Relocated

“Get in!” Mike reached across the car and threw open the passenger side door. The blond girl on the sidewalk stared open-mouthed.

“Excuse me?” Anna took a step back, clutching her books close to her chest.

“Don’t they tell you guys anything anymore? I’m your handler. The guy who’s going to relocate you.” He stared at her a minute, waiting. Patience was not one of his strengths. If the girl didn’t get in soon, he would just pick her up and throw her in.

Finally, her long tanned legs slipped into the car, and she shut the door. Books still clinging to her chest, she took in a shaky breath. “Will I get to say goodbye to my family?”

“Sorry, kid, no pit stops.” He shifted gears in the two-door red ford car as he headed out of town and onto the highway.

A tear slid down the girl's cheek, and she quickly swiped it away. “What about clothing? I don’t have anything with me.”

“Don’t worry about it. Everything you need will be provided. Food, clothing, a place to live, it's all been taken care of.” He reached over and opened the glove box. A stack of papers spilled out onto the girl's lap and down to the floor. “Sorry about that. That’s all for you and your new life.”

Slowly she picked up each piece of paper, looked at the writing, then placed it on her lap. “Sophia Grange. It has a nice ring.”

Mike smirked. She was taking it better than most people he dealt with. At nineteen, she was the youngest person he had relocated. He had to admit he was worried about how difficult she would be. So far, she was the perfect passenger. He just wondered when the reality of her situation would set in, and the brave front she put on would crack.

“We’re going to a safe house first to go over your new identity, and collect your clothes, and other necessitates.”

She nodded her head, but her eyes never left the picture of herself she held in her hand. He wondered if she was going to be able to handle this drastic of a change. He always worried about the people he helped. Wondering if they kept to their new lives and stayed safe or ventured back to family and old friends blowing their cover and putting their lives in danger.

He never knew what happened to them after he got them settled. It wasn’t his job to keep tabs on them once they got relocated. That job fell to someone else who was equipped to help them through their emotional distress.

He cleared his throat. “So you have two choices about what you want to go to college for.”

“I’m already going to college to be a nurse.” Her big brown doe eyes turned to look at him.

He avoided her stare, choosing instead to keep his eyes on the road. “That’s not an option. You have to leave everything that could connect you to your old life behind. You could be a teacher or an archeologist.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw her reaction. Eyebrows drew together, lips pursed tight. This was when most people put up a fight. They knew what they wanted to do with their life, and no one was going to tell them otherwise. The girl simply turned her head and watched the trees zip by as they drove down the road.

When she finally did speak, he had to strain to hear her. “Do I have to decide now?”

Not what he was expecting. It took him a moment to regain his train of thought. He had prepared himself for an argument that never came. “Just make your decision before we leave tomorrow morning so they can get you set up at your new school.”

A simple nod of her head again. He was starting to worry about this one. Maybe she was too young, and the stress of leaving her whole life behind was too much. She was sinking into a well of self-pity that would destroy her and make her go crazy. He shook his head to scatter the wayward thought. Maybe he was the one who was going crazy.

After twenty years of relocating people, it still hit him in that soft spot in his heart. It never got any easier to see them struggle to adapt and take it all in. “You okay, Kid?”

She chuckled. “Sure. Who wouldn’t be okay with leaving their whole life behind. Never seeing their friends or family ever again.”

“Look, I know it’s hard -

“No. You don’t know. Because at the end of the day, you get to go back to your cozy normal life, while I get to sit in an apartment somewhere alone and worried. I get to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life, wondering if you did your job good enough to keep me hidden from the mob boss who wants me dead. You couldn’t possibly know how hard it is.”

He swallowed the lump that lodged itself in his throat. She was right, he didn’t know, and probably never would. A blessing for him. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to make you feel better.” He pulled into a small hotel just off the main road and parked the car. “Wait here.”

She nodded her head, and he left her to go check the room. Five minutes later, he was ushering her into a small room barely big enough for the two of them.

“Here are some new clothes. Take what you want.” He threw a suitcase on the bed. “Pack everything you want in there.” He pulled another bag out from under the bed. “Toothbrush, hairbrush, and other personal things are in here along with five hundred dollars and something extra I thought you might like.” He put the bag on the bed beside the suitcase.

With shaky fingers, she undid the zipper and rooted around, inspecting each item she pulled from the bag. A tear slipped down her cheek when she pulled out a book that was shoved to the very bottom, buried under the assortment of other items. Her fingers brushed over the cover. “Thank you.”

“Your file said you liked to read fantasy. Not sure if you’ve read that one, but it looked good to me.”

“It’s perfect. Thank you for being so thoughtful.” She swiped at the tears on her cheek. “I’ve decided I want to be an archeologist.”

He couldn’t hide the shock from his face. This girl had surprised him every step of the way. He figured she would go for the teaching gig. A smile spread across his face. “Archeologist it is. I’ll let my crew know, they'll have it set up by the time we get to Arizona. Can I ask why you choose that?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I like adventure and history.”

They both had a good laugh and finished sorting out all the details of her new life. For the first time in all his years as a relocator, he was never more confident that this one would make it.