“You can still fly to London.”
“That isn't the point.”
Caroline leaned slightly closer.
“I'm sure the airline can compensate you.”
Tom immediately added:
“We can offer each of you a five-hundred-dollar travel voucher.”
Nia stared at him.
“Five hundred dollars?”
Tom nodded.
“For the inconvenience.”
Maya's expression remained calm.
“We don't want compensation.”
Caroline sighed dramatically.
“Young people today.”
Nia leaned back.
“I'm twenty-four.”
“And?”
“And I know how tickets work.”
Several passengers nearby tried not to smile.
Caroline's cheeks flushed.
“This is about customer service.”
“No,” Maya said.
“This is about you wanting something you didn't purchase.”
Caroline's mouth opened.
Before she could answer, a woman in a crisp airline uniform approached.
“Susan Pfizer,” the woman introduced herself. “I'm the lounge supervisor.”
Caroline immediately turned toward her.
“Finally.”
Susan looked from Caroline to Tom, then to Maya and Nia.
“What seems to be the problem?”
Caroline began explaining.
Her husband.
Her loyalty.
Her years with the airline.
Her supposed inconvenience.
Her husband's anxiety.
Her importance.
By the end of the story, it sounded as though the airline had deliberately sabotaged her life.
Susan listened patiently.
Then looked at the twins.
“Ladies, would you be willing to consider moving?”
“No,” Maya said.
Susan blinked.
Nia added:
“We're not giving up our seats.”
Susan's professional smile weakened.
“Even with compensation?”
“No.”
Caroline whispered loudly:
“They should sit in the back.”
This time, everyone heard it.
Maya slowly turned toward her.
For a second, she said nothing.
Then she smiled.
It wasn't an angry smile.
It was something colder.
“Mrs. Harrington,” Maya said, “you seem very confident about where people belong.”
Caroline lifted her chin.
“I simply understand how things work.”
Nia closed her tablet.
“Then you should understand this.”
She looked at Tom.
“Please confirm that our tickets are valid.”
Tom nodded.
“They are.”
“First class?”
“Yes.”
“Seats 1A and 1B?”
“Yes.”
“Paid in full?”
“Yes.”
Nia looked back at Caroline.
“Then I believe we're done.”
Caroline's face hardened.
“No.”
Maya frowned.
“No?”
“I don't think you're understanding.”
Caroline lowered her voice.
“My husband is one of the airline's largest corporate clients.”
Tom's expression changed.
Susan noticed.
Maya noticed too.
Caroline smiled.
“Do you really want to make this difficult?”
Nia leaned forward.
“We aren't making anything difficult.”
Caroline picked up her handbag.
“I'm going to make sure someone important hears about this.”
Maya shrugged.
“That's your choice.”
Caroline walked away.
Tom remained behind.
He looked miserable.
“I'm sorry.”
Maya softened.
“It's not your fault.”
Susan looked at the sisters.
“Ladies, I apologize.”
“Thank you,” Maya said.
The supervisor nodded and walked away.
Nia waited until she was gone.
Then whispered:
“Who does she think she is?”
Maya looked through the window at the planes.
“I don't know.”
Nia frowned.
“But I have a feeling we're about to find out.”
Five minutes later, Maya's phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Dad.
She answered.
“Hi.”
Her father's voice came through immediately.
“Where are you?”
“At the airport.”
“I know.”
Maya frowned.
“How do you know?”
“Because I know everything about my daughters' travel schedule.”
Nia leaned closer.
“What did we do?”
Their father laughed.
“Apparently nothing.”
Then his voice changed.
“What happened?”
Maya hesitated.
Nia whispered:
“Tell him.”
Maya sighed.
“There was a seating issue.”
“Explain.”
She did.
Silence followed.
Then their father asked:
“Did they ask you to surrender your seats?”
“Yes.”
“Did you refuse?”