Nate’s face brightened. “Dude, what if she won the lottery? And she’s loaded?”

David gave him a skeptical glance.

“She won the lottery and she’s loaded,” Nate continued, “and when we get there, there’s going to be like a massive house.”

“No,” David said. “I don’t think so.”

“Okay, well, maybe she feels bad that she’s loaded and she didn’t tell you. So when you get there, she’s going to give you a portion and then you’re going to be loaded too!”

David was glued to the phone, waiting. The little dots on the screen disappeared. “She stopped typing.”

“Okay, look. The minute she texts you back, I need you to read it out and give me a big reaction, okay?”

This was the problem with having Nate along. David couldn’t simply react, he had to filter it through Nate’s cinematic mind.

What could it be? he thought. What had Melissa failed to tell him about herself? Had some doctor given her a bad diagnosis? Was she going through chemo and had lost her hair?

Nate had his camera up, focused on David’s face, but he seemed to squirm for some reason.

“You good?” David said. “What’s going on?”

“What’s she say?” Nate said.

“She’s still typing,” David said.

Nate groaned, his eyes darting. He bounced on his chair, still trying to hold his phone to catch David’s reaction.

“What’s wrong?” David said. Then he spotted Nate’s empty glass of soda.

“I’ve got to go to the bathroom!”

“Then go.”

“I can’t miss your reaction.” Nate looked behind him as if searching frantically for the nearest restroom. David knew it was in the next car.

Finally Nate could stand it no longer. “All right, don’t read that until I get back, okay?” He pushed his chair back and hurried away.

David turned his attention to his phone again. He felt a rising tide of anxiety. He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands on his jeans.

Melissa looked at the words she’d written, the secret that wouldn’t be a secret any longer. There was something about sending a text like this that felt like releasing birds. Where would they fly? When she hit Send, she would lose control.

Father, I don’t know how David will react to this. But I pray that this would be welcome news to him and not something that turns his heart away from me. I trust in You to do something good in our lives.

As she said amen, she hit the Send button and waited.

David ran through more scenarios of what Melissa might want to tell him. His thoughts were interrupted by the phone alert showing he’d received another message. He grabbed it and read the words. Then he stood as if he couldn’t sit and read the text.