We reach the lobby, and Cap is wait

We reach the lobby, and Cap is waiting at the elevator just as I asked him to. He has her juice in a to-go cup and our breakfast. I love the relationship they have. I was a little worried to reveal to Tate that I had known Cap all my life. When I finally told her, she was irritated with both of us. Mostly because she assumed Cap was telling me everything she confessed to him.
I assured her Cap wouldn’t do that.
I know he wouldn’t, because Cap is one of the few people in this world I trust.
He knew just the right things to say to me without appearing as though he were lecturing me or giving me advice. He’d always say just enough to make me think long and hard about my situation with Tate. Luckily, he’s one of the few people who grow wiser with age. He knew what he was doing with both of us all along.
“Morning, Tate,” he says to her, grinning from ear to ear. He holds out his arm for her to take, and she looks back and forth between us.
“What’s going on?” she asks Cap as he begins to walk her toward the lobby exit.
He smiles. “The boy is about to take me on my first-ever ride in an airplane. I wanted you to come along, too.”
She tells him she doesn’t believe this is his first time in an airplane.
“It’s true,” he says. “Just ’cause I have the moniker don’t mean I’ve ever been on a real plane.”
The look of appreciation she shoots me over her shoulder is enough to declare this day one of my favorites, and it’s not even daylight yet.
• • •

“You okay back there, Cap?” I say into the headset. He’s seated right behind Tate, staring out his window. He gives me a thumbs-up but doesn’t take his eyes off the window. The sun hasn’t even broken through the clouds yet, and there’s not very much to see at this point. We’ve only been in the plane ten minutes, but I’m pretty sure he’s just as fascinated and mesmerized as I hoped he would be.
I return my attention to the controls until I reach optimal altitude, and then I mute Cap’s headset. I glance at Tate, and she’s staring at me, watching me with an appreciative smile spread across her lips.
“Want to know why we’re here?” I ask her.
She glances over her shoulder at Cap and then looks back at me. “Because he’s never done this before.”
I shake my head, timing it just right. “Remember the day we were driving back from your parents’ house after Thanksgiving?”
She nods, but her eyes are curious now.
“You asked what it was like to experience the sunrise from up here. It’s not something that can be described, Tate.” I point out her window. “You just have to experience it for yourself.”
She immediately turns and looks out her window. Her palms press against the glass, and for five minutes straight, she doesn’t move a muscle. She watches it the entire time, and I don’t know how, but I fall even more in love with her in this moment.
When the sun has broken through the clouds and the airplane is completely filled with sunlight, she finally turns back to face me. Her eyes are filled with tears, and she doesn’t speak a word. She just reaches for my hand and holds it.