Trust him.
I had trusted him when he said he was working late. I had trusted him when he explained the unexplained hotel charges on our joint credit card. I had trusted him when he claimed that Vanessa was nothing more than an old colleague.
And now he was asking me to trust him while declaring his love for her to an entire airplane.
I put my phone away.
When the wheels touched the runway in Chicago, Mason looked toward the window without saying a word.
As passengers began standing and reaching for their bags, I stayed seated until the aisle cleared.
I didn’t want to embarrass Tyler.
I didn’t want to embarrass myself.
Most of all, I didn’t want Mason to remember this day as the moment his mother lost control.
We walked off the plane together.
Tyler was waiting near the cockpit, still wearing his uniform and smiling as he spoke to a tall blonde woman standing beside him.
Vanessa.
She was holding a bouquet of white roses.
When Tyler saw her, his whole face softened in a way I hadn’t seen in months.
Then he leaned down and kissed her.
Right there in the terminal.
In front of passengers who had just listened to his announcement.
I stopped walking.
Mason stopped beside me.
“Mom,” he whispered, “is that the special person?”
Tyler finally turned.
His smile vanished.
For one long, terrible second, he stared at us as if we were the ones who had done something wrong.
Then he looked at Mason’s little backpack, the drawing tucked beneath his arm, and my phone in my hand.
“What are you two doing here?” he demanded.
I stared at him.
Not Why are you here?
Not Mason, buddy, what a surprise!
Not even I’m sorry.
Just a question delivered with the irritation of a man whose carefully arranged plans had suddenly become inconvenient.
“I thought our son might like to see his father fly,” I answered quietly.
Vanessa’s eyes widened.
“You have a son?”
Tyler’s jaw tightened.
“Vanessa, this isn’t—”
“You told me you and your wife were separated,” she interrupted.
The terminal seemed to grow quieter around us.
I looked at Tyler.
He looked at Vanessa.
Neither of them looked at Mason.
And in that moment, I understood something worse than the fact that my husband was having an affair.
He had been telling different versions of his life to different people, confident that the people who loved him would never stand in the same room long enough to compare notes.
Unfortunately for him, his wife and his mistress had just met.
And his son was standing right between us.
Part 3: The Surprise He Never Saw Coming
Tyler stepped toward me.
“Can we please talk privately?” he asked through clenched teeth.
I glanced at Mason.
