Chapter 25 — An Open Door

The next morning the sun came up bright and clear.

Nia and I sat at an outdoor table at a little pancake house near the pier, gulls swooping over the pilings, her pilot wings pinned to her denim jacket and the gold coin beside her orange juice.

My phone buzzed — a number I didn’t know. Sergeant Langston, this is Captain Ferris Hartline.

I told my son Malik about our flight last night.

He was deeply moved.