“Hi, Helen,” I said, straightening up. “Glad you made it.”
“Well, of course I made it,” she replied, glancing at my mountain of suitcases. “My goodness, dear, did you pack the whole house?”
“Roger, look, the kids are already tired.”
“Just the essentials for the kids,” I answered evenly. “Sunscreen, extra clothes, medicine, the usual.”
“Hmm.” She lifted an eyebrow. “In my day, we traveled light. Children learn to adapt.”
Roger leaned in and pecked my cheek.
“You look stressed,” he said. “Try to relax. We’re on vacation.”
“I’d relax faster if someone grabbed a suitcase,” I said, trying to keep my tone light.
“You look stressed,”
Helen laughed as if I had told a charming joke.
Roger simply patted my shoulder.
He walked off toward the check-in kiosk, phone already in hand.
Max looked up at me. “Mom, why isn’t Grandma helping?”
“Grandma is our guest, buddy,” I whispered. “We’re going to be extra nice, okay?”
“But you said she was coming to help you,” Ben added, frowning.
“Mom, why isn’t Grandma helping?”
I didn’t have an answer for that, so I just squeezed his hand.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Helen adjust her sunglasses on top of her head.
She was chatting warmly with a stranger about her son’s generosity.
“He booked me first-class, you know,” she was saying. “Such a thoughtful boy.”
The words snagged in my ear like a loose thread.
First-class?
“Such a thoughtful boy.”
I hadn’t heard Roger mention anything about first-class for the trip.
He must’ve upgraded us all as a surprise.
That would be a sweet gesture, exactly the kind of romantic touch I had hoped for on our anniversary.
Roger approached with the printed tickets.
His smug smile gave me my first hint that this vacation was a mistake.
He must’ve upgraded us all as a surprise.
Roger strolled back from the check-in kiosk.
He fanned out a stack of boarding passes like a magician about to reveal a trick.
Then he peeled off three and pressed them into my palm.
I looked down at the tickets.
