PART 1 — THE SURPRISE

I spent the entire morning making sure my husband would not see us at the airport.

It was supposed to be a surprise.

Our seven-year-old son, Leo, had never been a passenger on one of his father’s flights, and for months he had complained about it every time Brandon packed his black flight bag.

“Are you flying the big plane today, Dad?”

“Sometimes.”

“Do the passengers know you’re my dad?”

“They just know I’m their captain.”

“Why don’t they know about us?”

Brandon would laugh.

“Maybe they’ll recognize you one day.”

Leo never forgot that answer.

Neither did I.

So when Brandon casually mentioned that he had a short Saturday assignment flying from our city to Atlanta and returning later that evening, I decided the time had finally come.

I bought two tickets.

One for me.

One for Leo.

I told nobody.

When I explained the surprise to Leo, he jumped so hard on his bed that I had to threaten to cancel the entire trip if he broke the mattress.