She had kept that promise.
She had become a captain.
She had crossed oceans, landed in cities she once dreamed of visiting, and proved herself in a profession where some people had assumed a woman would never belong in the captain’s seat.
Yet, on a day when most people expected birthday calls, family dinners, and someone waiting with a cake, Elena had received nothing but a few messages she hadn’t yet had time to answer.
Her apartment in Chicago was empty.
Her parents lived several states away.
Her last serious relationship had ended two years earlier, after months of missed anniversaries, canceled weekends, and conversations that always seemed to begin with, “I’m sorry, but I have a flight.”
Her former partner hadn’t been a bad man. He had simply wanted a life that Elena’s schedule couldn’t give him.
“I love you,” he had told her during their final conversation. “But I don’t want to spend the rest of my life waiting for you to come home.”
