during boarding.
Before takeoff, strangers had wanted us to resolve the seat dispute so everyone could move on.
Now those same kinds of strangers were paying attention because the dispute no longer seemed to be only about a seat.
Emma had noticed something before anyone else understood it mattered.
She had tried to warn the woman privately.
She had been dismissed.
And after waiting until the seatbelt sign went off, she had finally decided she couldn’t ignore it.
The flight attendant held out one hand toward Emma, not grabbing the object but clearly asking to see it more closely.
Emma showed it to her.
I watched the attendant’s face.
She looked at the item.
Then she looked at the woman.
Then back at the item again.
The woman shifted slightly in the seat she had fought so hard to keep.
Nobody nearby was complaining about the delay now.
The oversized
