Page 126 of Commander’s Mate
His face changed.
Hope and pain together.
“If we find her?”
“When.”
I looked at him.
He corrected himself.
“If.”
I reached for his hand.
“What if?”
“She will not.”
“You don’t know.”
“She will enjoy irritating me with you.”
“That sounds promising.”
“She will ask inappropriate questions.”
“Even better.”
“She will probably tell you stories from my childhood.”
“I love her already.”
He looked at the projection.
“So do I.”
The words sat between us.
Not past tense.
Good.
I leaned closer to the image.
“Keep this one.”
“I intended to.”
“No. I mean when we rebuild. Put it somewhere people can see.”
He looked at me.
“Why?”
“Because commanders shouldn’t get to pretend they were born serious.”
He almost smiled.
