“Tea for 38?” Lily asked.
He looked annoyed that she remembered.
“Fine. One cup.”
Lily prepared hot water, a tea bag, lemon, and a small packet of honey.
When she brought it to Mrs. Ashcroft, the older woman looked at the tray and then at Lily.
“You waited for permission.”
Lily almost dropped the cup.
“Excuse me?”
“To bring me tea.”
Lily glanced toward the galley.
Mrs. Ashcroft’s voice remained gentle.
“You don’t need to explain.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing for other people.”
Lily set the tea down.
“That’s harder than it sounds.”
“Most useful things are.”
The boy across the aisle was watching the wing again. His name, Lily learned from his mother, was Noah. Every patch of turbulence made him grip the seat.
Mrs. Ashcroft noticed too.
When the aircraft entered a band of rough air over western New York, the seatbelt sign chimed and the cabin began moving in short uneven drops.
Noah inhaled sharply.
His mother reached for him.
“I don’t like this,” he whispered.
Mrs. Ashcroft leaned slightly into the aisle while keeping her own belt fastened.
“Look at me.”
Noah did.
“Breathe with me.”
She inhaled slowly.
He copied her.
“Again.”
The aircraft bumped.
Noah squeezed his eyes shut.
“The plane is built for this,” Mrs. Ashcroft said. “The pilots are changing altitude to find smoother air. Nothing you’re feeling surprises them.”
“How do you know so much about planes?” Noah asked.
“I used to fly them.”
Lily was securing the service cart at the rear when she heard it again.
This time Mrs. Ashcroft’s tone carried no nostalgia.
It sounded factual.
Lily began to wonder whether the woman had been more than a private pilot.
The turbulence lasted eleven minutes.
Graham stayed in the forward jumpseat, as procedure required.
Lily and Tess secured themselves in the rear.
When the air smoothed, Lily immediately checked the cabin. No injuries. No spilled hot drinks beyond one cup. No one needed medical assistance.
Noah was smiling weakly.
Mrs. Ashcroft handed him an airsickness bag she had retrieved before he asked.
“You did fine,” she told him.
“So did the wings,” he said.
She smiled.
“So did the wings.”
Lily crouched briefly beside Mrs. Ashcroft.
“Everything all right, dear?” the woman asked.
Lily blinked.
“I’m supposed to ask you that.”
“Then consider it professional competition.”
Lily laughed despite herself.
It was the first time she had relaxed all flight.
Graham appeared in the aisle.
“Monroe.”