Page 64 of Marco

Marco bends down, unzipping his luggage. From deep inside he pulls out a medium sized box. "This will have a proper home." He hands it to me.

Totally lost, I open the box. "Oh!" Inside is a small wooden plane. "This is the one we saw in Rome! When did you have time to go back and get it?"

"I called and had the owner send it to the hotel. Do you like it?"

My heart thuds so quick it hurts. "I love it."

Marco's eyes heat up with powerful emotions. "That makes me so happy, Filia. It seems fitting for a flight attendant to have a memento like this."

My happy heart shrinks into a tiny knot. I trace my fingers over the wings of the plane. "Yup."

His shadow covers me. His hand softly clasps my cheek. "What's wrong?"

I look at my shoes feeling my face flush. "You're thinking you'll get me my job back with a simple email. I'm not so sure."

"I'd make a phone call. Not an email."

I shake my head quickly. "The method isn't important. I'm saying it might not work. And even if it does..."

He tilts my chin to make me look at him. "I can get it back for you. Really."

I look to the side. "What if I don't want it back?"

"Wait, why would you not want it? I thought being a flight attendant was something you enjoyed."

"It was," I admit. "And it wasn't. God, sorry, I'm being confusing."

"Take a breath. Tell me what you're struggling with."

I take in a deep breath, trying to center myself. "I don't want to be seen as someone who only got their job because of you. But also, I guess...what I loved about the job all along was seeing the world. Experiencing things. Now that I've done that with you, I guess going back to being a flight attendant feels... confining."

Marco's thumb rubs soothing circles on my cheek. "You won't be confined."

"You're right, every job has parameters––"

"No. I mean, you don't have to go back to working for the airline if you don't want to."

"Okay, but I have to do something. And that job was the closest I ever got to my dream to see the world."

"You aren't hearing me." He cradles my face, kissing my cheeks, then my mouth. His breath is hot, it stirs my heart. "You really don't have to do it. You liked traveling with me? Ilovedtraveling with you. Let's just do that."

My head is buzzing. I focus on his eyes, noting how serious he's being. "You mean it."

"Yes."

"But why?"

"You're asking me that?" Laughing lightly, he takes the plane from my grip, placing it on the shelf. It fits in among the other items like a missing puzzle piece. "I love you, Filia. You know this. I only offered to help you with your old job because I thought it's what you wanted. If it isn't, then forget it. Let me give you your dreams."

I stare at him in disbelief. It's like he's read my mind, understood my deepest desires, and is now offering them to me on a platter. "You'd do that for me? Give me my dreams?"

"Of course, Filia. Don't you know by now that all I want is for you to be happy?" Marco says, pulling me into a hug.

I bury my head in his chest, feeling the weight of his words and the magnitude of his love. It's overwhelming, yet it feels like the missing piece I've been searching for all my life. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. Just let me take care of you, Filia. Let me show you the world, let me make your dreams come true," he says, holding me tighter.

I pull back slightly, looking up at him. "And what about your dreams?"

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