Page 58 of His Secret Gift

So, with a smile, I answer, “I think it’s beautiful. What about you?”

He stares out the window as we start moving. “It’s amazing. I never thought in my wildest dreams I’d be able to travel to a place like this. I grew up in a small town in Ohio.”

That strikes a chord with me. “You did? Where abouts?”

“Wooster.”

“Oh, nice. I’m from Powell.”

“No way. My grandfather was from Columbus.”

I nod along. “Very cool.”

Then, another Midwesterner comes into my view. Kayla is getting up from her pod and headed toward the bathrooms.

“Excuse me for just a second.” I know it will look weird, especially to Jenkins, who specifically asked me about the pottery, but I don’t really care. I can always lie and say I gave it to one of the employees for safe keeping.

That’s one of the bonuses of being the boss. No matter what you say, the other people can’t really question its validity because it is always possible that I’d actually done this or that thing.

So, I get up and cling the dish to my chest.

There’s a little back room where I assume the attendants on longer journeys prepare snacks. It’s separated from the rest of the train by two maroon curtains.

“Kayla,” I whisper when I see her get out of the stall.

“What in the—”

“Hey.” Being so close to her again has me skipping breaths.

“Jack? What are you doing?”

“Um. This is for you.” I hand the package over to her, her eyebrows wrinkly in confusion. “Just open it.”

“Okay.”

When she does, she gasps. “How did you know?”

Grinning, I let her know that I saw her admiring it.

“You said something about a nickname your dad called you?”

She gives me a big hug, and the overwhelming smell of lavender in her hair hits my nostrils.

“Thank you so much.”

“Of course.”

She wipes at her eyes and sniffles.

“Are you okay?” I hold her by the shoulders and search her face.

Another tear falls down. “Yeah, it’s just—this reminds me of my dad.”

Aw. “Wait. In a good way, right?”

She nods. “A very good way. Clouds were kind of our thing.”

“Well, I’m happy you’ll have a memory of him and your time here in Morocco.”

---