not a plan ... yet

She is startled by the thought crossing her mind -- what if she just left and never returned? – and is struck both by guilt and exhilaration. Is it possible? Could she do that? She once read a book about a mother who went for a walk along the beach and never returned. She just kept walking. The phone rings, now, and she ignores it. She sits; she must. The kids would be fine, maybe even better. Sam was a good father, a much better parent than she. To be free, again – or, more to the point, for once. She feels her pulse race. Her heart beats against her chest – hard. It is possible. She would need just to start walking, and not look back. Looking back would be fatal. She stood. Not today, though. Not tomorrow, either. But maybe someday.