We had stopped asking each other why a long time ago.
I lingered near the front of the plane, pretending to scroll through my phone as the last passengers filed out. My stomach flipped with every step toward the cockpit.
What would I say? What if I was wrong?
And then the door opened.
The pilot stepped out, tall and composed, with gray at his temples and soft lines around his eyes.
But those eyes… they hadn’t changed.
He saw me and froze.
“Ms. Margaret?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Eli?” I gasped.
“I guess it’s Captain Eli now,” he said, laughing as he rubbed the back of his neck.
We both just stood there, staring at each other.
“I didn’t think you’d remember me,” he said after a moment.
“Oh, honey.
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