One Four-Hundred-Dollar Hotel Charge Sent Me Home Three Weeks Ahead of Schedule

She looked at the packed leather bags sitting in the entryway.

“Is it over?” Haley asked.

Her voice was quiet and unsure.

“Yes, it is,” I said.

“Mom thinks you’re still at Al Asad.”

“I know,” I said.

“You did a perfect job keeping the date a secret.

Nobody knows I’m here.”