A Pack of Gum

At the gate, Daniel checked his phone for the third time. His daughter Sophie was flying to Berlin that night — a new job, a one-way ticket. He'd promised himself he wouldn't make it weird.

“You've got your passport?” he asked.

“Yes, Dad.”

“And the charger? The one I—”

“I've got everything,” Sophie said. She smiled, but her eyes were wet.

They stood there. A voice called her flight.

Daniel didn't know how to say the big thing, so he said a small one. He reached into his pocket and handed her a pack of gum.

“For your ears,” he said. “On the plane.”

It was the same gum he'd given her on every car trip since she was little. Sophie hugged him hard and walked through the gate.

On the plane, she opened the pack. Under the top piece, he'd written on the foil: “Call when you land.”