They mocked the woman in seat 22C—until two fighter jets aligned with her window, and a pilot spoke her name in a way that made the entire plane forget how to breathe.

then. An actual laugh. Short, warm, gone fast.

“I could tell.”

Sarah smiled back like she had just been forgiven for a great many things besides coffee and moved on.

Kayla exited with her phone held down at her side, as if she no longer trusted herself with a screen facing outward. She stopped a few feet away.

“I shut the live off,” she said.

“That was continue reading …