“When did you last see your dad?”
“At the gate.”
“What did he say?”
The boy hugged the rabbit tighter.
“He said sit here.”
“Anything else?”
The child hesitated.
The Purser kept her voice soft.
“You’re not in trouble.”
The boy looked toward the Veteran Flight Attendant.
Then back.
“He said if somebody says I’m in the wrong seat, don’t move.”
The Purser’s expression hardened.
“Anything else?”
“He said if they try to take me, ask for Mr. Bennett.”
“Did he tell you who that is?”
“No.”
The Purser looked toward the Junior Flight Attendant.
“Find the gate agent.”
He nodded.
Before he could move, someone ran through the aircraft door.
A Gate Agent.
Breathing hard.
“Don’t close the door.”
Every crew member turned.
The Gate Agent saw the boy.
Relief crossed her face.
“Oh, thank God.”
The Purser stood.
“What happened?”
The Gate Agent looked toward nearby passengers.
Then lowered her voice.
“His father was taken downstairs.”
The boy sat forward.
“Why?”
The Gate Agent looked at him.
Then toward the Purser.
“A woman tried to take his documents.”
The boy went completely still.
The Purser said:
“What woman?”
The Gate Agent shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“She approached him at the gate.”
“Security intervened.”
“He wouldn’t release the documents.”
“There was an argument.”
“They took both adults downstairs to sort it out.”
The Veteran Flight Attendant whispered:
“Both?”
The Gate Agent nodded.
The boy suddenly spoke.
“I know who she is.”
Everyone turned.
The rabbit disappeared partly beneath his chin.
The Purser crouched again.
“Who?”
The boy looked toward the open aircraft door.
Then whispered:
“She told Daddy she was coming for me.”
That was when seat 2A stopped being about first class.
The Purser immediately stopped boarding.
Passengers already inside began asking questions.
The captain was notified.
Operations was called.
Airport security was contacted.
The aircraft door remained open.
No one touched the boy.
No one asked him to move again.
The Veteran Flight Attendant stepped several feet away.
She looked shaken.
The Junior Flight Attendant noticed.
“You okay?”
She stared at seat 2A.
“I grabbed him.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I assumed.”
The Junior Flight Attendant said nothing.
That hurt more.
The Veteran Flight Attendant folded her hands together.
“I saw a six-year-old alone in first class and assumed somebody had seated him wrong.”
The Junior Flight Attendant looked at her.
“And then you stopped checking.”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Neither spoke after that.
Seat 2A remained the center of the cabin.
The boy sat quietly.