Sloan stood very still. The training-manager interview that had occupied her thoughts for weeks seemed to move farther away with each word. She opened her mouth to mention seniority or good intentions, but Captain Ruiz had already turned to Daniel.
"If you're ready, we'll return your family to row two," the captain said. "We'll address the rest through the airline's process after landing. Right now my priority is getting everyone seated safely."
Daniel nodded. He took the girls' backpacks and helped them gather the birthday badges they had nearly forgotten. Ruby waited for Pearl to finish in the lavatory, then they walked toward first class again, this time with their father at their side. Walter Finch smiled as they passed and lifted his paper bag in a little salute.
"Happy birthday, ladies," he called. "Enjoy the seats you actually own for the afternoon."
At row two, Captain Ruiz stopped beside the Ashfords. She addressed them courteously and without hesitation. "Mr. and Mrs. Ashford, seats two A and two B were reassigned improperly. I need you to move to the seats now listed for you, twenty-six A and twenty-six B. We can discuss the equipment change with the gate team after the flight."
Richard looked up sharply. "Row twenty-six? Beside the rear bathroom? Captain, surely there's another arrangement. Your employee offered us these seats, and we've been flying with Northstar for twenty-two years."
"I understand that the equipment change disrupted your plans," Ruiz replied. "But you were not entitled to take seats assigned to children. The corrected manifest lists your seats in row twenty-six."
The seats originally assigned to the Ashfords in row eighteen had been released to standby passengers during the final gate changes. By the time the error was discovered, the only available pair was in the back row the girls had occupied. The crew could not reverse every consequence of the rushed gate reshuffle, but the captain could restore the two seats wrongfully taken from children.
He drew himself up. "I'm on the airline's advisory board."
"Then you understand why accurate records and fair procedures are important," the captain said. "Please stand so we can get everyone seated."
A quiet cough came from row three, and someone lowered a newspaper in what looked suspiciously like an attempt to hide a smile. Richard's face tightened with humiliation. He was used to discussions about his status ending in accommodation, not in a matter-of-fact instruction to give back something that had never belonged to him.
Celeste rose before he did. Her dress was still marked with the champagne stain, and her eyes were swollen from tears she had not finished crying. She lifted her purse, stepped into the aisle, and looked at Daniel with an expression so full of regret that he had to look away to keep his own face composed.
"Richard," she said. "Get up."
Her husband stared at her, clearly astonished that she was not supporting him. Celeste did not repeat herself. She stood beside the row and waited until he reached for his jacket, then followed the captain's directions toward the back of the aircraft.