“I’ll come back.”
“What if we fall asleep?”
“I’ll still be there when you wake up.”
They exchanged a look.
Then Eva nodded.
We joined the boarding line.
Halfway down the jet bridge, Eli dropped his stuffed fox.
I bent to pick it up.
When I straightened, both children had stopped several steps ahead of me.
They were looking back.
A year earlier, two children had watched an adult walk away without turning around.
Now they were waiting to see what I would do.
I held up the fox.
“Forget somebody?”
Eli grinned and ran back for it.
Eva laughed.
And together, all three of us walked toward the plane.
I looked back once before the door closed.
Not because I was afraid of the past anymore.
Because I wanted them to see me do it.
