“Honey, it’s no good.” He ran his hands through his thinning hair. “Nothing I do makes my resume stand out from the others. The irony might be that I have too much experience. Remember how hard it was to get our first jobs when we had no experience?”

Cassie smiled, remembering those days. They had been young, newly in love and certain they would take the world by storm. How proudly he stood in his uniform, 6'2" of lean muscles and erect posture. That uniform was hard won and came only after years of study and sacrifice. They’d put off the children they both wanted until after he’d earned his wings and landed his first commercial pilot job. In the years since he’d worked his way up. He’d flown nearly every plane they’d made and was always the first to volunteer for a new route, a new destination, every new challenge.

Yet for the past few years he’d been unsatisfied. Paperwork loomed ever more important. Safety seemed to be taking a back seat to the bottom line. Then the added layers of security precautions and the general sense of uneasiness which pervaded the industry in these post 9/11 days had left Martin discouraged. He had survived the furloughs but things were not the same. Gone were the carefree flights, the feeling of peace up among the clouds. He had thought to leave the large passenger jet rat race and return to his first love, smaller planes. Flying nearer the ground he was reminded every day that borders were only arbitrary lines on a map and not a physical reality. He had actually begun sending out resumes well before September.

Now, as each week passed without any interest shown he had eased into melancholy. His shoulders slumped and his vitality seemed drained. They were talking about taking him off the flight line and making him an instructor. Cassie fretted over him, but what could she do? He had to find his own way through this detour in his life. All she could do was be there. Absently she picked up the cat and held her close, soothed by her contented purring.

“So what do you want to do?” she asked.

“That’s the kicker. Flying’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. If I can’t get another job and they put me behind a desk...” His voice trailed off.

Softly, she finished it for him, “you won’t know who you are anymore if you can’t soar among the clouds.”

Pain, then relief flooded his face as his shoulders relaxed a little. She had understood. This truth was hard for him to bear, but they’d found a way to take the brutality out of it. Maybe that was the first step in coming to terms with it.