Our family was flying on a Make-A-Wish trip for my sick son — halfway through the flight, the pilot said, “Mike, there’s one thing about this trip that you and your parents know nothing about.”

purposes only

Then he whispered, “All three of us?”

“All three,” Stella said.

He hugged the tickets to his chest.

That was how we reached seat 12A.

Mike had the window. Stella sat in the middle. I took the aisle and pretended not to notice how often she checked his color.

A flight attendant named Dana brought him apple juice in a plastic cup.

“Do pilots really continue reading …