Nobody looked surprised. That was how I knew.
Grandma’s fingers tightened around the suitcase handle. Her shoulders trembled once, a small, involuntary motion I’d never seen from her before, and then she forced a smile, small and brave and utterly heartbreaking.
“It’s all right,” she whispered. “I don’t want anyone missing the flight because of me.”
Aunt Monica finally looked at her then, and I remember hoping, for one stupid second, that she was about to say something that would fix all of this. Instead she said, “Please don’t make this dramatic, Mom. We already told you Dad forgot the booking.”
Grandma had just paid for their entire vacation, and my aunt was scolding her for being abandoned by it.
My father reached for my carry-on, already moving toward security. “Come on. Security will take forever.”
I pulled it away from him. “I’m staying with Grandma.”
