PART 4
Marcus returned five minutes later.
Kelly did not come back with him.
Another flight attendant replaced her in the cabin.
Marcus crouched beside me.
“Mrs. Carter?”
“My name is Sarah.”
“Sarah, I need to apologize.”
I said nothing.
“The seat was not double assigned.”
“I know.”
“Your reservation was valid.”
“I know.”
“You should not have been moved.”
I looked toward Maya.
“My daughter should not have been left beside someone who was openly hostile toward us.”
“You’re right.”
“And your flight attendant knew the woman was lying.”
Marcus hesitated.
“We are still determining exactly what happened.”
“Do they know each other?”
He lowered his voice.
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“How?”
“They appear to be acquaintances.”
Lorraine suddenly called from the seat.
“We are not acquaintances.”
Marcus turned.
“Ma’am.”
“She served me at the gate.”
Marcus stared at her.
Lorraine stopped.
I looked back at him.
“What does that mean?”
Marcus hesitated.
Then he explained.
Lorraine had arrived at the gate early.
She had apparently complained about her assigned middle seat.
She wanted extra legroom.
She wanted a window.
The flight was full.
Kelly had told her she would see whether anyone failed to board.
Then Lorraine noticed Row 11 during early boarding.
Kelly apparently told her the seats might remain open until late boarding.
Lorraine sat there.
Then I arrived.
Instead of correcting Lorraine, Kelly decided moving me would be faster.
I felt sick.
“So there was no computer error.”
“No.”
“No double assignment.”
“No.”
“She wanted my seat.”
“Yes.”
“And your employee lied to me because dealing with a mother carrying a newborn looked easier than dealing with her.”
Marcus’s expression tightened.
“I cannot speak to motive.”
“I can.”
I looked at Lorraine.
“She knew I was exhausted.”
Lorraine rolled her eyes.
“She knew I was carrying a baby.”
I continued.
“She knew my daughter was ten.”
Lorraine turned toward the window.
“And she decided I would eventually give in.”
Marcus did not respond.
Because there was nothing to say.
PART 5
Marcus told Lorraine she had to return to 14B.
The irony was immediate.
Seat 14B was the middle seat where I had been sitting.
Lorraine refused.
“No.”
Marcus remained calm.
“Your assigned seat is 14B.”
“I’m settled here.”
A passenger laughed.
Someone else muttered, “Here we go again.”
Lorraine looked around angrily.
“I paid for this ticket.”
“So did everyone else,” Marcus said.
“I am not moving after takeoff.”
“Then we will document your refusal.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the captain will be informed.”
Her expression changed.
“You’re threatening me?”
“No.”
Marcus sounded almost amused.
“I’m explaining the situation.”
Lorraine stared at him.
Then she looked at me.
“This is all because of you.”
Maya spoke before I could.
“No.”
Lorraine looked at her.
Maya pointed at the boarding pass.
“This is because of you.”
A woman behind us laughed.
Then half the nearby rows joined her.
Lorraine grabbed her tote.
She shoved her feet into her shoes.
Then she marched toward Row 14.
The older man stood to let her in.
She stopped.
“You expect me to sit there?”
He smiled.
“It’s your assigned seat.”
Even I laughed.
Lorraine sat down.
I returned to Row 11 with Maya.
For the first time since boarding, I sat in the seat I had paid for.
Maya sat at the window.
Leo remained asleep.
I almost cried from relief.
Then Maya leaned against me.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“I’m hungry.”
I started laughing.
Not because it was funny.
Because after everything, that was the most normal thing she could have said.
I pulled crackers from her backpack.
She ate them quietly.
