I took her hand.
***
We boarded the airplane without a hitch.
We reached row 7, and I felt Emma’s grip tighten on my sleeve.
Her stuffed airplane was pressed tightly against her chest.
A woman was already sitting in 7A. She looked to be in her late forties, sharply dressed, with her handbag tucked neatly under the seat in front of her.
I stood beside her seat and gave her my softest smile.
I felt Emma’s grip tighten on my sleeve.
“Excuse me, ma’am. I think those are our seats.”
The woman looked up slowly, scanning me and then Emma before scoffing.
“I paid for the window seat. So did you, apparently. Sounds like a problem.”
Advertisement
A flight attendant appeared beside me right then.
Her name tag read “Lisa.”
I handed her our boarding passes without a word.
“Sounds like a problem.”
Lisa checked them, then looked at the woman’s boarding pass and let out a long, tired sigh.
