When it was time to say goodbye, Susan stepped close and wrapped him in a quick, gentle hug. The light floral scent of her perfume caught him off guard, and suddenly his eyes burned. For one long second, Alex went completely still, startled by the simple kindness of it.
He wanted to stay there, but he pulled himself together, carefully stepped back, and headed down the hallway without turning around. “We’ll come see you again soon,” Annie called after him brightly.
After that, Alex’s gray, repetitive life at the children’s home changed for the better. He stopped reacting to the nickname and quit paying much attention to Nick. With the new laptop, the internet opened up a whole world of useful and fascinating things.
He had always been drawn to machines, especially military aircraft. He read article after article and soon learned that the Antonov An-8 had been one of the first mass-produced military transport planes of its kind, and that the An-12 was a later, more advanced version.
Every weekend, Mike and Annie came to visit him. Sometimes they took him to the circus. Sometimes they spent the afternoon at an arcade or family entertainment center. At first Alex was deeply uncomfortable with any of it.
He had grown up with hand-me-downs and institutional basics, and it embarrassed him that these people—still almost strangers, in a way—were spending money on him. But one sunny morning in August, he was unexpectedly called into the director’s office.
He opened the heavy door, stepped inside, and saw Susan sitting there, smiling. Something in his chest tightened at once. His throat went dry.
“Alex, come in and have a seat,” the director said in his usual formal tone. “Mrs. Chandler has asked permission to take you with her for two days, if you agree to it. If you’re comfortable with that, I’m prepared to sign off.”
“Alex,” Susan said, standing up, “today is Aviation Day, and Mike’s unit is hosting a big event at the base. He asked me to invite you personally. So I’m asking—would you like to come with us?”
Alex was so stunned he could only nod, fast and hard, unable to get a word out…
