Kate Cordello

Save for a brief patch of turbulence, the flight from to New York from London had been uneventful. Kate Cordello was eager to get back home. She loved her job but she had been flying for a week with only one layover. She was running on coffee and quick naps.

Despite taking pains in not letting it show, she felt tired. Her feet hurt and she was in dire need of a hot shower and a long rest. After checking out at the terminal, Kate had picked up her suitcase, pocketbook and flight bag and taken a taxi back to her apartment in Brooklyn. (Do not judge. The rates were lower, there was an elevator and air conditioning, and she got more square footage for the dollar. Plus, she had a certain amount of freedom being on her own. Privacy too.)

After paying the taxi and getting her bags, she approached the front of her building. She had her hands full but she was not alone. There was a man in a wheelchair. That was not an uncommon sight. That he was wearing a suit was not even uncommon. Kate smiled politely at him but paid him no more attention than that.

She was less than ten minutes away from her shower or perhaps a bubble bath. That was it, a bubble bath. Kate thought she even had a magazine to read.