The look on Mar’s face had been worth every penny of this trip, and I hadn’t even spent any pennies.
20 minutes into the flight, after we’d reached cruising altitude, David appeared at my seat.
His face was pale and his hands were shaking slightly.
“Mom, can we talk?”
Sarah immediately approached.
“Is everything all right, Miss Morrison?”
“It’s fine, Sarah. This is my son, David. Would you like to sit here for a few minutes?”
I gestured to the empty seat beside me.
David sank into the seat like a man who’d just run a marathon.
“Mom, I don’t understand what’s happening. Mayor is back there having some kind of breakdown. She keeps saying she made a terrible mistake, but she won’t explain what she means.”
I took a sip of my champagne and looked at my son.
Really looked at him.
When had he gotten so thin?
When had those worry lines appeared around his eyes?
When had he started looking so much older than his 38 years?
“What did you think would happen, David?”
“What do you mean?”
“When Mayor suggested I should go to a retirement home while you two went to Hawaii, what did you think would happen?”
David’s face flushed red.
“Mom, that’s not what she meant. She just thought—”
“She thought I was a burden to be managed. And you agreed with her.”
“I didn’t agree. I just… I didn’t know how to handle the situation.”
I studied his face, searching for the little boy who used to curl up next to me when he had nightmares, who used to tell me everything about his day at school, who used to look at me like I could solve any problem.
“David, what do you know about my life before you were born?”
He frowned.
“I know you and dad met in college. You worked as a travel agent for a while, then stayed home with me.”
“That’s it?”
“Well, yes. I mean, you were just… you were mom. You took care of the house, took care of me, helped dad with his business sometimes.”
Just mom.
The words stung more than I’d expected.
In his mind, I’d never been anything more than a caretaker, a support system for other people’s dreams.
“David, did you know that I built Pacific Coast Airlines?”
He laughed nervously.
“Come on, Mom. That’s impossible.”
I reached into my purse and pulled out one of the old incorporation documents Margaret had copied for me.
David’s eyes widened as he read my name at the top of the page, my signature beside Harolds.
“This can’t be real,” he whispered.
“It’s very real. I started with nothing but an idea and a belief that people deserved better travel experiences. Your father and I mortgaged our house, took every risk imaginable, and built something extraordinary.”
“But why didn’t you ever tell me? Why did you give it up?”
The pain in his voice almost broke my resolve.
Almost.
“Because you needed me more than I needed the business. At least that’s what I thought at the time.”
David was quiet for a long moment, staring at the document.
“So when Mayor said you should consider other living options, she was suggesting that a woman who helped build a billion dollar airline should be put in a nursing home because she’d become inconvenient.”
“Oh god.”
David buried his face in his hands.
“Mom, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. Mayor didn’t know either. She couldn’t have known.”
“Couldn’t she? David, in all the years you’ve known me, have I ever been helpless? Have I ever been unable to take care of myself or make my own decisions?”
He looked up at me, and I could see the realization dawning in his eyes.
Mar’s suggestion hadn’t been based on my actual capabilities or needs.
It had been based on her desire to remove me from their lives entirely.
“She knew exactly what she was doing,” I continued gently. “She saw an opportunity to get rid of the mother-in-law she’s always resented, and she took it. The question is, why did you let her?”
David’s shoulders sagged.
“I don’t know. I guess… I guess I’ve gotten so used to keeping the peace, to avoiding conflict with Mayor. She gets so angry when things don’t go her way, and it’s just easier to go along with what she wants.”