The airport looked almost the same when Olivia returned. Travelers rolled suitcases over polished floors, gate announcements echoed through the terminal, and a child cried because his toy airplane had fallen beneath a row of seats. A man in a bright yellow jacket hurried past with two coffees in one hand and a phone pressed to his ear. There was no sign above the entrance declaring that Summit Airlines had learned a lesson, and Olivia was glad of that.
She had dressed as she always did for travel, choosing the navy tracksuit because it was comfortable and because she refused to let one terrible morning make her suspicious of her own clothes. When she reached the gate, a young attendant scanned her boarding pass and smiled.
"Good morning, Ms. Bennett. Seat 2A. Right this way." The employee did not look twice at her backpack.
Olivia felt a small release of tension she had not admitted she was carrying. She had told herself the return flight was simply a practical test of the company's changes, but she recognized the familiar tightness in her shoulders as she walked down the jet bridge. The last time she had been on a Summit aircraft, the sight of a premium cabin had become something painful. She had no wish to discover that she was afraid of a place she had once approached with uncomplicated pleasure.
At the aircraft door, a flight attendant named Natalie welcomed her aboard. Natalie was young, with an easy smile and a voice that did not sound rehearsed. She offered to help Olivia find her seat and then asked whether she preferred to carry the backpack herself. Olivia thanked her and chose to keep it.
A man in a worn sweatshirt was already seated in 1C, reading a sports magazine. Behind him, an older Asian couple were arranging their coats, and a young Latina traveler held an infant while a crew member helped position her bag safely overhead. Nobody appeared to be receiving attention because of how expensive their clothes looked. The attendants were busy doing what flight attendants were meant to do: greeting, helping, checking, and preparing the aircraft without turning a person's appearance into a verdict.
Olivia settled into 2A and fastened the seat belt. Her fingers briefly hesitated over the buckle, remembering the moment three months earlier when she had been made to stand up and leave. She looked toward the galley, half expecting to see Caroline's sharp expression appear again. Instead, Natalie approached with water and asked whether the temperature of the cabin was comfortable.
"It is," Olivia answered. "Thank you for asking."