#9

She has been in line for a little over an hour. She is practicing four part breathing to stay calm. Her car rental reservation was for 44 minutes ago. As her belly balloons out and in, she shuffles forward a few steps as another person leaves the queue. Still a dozen people ahead of her in a mix of sweatpants and business suits. Shifting. Eyeing each other with suspicion. Eyeing the counter with anger. After the next step forward, she finds herself softening. From her place in line she can see into the back room behind the counters that says “employees only.” There, an elderly woman in a company branded blue and yellow polo shirt and matching hat looks to be clocking in or out. Her purse dangles from its long thin strap at the crook of her elbow, and it reminds the woman in line of her own grandmother whose purse would dangle the same way, as if at a certain age nothing stays on a woman’s shoulder. The elderly employee picks up a stack of something from a desk. They are passports. She is opening them one by one. Squinting. Holding them close to her face. She must have at least six or seven. The woman in line deduces that they must have been left behind in one of the rental cars. An unfortunate mistake. Soon a whole family will be running in looking distressed. She makes a mental note not to forget anything when she returns this car in two days time and watches the elderly employee hover the passports just above the desk where she picked them up. But instead of putting them down, she puts them into her purse. The woman in line is stunned and then jumps when the person behind her says “can you move up please.” From her new place in line, she can no longer see into the office.