Xavier planned a tightly scheduled trip to visit Samantha in California, flying in Saturday afternoon and returning early Monday to go straight to work. He canceled volunteer shifts, arranged for Maggie to watch his dog, and booked a budget hotel near Samantha rather than assuming he could stay with her. Samantha offered to pick him up, which he accepted to maximize their time together.

Upon arrival, Xavier exited through a different door than planned and spotted Samantha first, leaning against a classic blue convertible. Their eye contact immediately reaffirmed his feelings; he realized the financial and emotional cost of repeated trips would be high, yet he was already committed.

They embraced warmly, with Xavier feeling an instant sense of calm and contentment. Samantha asked about his flight and pointed out she had put the convertible’s top down for him, confirming the car was hers and joking about its power to attract helpful strangers when the hood was up.

Xavier gave Samantha a bag of cupcakes from Nadia Cakes, including a Spumoni with maraschino cherries, a nod to her Minnesota favorites. Samantha was delighted and promised to take him to what she called the best burger he would ever have. They hugged again, both savoring the reunion and the simple plans ahead.