I knew everything about the TSA officer from the look on his face before he even spoke. He was looking at things with the bored look of someone who had seen everything before, but something made him sit up straight and narrow his eyes at his screen. “Ma’am, step aside, please.”
It made my stomach hurt.
“Is there a problem?”
He showed me the X-ray screen, where there was something dark and thick in the shape of my left shoe. “This needs to be looked at more closely. Could you take off the insole?”
The man in business who was behind me in line looked at me funny as he got his laptop.
As they went by, a mother pulled her little girl closer. As I sat down and worked on the insole with shaking fingers, my cheeks burned. “Need some help?” A female police officer walked up and put on blue rubber gloves quickly.
I stumbled and said, “I… I don’t understand.” “My mother-in-law gave these to me.” Today was the first time I wore them. The inside of the shoe finally came off with a soft ripping sound. A small package wrapped in plastic was nestled in a precise hole that had been cut out of the sole.
The clear packaging showed that the green-brown goods were inside. The first officer’s face became more serious. “Can you explain this?”
“Those aren’t my shoes.” They are, but they were a gift.
“I didn’t know—” My voice broke. “Excuse me, I have no idea what that is.” Tomorrow morning I have a talk in Chicago that I need to give. He stopped me and said, “We’ll need to test the contents.” “Please wait here.”
It seemed like 20 minutes went by in a flash.
As I sat in a hard plastic chair and watched other passengers walk by, I could picture the news stories: “Marketing Executive Caught Smuggling Drugs.”
I was going to call Arthur, but I just couldn’t handle telling him this over the phone. What would he think? What does he mean by that?
When the senior officer finally came over to talk to me, he had kind eyes above his stern mouth. “The preliminary tests show no controlled substances in this package,” he stated. “But just in case, we can’t let you bring it on your flight.
You do know that this could have been a very bad situation, right?”
“Yes, sir.” I tried not to cry tears of joy. “I’m so sorry for the trouble.”
As he let me go, he told me, “Be more careful about what you bring through security.”
I looked at the package that the TSA worker put in my hand. A part of me wanted to throw it away, but I quickly put it in one of the airport boxes and ran to catch my flight.
I just barely made it, and my mind was racing the whole way to Chicago. This is not what Debbie would do. What exactly did she want to do?
Every option I thought about seemed crazier than the last, but they all led to the same conclusion: my mother-in-law had set me up on purpose. As soon as I got home, I took the bag to a lab to be tested. I couldn’t believe what I saw when the results came back.
As I looked at the report, my coffee got cold next to me. Mulethief. Yarrow.
St. John’s Wort. Folk magic used these leaves, according to the Google searches I did in a hurry.
They were used in magic to get rid of people, break up relationships, or “protect” someone from bad influences. She tried to get rid of me with magic. I didn’t do anything until Arthur and I were done with dinner that night.
He was whistling under his breath as he loaded the dishes when I finally got the nerve to say something. “We need to talk about your mother,” I stated. Dish soap bubbles were stuck to his hands as he turned around.
“What’s wrong?”
I told him everything I knew about the airport, the herbs, and the magic powers I thought they might have. Every time he spoke, his face got darker, and the muscle in his jaw ticked as he clenched it. “She’s never loved having me in her life.” This shows it.
Because of this act, Arthur, I almost got arrested. “Because she can’t accept that you picked me.”
Arthur dried his hands slowly and carefully, as if the simple job would help him calm down. “I knew she was having trouble accepting you, but this…” He turned his head away.
“This is not at all the same. There’s no way to explain this. It’s awful.
“What are we going to do?”
I could tell he was hurt when he looked at me. But there was also resolve. “I’m going to call her now.” After that, I’ll tell her she can’t come into our house until she actually owns up to what she did and says sorry.
“Arthur, you don’t have to—”
“Yes, I do.” He grabbed my hand tightly. “Jess, she did something wrong. She made you look like a bad person and tried to hurt you.
Even though I love my mom, I’m not going to let her ruin my marriage. You’re also part of my family, and she needs to understand that.”
The regular beat of his heart felt good against my cheek as I leaned into him. The shoes were in our closet as a warning that the most dangerous gifts don’t always come in the nicest boxes.
As Arthur grabbed for his phone, I knew that we would get through this storm together and be stronger for it. Maybe Debbie is really crazy because she knows that every time someone tries to split us, it only brings us closer. She might understand one day that Arthur has room in his heart for both of us.
We’ll stay away from each other until then, and I’ll be more careful about taking gifts.
