She looked at me.
“I really have been behaving terribly today, haven’t I?”
“Yes, sweetheart. You have.”
She laughed through her tears.
I slipped the bill back into my wallet.
“Your apology is accepted. But I hope you’ll remember this the next time you find yourself treating someone as though their feelings don’t matter.”
“I will.”
And for the first time since I had met her, I believed she might mean it.
A Different Kind of Ending
The captain eventually announced that we would begin our descent.
Harold helped me straighten my handbag beneath the seat.
“Tell me something, Martha,” he said quietly. “Do you always turn airplane passengers into life lessons?”
“Only the particularly difficult ones.”
“And what category do I fall into?”
“Undetermined.”
He laughed.
Then he glanced toward Brittany.
She was sitting quietly, her phone still in her bag, her hair safely braided behind her shoulders.
For the first time all afternoon, she was not trying to capture anyone’s attention.
