"Because the original explanation was not accurate," Roland answered. He invited her to sit so he could explain the facts without forcing Nessa to repeat the entire episode. Miriam declined the chair but listened while he went through the confirmed records, the recovered labels, and the plan to correct the false confirmations before departure.
When he finished, Miriam looked at Zire. "You gave her the only safe meal they had found?"
"It was sealed, and it was right for her," he said. "I can eat something else."
"You shouldn't have had to choose," Miriam replied. "But I appreciate what you did. More than I can say right now."
Nessa took her aunt's hand. "He also made them check everyone else's orders. They found more mistakes."
"Not just mistakes," Zire said gently. "Somebody entered things that weren't true. They know that now."
Miriam looked at him again, and her expression softened. "Thank you for making that distinction. It matters."
That became the pattern of the next several minutes. Passengers came forward one at a time, not to give speeches but to confirm their own small pieces of the morning. Marjorie Bell described waiting for a fruit plate she had ordered because she had a medical appointment after landing and wanted a light meal.
Arthur Ellison showed the printed purchase of his celebration beverage and explained that he had hoped to surprise his sister with it. Nessa described being told that special meals would come after takeoff, while Zire described being told that his own had been canceled before boarding. Their accounts did not sound identical because the people involved had experienced different things. Together, they described a single falsified service sequence more clearly than a rehearsed statement could.
Lenora watched from her seat. For years she had measured experiences in images, engagement figures, and the reactions of strangers who knew her only through a screen. Now a row of people she had scarcely noticed was explaining what her "exclusive experience" had actually cost them. The older woman wanted the fruit she had paid for.
The man wanted the celebration drink he had promised his sister. The girl needed safe food. The boy wanted the meal his grandfather had planned, and the paper message that someone had stripped from its packaging. None of them had asked to appear in Lenora's content.
Roland finished the first draft of the incident summary and offered each affected passenger a chance to check the portion concerning them. At the bottom, a drop-down field had automatically selected the category CATERING MISUNDERSTANDING. He was about to save the form when Zire saw the words on the screen.
"Can you change that?" the boy asked.
Roland looked tired. "It's an administrative category. The detailed report contains everything we've discussed."
"But someone reading the short category might never open the details," Zire said. "Then all this becomes a mistake about lunch again."
"What would you call it?" Merrick asked.