“It’s Wednesday.”
For the first time that morning, Elena laughed.
“Then I’m already losing track of my own birthday.”
Marcus chuckled and returned to his preparations.
Elena looked out through the cockpit windows. The morning sun reflected off the airport buildings, and ground crew members moved around the aircraft with the practiced urgency of people who knew exactly what needed to be done.
Soon, the passengers would be aboard.
Soon, the engines would roar.
Soon, she would be responsible for bringing hundreds of strangers safely to their destination.
There would be no room for self-pity in the cockpit.
There never was.
And perhaps that was why she loved flying so much. At thirty-six thousand feet, there was always something that required her full attention.
On the ground, however, the questions were harder to avoid.
Elena had not always dreamed of becoming a pilot.
As a little girl, she had wanted to be a teacher. She loved the idea of helping children discover things they never knew were possible.
