A Son's Last Lesson

My son is severely allergic to pollen, and because of his rare blood type, he must receive a specific desensitization injection at a bigger hospital in a different state.

To make that happen, I deliberately booked the same flight as my wife just so our son could get help as soon as possible.

But she insists on waiting for her late-arriving first love, refusing to let the plane take off.

When I confront her, she says, "All passengers are equal. If the plane can wait for you, why can't it wait for him? Cam still needs to celebrate Josie's birthday. It's just ten minutes. Nothing will happen!"

However, by the time we arrive at the hospital, the doctor tells us we missed the critical window for treatment.

We were just ten minutes too late. Our son has now become a vegetable.

"Brenda, shut the cabin door now! Hurry!" I roared at my wife, Brenda Johnson. At the same time, I looked down at my son, Timmy Moore, whose face was pale.

Brenda refused to shut the door. She wanted to wait for a late passenger. She was the most senior flight attendant on this flight, and even the captain deferred to her. No one dared to move without her order.

"All passengers are equal, Harry. Why can't we wait for other late passengers if we can wait for you?" Brenda was insistent on waiting for the final passenger and refused to shut the cabin door, no matter what anyone else said.

Just then, Timmy opened his eyes. He said weakly, "I'm so tired, Dad. I really want to sleep."

I held his hand and shouted, "You can't sleep, Timmy! You won't see your mom again if you do! Remember her saying that she'd get you that new action figure?"

Timmy's eyes lit up slightly at the mention of that, but he still couldn't stop his eyelids from sliding shut.

Sensing that things were going to turn out badly, I rushed to Brenda, wanting to convince her to let the plane take off.

However, she merely stood before the cabin door and snarled, "I'm just being fair to each passenger!"

A flight attendant beside her said, "We've already waited for half an hour, Brenda. Our final passenger, Cameron Lynch, is way past the boarding time."

I couldn't believe Cameron was the final passenger. He was Brenda's childhood sweetheart and first love.

My mind went blank for a moment as I realized that Brenda was stopping the plane from taking off just so she could wait for her first love.

I forced out my words. "So, you're waiting for your first love?"

She said impatiently, "He's a passenger, too. I'm obligated to carry out my duty to him. Anyway, Cam is rushing to celebrate Josie's birthday with her. It's just another ten minutes. Nothing will happen!"

However, it had already been an hour since Timmy's allergic reaction had been triggered. If we still couldn't take off, he would miss the best window for treatment.

Since Brenda refused to shut the cabin door, I would do it myself.

I yanked and tugged on the heavy door with all my strength, but I couldn't even make it budge. It was like an immovable mountain. My knuckles turned white from my efforts, and sweat trickled down my face.

Meanwhile, Brenda stood aside and watched me like nothing was happening. She knew I wasn't moving that door at all.

Just then, a figure appeared at the end of the jet bridge. It was Cameron. He was holding a burger and a coffee.