I pulled out my phone and started recording.
Tyler gave the usual welcome.
He mentioned the weather in Chicago.
Estimated our flight time.
Then made one of his predictable jokes about getting us there before anyone had time to finish an overpriced airport sandwich.
Mason giggled.
Then Tyler stopped speaking.
It wasn’t a normal pause.
It stretched just a little too long.
When he finally continued, something about his voice had changed.
“Actually, folks, before we push back, I’d like to say something a little unusual.”
I lowered my phone slightly.
Mason squeezed my hand.
“There’s someone very special on board today,” Tyler continued. “Someone who has changed my life in ways I never expected.”
Mason whipped around toward me so quickly his headphones nearly fell off.
“It’s me. Dad knows!”
For half a second, I thought he might be right.
My heart jumped.
I even started smiling.
Then Tyler said,
“Laila, I know I’ve told you privately, but I wanted to say this somewhere that means a lot to me.”
My smile disappeared.
Mason frowned.
Then Tyler continued.
“You’re carrying our baby, and I can’t wait for the life we’re building together.”
I don’t remember breathing.
“I know the last few months have been complicated,” Tyler said, “but I can’t wait for the day I can call you my wife.”
Mason slowly turned toward me.
A woman across the aisle smiled as though she were witnessing the most romantic moment imaginable.
My phone was still recording in my hand.
And suddenly, I remembered Laila.
Six months earlier, she had appeared at our front door.
I had been working on a commissioned painting in the dining room when the bell rang.
When I opened the door, a woman stood outside crying.
Her mascara had streaked beneath both eyes.
“Is Tyler here?”
“No. He’s working.”
Her face fell.
“I need to talk to him.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Laila.”
She wiped her cheeks.
I waited for an explanation.
None came.
“Would you like to leave him a message?”
“No.”
She hesitated.
“Never mind.”
“Is something wrong?”
“I shouldn’t have come.”
Then she turned and walked away.
That evening, I asked Tyler about her.
He froze for just a second.
The way people do when they hear a name they weren’t expecting.
Then he recovered.
“Laila? She works for the airline.”
“Why was she standing at our door crying and asking for you?”
“She’s having some problems at work. I’ve been helping her.”
“With what?”
“A complaint involving another employee. It’s complicated.”
Something about the explanation bothered me.
But Tyler had never given me any obvious reason to believe he was unfaithful.
No suspicious messages.
No unexplained absences beyond his normal flight schedule.
No strange charges.
Nothing.
Laila never appeared again.
Her name never came up.
Eventually, I convinced myself I had been paranoid.
Now I was sitting on a plane listening to my husband announce that she was pregnant with his child.
I wanted to go back six months and shake myself.
Tyler finished his announcement.
Several passengers applauded.
Someone near the front cheered.
Beside me, Mason whispered,
“Mom?”
I put my phone away.
“What does Dad mean?”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
“Who’s Laila?”
“Later, sweetheart.”
“Why did Dad say she’s going to be his wife?”
His voice started shaking.
That was the moment I stopped thinking about myself.
Whatever Tyler had done to me, our son had just heard it too.
I took Mason’s hand.
“Look at me.”
His eyes were already wet.
“Is Dad leaving us?”
“We don’t know exactly what’s happening yet.”
“But you’re his wife.”
His tears started falling.
I pulled him against me.
Every part of me wanted to stand up.
Walk to the front of that plane.
Demand answers.
But the aircraft had started moving away from the gate.
And my child needed me to stay calm.
The flight was less than two hours.
It felt like ten.
Mason barely touched the gummy bears he had packed.
