As Grace is on her way home from a visit to her mother, she finds that her husband’s ex-wife is seated next to her on the flight. One thing leads to another, and Clara ends up telling Grace all about her recent contact with Oscar. At the end of the flight, Grace has to decide what she wants to do about her marriage…
I never thought that something as simple as an airplane seat assignment could destroy my entire marriage. But here I am, sitting at a coffee shop in an airport, trying to figure out how blind I’ve been.
It all started when I boarded a flight to visit my family. I sat down, buckled in, and was ready to spend the next few hours in blissful ignorance of the world. I had downloaded a book just for the flight, and I hoped to sip a gin and tonic while reading my way through it.
But that dream was shattered early on when a woman slid into the seat next to me. She smiled politely, and we exchanged one of those awkward “I guess we’re flight-seat neighbors” looks. It wasn’t anything unusual.
But then I saw the name on her boarding pass as she slipped it into the seat pocket in front of her. It was a name that I had heard too many times whenever Oscar and I spoke about his past.
I was sitting next to my husband’s ex-wife, Clara. With a few sly glances, I knew that it was her. I remembered seeing their wedding photos when I moved into Oscar’s house.
“You can look through them before I pack everything away into the basement,” he said. “I’ve gotten a bunch of boxes. I’m just waiting for Clara to let me know if she wants them before I destroy them, you know?”
I nodded.
“I get it,” I said. “Despite your marriage ending, this is a core memory in your lives.”
I remember how Oscar looked at me when I said that, like he wanted to say more but just didn’t. Instead, he smiled and walked away into the kitchen.
Now, sitting next to Clara, I was certain that it was her. I tried to keep my cool, not wanting to acknowledge the fact that I knew exactly who she was. But then she turned to me and said my name, shyly, as if testing it out in her mouth.
“Grace, you’re Oscar’s new wife, right?” she said slowly.
I nodded, stunned.
It was one thing for me to know who she was because I was married to Oscar, but how could she possibly know who I was?
She studied me for a moment as if trying to figure out what Oscar saw in me.
“I recognized you from social media,” she explained. “Oscar has you all over his profile. That was something he didn’t do with me. But you’re very beautiful, Grace.”
“Thank you,” I replied nervously.
I couldn’t believe that I was sitting next to my husband’s ex-wife on a flight. This was the woman that he had stood beside in a church, promising to spend the rest of his life with. And now, I was the third party in their promise to God.