“Mom, please talk to me,” Toby whimpered, clinging to my arm as he realized something terrible had happened.
“It’s okay, baby,” I managed to choke out, though my own voice sounded foreign to me. “Just sit tight, okay?”
The plane had not even left the gate, yet my life had been demolished in less than two minutes. When the flight finally landed in Minneapolis two hours later, Toby and I remained frozen in our seats until every passenger had gathered their belongings and exited.
“Are we going to see Dad now?” Toby asked quietly, holding his drawing tightly against his chest.
“Yes, we are going to talk to him,” I said, taking a deep breath to steady my shaking hands.
We walked slowly down the narrow aisle and stepped into the concourse, heading straight toward the private airline lounge near the gate. And there he was. Brandon stood beside a large glass window, his arm wrapped affectionately around Laila, whose prominent baby bump was clearly visible beneath her uniform dress.
