The Last Flight

It is Friday, five days after the plane crash. Claire knows that to actually disappear she needs money. At the coffeeshop, the affable barista, who finally introduces herself as Kelly, chats with Claire and then suggests she work at a catering business where Kelly works part-time.

Meanwhile the news maintains its focus on the crash. As Claire studies a photo on the cover of a news magazine of her and Rory at a fundraising gala, Claire cannot believe how completely her smile masked the terrors of her home life. Suddenly she is happy wearing Eva’s clothes and living in her apartment: “The woman on the cover does not exist anymore” (133). She recalls uneasily how, at their wedding reception, Rory first revealed his need to control her and his way of keeping her in line through quiet threats. She wishes she could console the lady in the photo and tell her that everything would eventually work out.

As she fantasizes about what she would like Rory to say at her eulogy—an apology for being so cruel to her—a text message in Rory’s mail pops up. It is a message from the task force investigating the crash. Recovery of the fuselage, nearly intact, revealed that Claire’s seat had been empty at the time of the crash.