After we landed and most of the passengers had left, the flight attendant came back.
“The captain said Benjamin can look through the cockpit doorway if he’d like.”
Benjamin looked at me with enormous eyes.
“The real cockpit?”
“The real one.”
He walked forward holding my hand.
At the doorway, the captain was waiting.
He showed Benjamin the seats, the instruments, and the controls without overwhelming him with details.
Benjamin listened to every word.
Then he held up his little blue airplane beside the cockpit.
For a moment, I pictured Daniel seeing it.
The captain pointed to the toy.
“Think I could keep that?”
Benjamin immediately pulled it against his chest.
“It was Grandpa’s.”
The captain smiled.
“Then that’s exactly where it belongs.”
On the way out, Benjamin turned back.
“I’m going to fly again.”
The captain gave him a small salute.
“I figured you might.”
I had boarded that plane believing the little blue airplane was simply one of the few things I could give Benjamin from a grandfather he’d never known. I left understanding that Daniel had given him something else too.
