed.

“She never stops,” Ripley noted, shaking her head and smiling.

“Your wife or your daughter?” Hollis asked.

“Both. Aaliyah is taking after Kenna more and more these days. She says she wants to be a reporter, like Mom.” Ripley turned to them then. “I don’t know if I can handle two of them in the house.”

Hollis laughed and said, “I’ve only been working here for a few days, but Kenna is really great. What she did for my mom was amazing.”

“You’re Hollis,” Ripley said. “Sorry, I didn’t put it together at first.”

“Yeah. Kenna’s book helped me find my mom.”

Ripley smiled and turned around. Kenna and Aaliyah were back on stage and no longer visible, but Ripley’s smile remained when she turned back.

“She’s amazing, all right. Never tell her I said that, though.”

Raleigh laughed a little and looked at Hollis, who was doing the same.

“Did she tell you how she and I met?” Ripley asked Hollis.

“Not exactly. Broad strokes, mainly.”

“She knows I don’t like to talk about it a lot, but as much as she drove me crazy when we first met because we are just polar opposites and I could not understand someone like her, she helped me learn about what happened to my family when I was a kid. Then, she gave me a family of my own. So, I know how good she is at this. I also know how much she cares. A lot of these hosts or producers want the story, and Kenna is no exception, but she also wants to bring happiness to people who go through tragedy. She’s seen what that can do to someone she loves, and she doesn’t wish it on anyone. It makes her even better at her job.” Ripley looked at Raleigh and added, “And you’re Raleigh.”

“I am.”

“She talks about you a lot. Eden is your daughter, right?”

“Yes,” she replied softly.

“Kenna won’t stop until she’s found. She’s relentless. She’ll do whatever she can to help, okay?”

Raleigh’s eyes welled with tears for the millionth time since her daughter went missing.

“She kept working on my case until I came home,” Hollis noted.

Then, Raleigh felt a hand on the small of her back. She looked over and saw that Hollis had taken a step closer to her. It was Hollis’s warm hand on her back, offering her much-needed comfort.

“Thank you,” Raleigh said to Ripley but also meant it for Hollis.

“Mom, she got it in one take!” Aaliyah said excitedly as she bounded back over to them. “She did the whole thing one time and got it. They said they didn’t even need her to do it again.”

“She’s a pro,” Ripley replied to her daughter. “Where is she?”

“She said she’d meet us in her office,” Aaliyah said. “But can I go to the kitchen and get a snack?”

“We’re going to dinner,” Ripley replied.

“I don’t want dinner, though. I want a snack.”

“I want you to have dinner,” Ripley said.

“It’s a bag of chips, Mom,” Aaliyah argued.

“You won’t eat your food.”

“I promise, I’ll clean my plate.”

“Go find your mother and ask her if you can have chips,” Ripley told her. “Tell her that I’ll be right there, and then we’re leaving because I’m starving.”

“Me too. That’s why I want chips.”

Aaliyah ran off, and Ripley shook her head before she turned back to them.

“Just like her mother,” she said. “She doesn’t give up, either.”

“Is she getting those chips?” Hollis asked.

“Probably. Sometimes, Kenna likes to argue with her just for fun and doesn’t give in. Other times, she does. It’s fun to watch. I should probably get in there before Kenna gives her all the chips in the kitchen and we spend money on chicken tenders and mac and cheese that she doesn’t even touch.”

“Your wife or your daughter?” Hollis laughed.

“That’s all Aaliyah. It was really nice to meet you two. I hope we get a chance to see each other again. Maybe we will, with Hollis working here now.”

“Yeah,” Hollis uttered.

Raleigh didn’t say anything, but when Ripley walked off, Hollis dropped her hand, and Raleigh missed it and its warmth.

“You’re pretty good at it,” Raleigh told her .

“What?”

“You said the other night that you don’t have any practice making friends and that you’re not good at it, but I think you just made one,” Raleigh explained.

“She was just being polite.”

“No, she wasn’t,” Raleigh replied. “I am good at making friends. Well, I was before all this. I’ve lost a few since Eden. I lost a few before that, too, when they chose my ex over me. You know how that goes. And she’s polite, yes, but she’d hang out with you.”

“Well, we’ll see,” Hollis said, turning to her. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay. Hanging in there, I think. It’s hard to see moms with their daughters, you know? Aaliyah is so excited by what her mom does. Sometimes, I’d see girls with their moms at the store or something, and I’d hear them argue just like they did. They want cookies or ice cream, and the mom is telling them why they can’t have it. It just makes me wonder what Eden would be asking for in the store now. She liked chocolate ice cream with sprinkles. Does she still? That kind of a thing.”

“Hey, I’m pretty much done here, and my mom will be napping until I get home,” Hollis told her. “Do you want to grab that real coffee, like we talked about, since the good places are open now?”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to keep you from her.”

“I’m sure. I just have to close my computer for the night, and we can go, if you want.”

“That would be great. I’m buying, though,” Raleigh said.

“Can I get chips?” Hollis laughed.

“They’ll ruin your dinner,” Raleigh joked back.

And, God, it felt good.

“I’m pretty sure I’ll be eating chips for dinner tonight,” Hollis said. “I might do nachos or something to make things interesting.”

“You’re eating chips for dinner?” she asked.

“I’m not a great cook,” Hollis explained. “My mom doesn’t have the energy to cook, so I try to make her something when I can, but then I just grab whatever I can find and eat it in the living room after she goes to bed.”

“Let’s go to the coffee place on Fifth, then,” Raleigh suggested, thinking as she spoke. “There’s a Mexican place next door, with a deli on the other side. The Mexican place has handmade tortillas, and the deli has the best chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had. You can put in a take-out order at each, if you want. She can eat the soup, and you can get whatever you want. I bet their nachos are slightly better.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Hollis replied. “Want to come to my desk or wait here? I haven’t decorated it or anything; it’s just a computer. But we could leave from there.”

“Sure,” Raleigh agreed.

She followed Hollis through the cubicles on the other side of the floor and waited for her to shut her computer down and grab her stuff. Then, she saw Kenna, Ripley, and Aaliyah in Kenna’s office. Ripley was on the small sofa, and Kenna was sitting next to her. Aaliyah was standing in front of them, and it looked like she might be pleading her case for those chips. Raleigh smiled but still felt that pain in her heart at the same time.

“Are you ready?” Hollis asked.

Raleigh nodded.