I SAW ADRIAN AT THE GATE
He stood near the jet bridge in full uniform, talking with his first officer.
He looked relaxed.
Confident.
Exactly like the twenty-six-year-old pilot I had fallen for years earlier.
For one ridiculous second, my heart reacted exactly the same way it had back then.
I ducked behind a pillar.
“Very mature, Claire,” I whispered to myself.
I waited until the final boarding group.
Then slipped onto the aircraft.
Seat 14C.
I kept my head down as I passed the cockpit.
Adrian never saw me.
Perfect.
The doors closed.
Flight 482 pushed away from the gate.
Then the cabin speakers crackled.
Adrian’s voice filled the plane.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain.”
I smiled.
I had heard that voice on hundreds of flights.
Altitude.
Weather.
Arrival time.
The practiced calm of a man who had spent his adult life making nervous passengers feel safe.
Then—
Adrian paused.
“BEFORE WE LEAVE TONIGHT…”
His voice sounded different.
Not frightened.
But emotional.
“I’d like to do something I’ve never done on one of my flights before.”
Conversation around me faded.
Adrian continued.
“There is someone very special on Flight 482 tonight.”
My face immediately became hot.
He knows.
Somebody must have shown him the passenger manifest.
My surprise was ruined.
I actually began rising slightly from my seat, already imagining two hundred people turning toward me when he said:
“My wife, Claire Bennett…”
Instead—
Adrian said:
“His name is Walter Simms.”
I froze.
“He’s sitting in seat 3A.”
Then Adrian added:
“And he is the reason I ever learned to fly.”
I slowly sat back down.
Suddenly—
I was cold.
