The Sky Beneath Her(100)

“Of course. Happy to help.” Determined footsteps sounded in the hallway. “That would be Mr. Riggs. He’s been worried about you.”

“Me?”

“You seem to have that kind of effect, I think. Good luck to you, Gertrude.”

I reached for the pouch and handed him Sigrid’s identity papers. “I’ll choose a new name.”

He nodded but didn’t accept the papers. “You keep them.”

“Can you suggest a name that sounds as if it belongs in the United States?”

“I like the name Margaret.”

It sounded different from all the other identities I’d used in the last year. “I like it.”

“Good luck, Margaret.”

He was gone before I could say another word, and seconds later, Mr. Riggs entered the room with a small bouquet of flowers that looked as if he’d picked them from the garden outside my hospital window.