A young woman was standing in the aisle of an airplane, screaming at me with tears in her eyes.
“YOU RUINED MY EIGHT-HUNDRED-DOLLAR HAIR EXTENSIONS!”
She pointed at me as if I had committed a terrible crime.
Passengers turned in their seats. A little boy covered his mouth with both hands. A flight attendant hurried toward us, while an elderly gentleman beside me leaned back and whispered, “Well, Martha, I believe your afternoon has officially become interesting.”
I looked at the young woman, then at the pink, glittering substance stretched between her fingers and the enormous mass of blonde hair hanging over her shoulders.
I sighed.
“Sweetheart,” I said calmly, “you should have kept your hair on your side of the seat.”
To understand how we ended up there, however, I have to take you back to the airport, where this entire adventure began.
The Girl Who Held Up the Entire Line
Two hours earlier, I had been standing in the duty-free shop, waiting to purchase a small gift for my granddaughter, Emily.
