Everyone was impatient as the jet touched down and taxied to a stop. It was under a minute when the door popped open, and the stairs were lowered. The ambulance staff immediately moved to wait at the bottom of the stairs while John and Alice exited the plane. John paused after stepping onto the tarmac to look up at the open door. Alice patted his back as she gently tugged him away from the plane to where his friends waited.
Carrie pulled free from Drew and raced to John and Alice. She wrapped her arms around John’s neck and began to sob. That broke John. He collapsed onto the tarmac, taking Carrie down with him. Alice knelt beside them and rubbed their backs to help comfort them, knowing it would not help.
She sighed and whispered, “Take your time. It will be a few minutes to get Haile
