Elowyn:Finn why haven’t you added her to the group yet?
Mom:Everyone BREATHE. Are you both alive?
I leaned forward and showed Alex the screen—she burst out laughing. “Your family’s having a moment.”
“They’re excited.”
I spoke back quickly:
Me:We’re both alive and on the ground. Alex just landed like she’s been flying for years
The responses came immediately.
Mom:Oh thank goodness!
Elowyn:I KNEW she was perfect for you!
Dom:proud of you both
Enzo:STILL waiting for an answer about the pilot situation!!!
Claire:pictures!!
“Claire wants pictures,” I couldn’t stop smiling. “El wants you added to the group text.”
“I don’t mind if you add me in,” Alex was already reaching for her phone, beaming as she settled back into the front seat. “Let’s get a picture.”
Ileaned forward so we were both in frame. Alex held her phone up for a selfie, and I couldn’t help the ridiculous grin that spread across my face—still riding the high of watching her fly, of remembering what it felt like to teach someone the thing I loved most.
“Perfect,” she sighed, checking the shot before sending it to me.
I opened my messages and looked at the image—Alex beaming in the front seat, hair still messy, cheeks flushed with excitement. And me behind her, grinning like an idiot, looking happier than I’d felt in months, maybe years. I added her to the family chat group and then sent the picture.
Me:Proof we’re still alive
Alex:
Our phones erupted in a flurry of reactions and chatter. Alex laughed and set her phone to silent before slipping it back in her pocket. “Want to go up again?” she asked, buckling herself back in. “I promise I won’t crash us.”
“Darlin’, after that landing? I’d trust you to fly this thing to California.”
The second flight was even better than the first—Alex was more relaxed, asking questions about different maneuvers, wanting to try steeper turns and a practice approach. I let her explore what the aircraft could do, watching her catalog every response and sensation. She was a natural.
When we finally tied the Cub down and secured the hangar, Alex was vibrating with excitement, talking rapidly about control feel and sight pictures and whether we could try some basic stalls next time.
“You’re hooked,” I slung an arm around her shoulders as we walked back toward the truck.
“Completely,” she leaned into me, still buzzing. “That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever done.”
“Even better than producing award-winning animations and games?”
“No comparison,” she smiled up at me. “Plus, flying involves trusting you with my life, which turns out to be surprisingly appealing.”
I stopped walking and looked down at her—hair completely undone at this point, eyes bright with adrenaline, wearing that expression of complete trust and exhilaration. The woman who’d learned to fly my grandfather’s plane, who’d thrown herself into something completely outside her expertise because I’d offered to teach her.
“What?” she asked, catching my stare.
“Just... you’re somethin’ else, Alexandra,” I kissed her fiercely.
