“Would he try foam earplugs?”
I nodded.
She showed them to Benjamin before touching anything near him. He looked at me, and I helped him put them in.
The man across the aisle muttered, “Special treatment.”
The attendant straightened.
“Sir, that’s enough.”
He gave an irritated sigh and leaned back.
I thought that was the end of it.
Then Benjamin’s little airplane slipped off his lap.
It bounced once and landed near the attendant’s shoe.
She picked it up.
Then she froze.
The toy was old, its blue paint rubbed pale along the wings. On the bottom was a faded airline logo and Benjamin’s name in black marker, which I’d written there because he lost things constantly.
The attendant turned it over.
“Where did he get this?”
“It was his grandfather’s.”
Her eyes lifted to mine.
“His grandfather?”
“My husband.”
She looked at the toy again.
“Ma’am… may I see your boarding pass for just a moment?”
