Getting through the airport without Tyler spotting us was harder than I expected.
At one point, Mason grabbed my sleeve.
“Mom. MOM.”
Tyler was walking across the terminalI grabbed Mason and hurried him into a gift shop, where we suddenly became extremely interested in refrigerator magnets. Tyler disappeared around the corner while Mason stood beside me, trying so hard not to laugh that his whole face turned red.
We made it.
Once we boarded, we found our seats toward the back.
“Do you think Dad knows?” Mason whispered.
“No chance.”
“Can I tell the flight attendant?”
“No.”
“What if I just tell one person?”
“Mason.”
He grinned and zipped his lips.
A
few minutes later, the cabin door closed.
Then the speakers crackled.
Tyler’s voice filled the plane.
Mason’s entire face lit up. He grabbed my hand and whispered, “That’s him.”
I pulled out my phone because I wanted to capture Mason’s reaction. I imagined showing Tyler later and watching him laugh when he realized his own son had been sitting quietly in the back while he welcomed everyone aboard.
Tyler mentioned the weather, gave the flight time, and made one of his usual corny jokes.
Mason was beaming.
Then Tyler stoppedAfter a few seconds, his voice came back over the speakers.
“Actually, folks, before we leave, I need to say something a little different today.”
I lowered my phone slightly.
Something in his voice had changed.
He didn’t sound frightened. He didn’t sound nervous. He just sounded unusually serious.
“Before we take off, I’d like to do something I’ve never done on a flight before,” Tyler said. “There is a very special person on this plane tonight. Someone who means absolutely everything to me.”
