The Astronaut Spent 6 Months in Space — The First Person She Looked for Was Me

Six months, four days, and eleven hours after she left Earth, Commander Dana climbed out of that capsule — and every camera in America tracked her every step. The crowd was screaming. Generals were saluting. And me? I was at the very back, holding a cardboard sign it took me two hours to paint, already regretting every drop of glitter. But here's what nobody in that crowd knew: she didn't walk to the podium. She didn't wave at the cameras. Commander Dana — the woman who orbited the Earth more times than I've had birthdays — cut straight through that crowd like a heat-seeking missile, and every single step of hers was aimed at me. What you're about to hear is the story of how I found out I was the most important person in her life even when she was four hundred kilometers away. And the part I'll never forgive myself for? I almost let her slip through my fingers.