He didn’t sound frightened. He didn’t sound nervous. He just sounded unusually serious.
“Before we take off, I’d like to do something I’ve never done on a flight before,” Tyler said. “There is a very special person on this plane tonight. Someone who means absolutely everything to me.”
Mason whipped his head toward me.
His eyes went huge.
“He knows!”
For half a second, I thought he was right.
Of course Tyler had figured it out. Maybe someone at the gate had told him. Maybe he had spotted us after all. Maybe this was his way of turning our surprise around on us.
I could already picture Mason’s face when Tyler said our names.
And before I could stop myself, I started to rise from my seat.
Whenever Tyler left for work, Mason would ask, “Are you flying a big one today?” or, “Do the passengers know you’re my dad?”
A few weeks ago, Tyler mentioned he had a short Saturday flight to Chicago and would be home before dinner.
That gave me an idea.
I bought two tickets without telling him.
The plan was simple: Mason and I would board Tyler’s flight, stay completely out of sight, and surprise him after we landed.
Mason treated the secret like a classified mission. He packed his little headphones, a bag of gummy bears, and a drawing of his dad flying an airplane. Across the top, in giant crooked letters, he had written, “BEST PILOT EVER.”
Getting through the airport without Tyler spotting us was harder than I expected.
At one point, Mason grabbed my sleeve.
“Mom. MOM.”
Tyler was walking across the terminal less than thirty feet away.
I grabbed Mason and hurried him into a gift shop, where we suddenly became extremely interested in refrigerator magnets. Tyler disappeared around the corner while Mason stood beside me, trying so hard not to laugh that his whole face turned red.
We made it.
Once we boarded, we found our seats toward the back.
“Do you think Dad knows?” Mason whispered.
“No chance.”
“Can I tell the flight attendant?”
“No.”
“What if I just tell one person?”
“Mason.”
He grinned and zipped his lips.
