At that moment, it felt like a private room.
The attendant brought water.
Then a pillow.
Then, with a strained expression, she asked if there was anything else I needed.
“No,” I said.
“Thank you.”
Daniel placed my diaper bag beneath the seat.
“Try to sleep.”
I looked at the folder tucked beneath his arm.
“Who are you?”
He paused.
“Someone who flies too much.”
The attendant standing behind him gave him a nervous glance.
I knew that wasn’t the whole answer.
“She called you Mr.
Mercer.”
“Daniel is fine.”
“And why did everybody suddenly act like the principal walked into the classroom?”
That earned an actual smile.
“Sleep first.
Interrogation later.”
I should have insisted.
Instead, my body made the decision for me.
I closed my eyes.
When I woke again, the cabin lights were dim and Sofi was still asleep.
For several seconds I forgot where I was.
Then I saw Daniel in the jump seat area speaking quietly with another flight attendant.
He wasn’t threatening anyone.
He wasn’t demanding special treatment.
He was asking questions.
That bothered the crew far more than shouting would have.
The original attendant kept her hands clasped tightly in front of her.
Daniel opened the folder, pointed to something, and said something I couldn’t hear.
She nodded.
A few minutes later he returned and sat across the aisle from me in an empty crew-approved seat.
“Feeling human again?” he asked.
“Almost.”
I glanced at Sofi.
“She’s winning.”
“Babies usually do.”
I hesitated.
“Are you with the airline?”
He looked toward the dark window.
“My company owns a significant stake in the group that operates it.
I’m also on the customer standards committee.”
I stared at him.
Suddenly the folder made sense.
“So you’re…”
“A man who was supposed to be reviewing service anonymously tonight.”
My face warmed again.
“And I ruined that.”
His expression hardened—not at me, but at the words.
“You really do apologize for everything.”
I looked away.
He waited.
Maybe exhaustion loosened something in me.
