Chapter 41: The Count Between

Qing found Su before the southbound train did, which proved nothing about Qing's speed. The platform display had postponed the train three times without admitting a delay. Su sat under the shelter at SODO station with the exit case between her shoes. Rain silvered the rails. She had walked the long way from White Pine, past the dark window of the alterations shop and the noodle shop's lowered grate, and she had reached the platform at eleven. Cold sat in her right hip. The child pressed against the last warm place under her ribs. Qing came down the stairs with her hair wet and one side standing up where she had dragged her fingers through it. She carried the pharmacy tablet inside her jacket. She did not hurry. She stopped in front of the bench and opened her other hand. Su's wedding ring lay in her palm. "You forgot this,"…