I wait for her to sign something to me, but she just...stays.
And I think...that’s what does it for me.
I’m a stranger to her, and yet she cares enough to do this...while my own fiancé—
How did it end up like this?
How?
I don’t know how long I cry. Minutes? Hours? Time feels meaningless up here in the clouds with my life in pieces below me.
Eventually the tears slow down.
Gradually, I realize I’m all empty and hollowed out.
But at the same time, I feel...lighter for some reason.
Is that normal? To feel lighter after crying?
‘I’m sorry’,I sign to Lady Hampton when I finally have enough composure.‘That was unprofessional. I shouldn’t have—’
She cuts me off with a gentle shake of her head.‘You’re human. Humans cry. It’s okay.’
The kindness—that simple, matter-of-fact kindness—makes my throat tight all over again.
‘I just...’I don’t know how to explain it. How to put into words what I saw at the airport, what it meant, what it’s still meaning as I sit here flying away from everything I thought my life was going to be.
Lady Hampton waits. Patient. Not pushing.
‘I caught my fiancé.’
I sign slowly, because if I’m going to do this, if I’m going to tell her, I might as well tell her all of it.
‘At the airport. Right before I met you. He was kissing someone else.’
I wait for shock. For awkwardness. For her to regret hiring me.
Instead she just signs back,‘I’m so sorry, dear.’
That’s it.
No platitudes or judgments.
Just...the truth, which was that what happened to me was indeed something anyone would feel sorry about.
It’s a truth that could’ve been accompanied by pity, but all I see is genuine compassion, and my chest squeezes tight at how she doesn’t even make any attempt to minimize or fix or explain away my pain.
‘It’s fine.’
That’s the second time I’ve told her that, isn’t it?
She’s probably tempted to call me a liar at this point, but she’s just too nice to do so.
We sit in silence for a while with the jet engines humming, and the flight attendant discreetly refreshing our drinks. Throughout it, Lady Hampton holds my hand, and honestly, every time I feel the warmth of her touch, it just makes me want to cry even more. It makes me miss my mom. I want to call her so badly, but I know I’ll don’t because I don’t want her to worry.
‘Can I tell you something?’
Lady Hampton’s sudden question has me nodding immediately.
