The Woman in the Gray Suit
The flight was full.
The only available arrangement placed Louise one row behind me.
I sat in the aisle seat with Noah against my chest.
Louise leaned forward and squeezed my shoulder through the gap between the seats.
“I can see you,” she said. “And I know how to press the call button.”
“Only for emergencies.”
“What about bad snacks?”
“Especially not for bad snacks.”
She smiled and returned to her seat.
The woman beside me did not smile.
She wore a gray suit, pearl earrings, and the expression of someone already composing a complaint.
Before the cabin doors closed, she looked at Noah.
“If that baby starts screaming, I am not going to sit here and listen to it.”
I blinked.
“We have not taken off yet.”
“I am warning you now.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“People always say that. Then everyone else suffers.”
Louise leaned forward again.
“My brother is usually quiet.”
The woman ignored her.
Louise sat back, but I saw her frown reflected in the window.
She had inherited Mark’s strong sense of fairness.
It usually appeared immediately before she said something dangerous.
I gave her a warning look.
She opened her tablet and stayed silent.
The plane pushed away from the gate.
Noah startled at the vibration.
I braced myself for the crying Evelyn already expected.
Instead, he blinked, wrapped one tiny fist around my finger, and settled against me.
Louise waved through the gap.
I waved back.
Evelyn opened a magazine with a sharp snap and held it between us like a wall.
Every few minutes, she looked at Noah over the top of the page.
I could not decide whether she feared he might wake or resented that he had not proven her right.
