She didn’t often have those kinds of thoughts because most of life was a worst-case scenario. She had spent her days thinking of all the things that might go wrong and choosing the worst because she thought the worst would probably come true. It was hard to break out of that mindset with the pain of her past.

And then she thought of Shawn and remembered what God had done in her life. She looked at the phone and decided not to let her fear guide her with David. She needed to believe that God was big enough to help them overcome anything that came between them. Faith instead of fear.

Just one step, she thought. Just one text. Lord, help me.

David sat across a table from Nate in the dining car. The server had brought their drinks and sandwiches, and Nate was talking about an idea he had for a shot of David meeting Melissa for the first time. He wanted to shoot from above.

“I wish my drone was fixed—that would have been perfect.”

“Don’t overthink it,” David said. “Just capturing the moment will be enough.”

“Yeah, but I want anybody who watches it to feel what you and Melissa feel. That’s how you hook people—you make them part of the experience.”

“Then stay on the ground. Going up fifty feet in the air takes you away from what’s happening.”

Nate took a bite of his sandwich. “You might have a point there. Maybe I get an extreme close-up. You know, like in those 3D movies where it feels like you’re inside the eyeball of the main character.”

“No, you’re not going to intrude like that, okay? That’s why God created the zoom feature.”

Nate laughed. “Good one. Okay, I won’t get too close.” He took another bite and sat back. “So what do you think it’ll be like? For you, I mean. When you see her the first time.”

David glanced at a mother at a table in the corner with two children. Where were they going? What were they talking about as the miles rolled past?

“I’m not sure how I’ll feel,” David said. “It all feels surreal right now. Like it’s happening to somebody else.”

“That’s good,” Nate said. “You need to say that on camera.”

David reached out and stopped Nate. “No, no camera right now. Just eat your lunch.”

A message arrived and David picked up his phone. A single-word text was on the screen.

Hey.

“Oh, wow,” David said.

“What?” Nate said.

“It’s Melissa.” Three dots under the text meant she was writing something. When it came, David read it to Nate.

“‘I need to tell you something that I haven’t mentioned yet.’”

Nate leaned over the table. “Well, what is it?”

“I don’t know. It says she’s still typing.”