I thought my business trip to Los Angeles would be a normal day, but the pilot asked me something that made me question everything I thought I knew about my life. He told me the truth, which would change my future in ways I could never have imagined.
There was meant to be nothing bad happen on my flight to Los Angeles, but something happened that changed my life forever. Now that I’ve said that, let me explain why I had to be in LA that day.
Being an architect at a well-known building company is a dream job of mine that I am now living out. I didn’t just get here by luck; I worked hard and spent many long nights in college learning new things and improving the ones I already had. My boss recently gave me the chance to show a big project to some important backers in Los Angeles. I gladly agreed because it could lead to a long-awaited raise, which was a big deal.
I was thankful for this chance because it gave me a chance to make my mom, Melissa, happy. She’s been there for me all these years and is my best friend. She raised me by herself. Though my mom told me my dad died before I was born, she never stopped me from going after my goals. “Go get ’em, sweetheart!” she told me after I told her about the meeting in LA. “I will pray for you.”
The time at the airport went by quickly, and soon I was sitting comfortably on the plane, ready to take off. The flight workers were friendly, and the seat next to me was lucky because it wasn’t taken. I couldn’t help but feel excited as the plane started to rise. My talk went well, and I hoped the investors would like it.
Sometime during the flight, a nice flight attendant called Bethany came up to me with a tray of drinks. She smiled and asked, “Can I get you something to drink?” I reached for the glass and said, “Just orange juice, please.” Bethany saw the scar on my wrist as I did this. “Sorry, could I please see your passport?” she asked out of the blue.
I gave it to them. Bethany looked at it carefully and then gave it back with a nod. “Just a normal check of the protocol.” She said, “Thank you!” After a short time, Bethany came back to my place. She asked, “Excuse me, will you be in a hurry when we land?” I nervously clasped my hands together and said, “Yeah, I have a connecting flight to catch, and I’m already running late.” She told him, “Well, the pilot wants to talk to you after we land.”
“The captain?” I was shocked and asked. “Why?” “Why doesn’t he talk to me now?” Without a doubt, Bethany said, “I’m afraid not.” “He wants to meet you in person.” Trust me, you’ll want to hear this even though you’re busy. If you don’t, you’ll feel bad about it.
It wasn’t clear to me what the pilot needed to say or why he had to wait until we were on the ground. I didn’t want to miss my link because I had a big meeting coming up. It made me think this was important because Bethany wouldn’t give up.
As the plane touched down and people started to get off, I got ready and waited calmly for the pilot to come over. When the cabin was finally empty, a tall guy with greying hair walked in and looked right into my eyes. At that very moment, I dropped my bag and jacket. I almost dropped my jaw because I knew him right away from old pictures my mom showed me. Steve was her close friend. He didn’t seem happy to see me, though.
He tightened his grip on me as tears ran down his face. I just stood there, dumbfounded, as he sobbed into my shoulder. “What’s going on?” My voice was shaking as I asked. “What took place?” He moved away and looked at me with eyes. It was hard for him to say, “Courtney, I’m your father.”
“What?” I was shocked when I looked at him. “Father?” But Mom said, “Why did Mom lie to me?” I believed. Why did she not ever tell me that Steve was my dad?
“Courtney, I don’t know what Melissa told you, but this is the truth,” Steve said. After I was about to start flight school, she was no longer in my life. She didn’t even tell me she was expecting… A friend told me years after you were born.
At that point, all I wanted to do was talk to my mum. What was her reason for leaving Steve? She kept everything from me. I grabbed my phone right away and called her. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about Steve, Mom?” I asked right away when she answered. I put the phone on speaker so Steve could hear her. “Why did you hide this from me?”
“Steve?” How are you, sweetheart?” As she tried to hide the truth, she asked. “Mom, stop it!” I made a face. “I met Steve on the plane.” He’s with me now. Tell me everything now. I need to know. He needs to know!”
There was quiet for a moment before Mom spoke up. Her voice was heavy with emotion. It made her cry. “Oh, Courtney, I’m so sorry.” “When we were young, Steve wanted to become a pilot and go to flight school.” But then I got pregnant with you… I knew he would give up his dreams to be with us if he found out…
“Steve?” “Oh my…” Mom let out a gasp. “I…” I told myself I would keep you safe. I was scared. Steve, I’m sorry. “I’m really sorry.”
It was spinning in my head. Mom lied to me about my dad for years, and now he was here, a stranger, telling us everything on his heart. It was too much for me to handle. It was hard for me to say, “Mom, this is… this is a lot to take in.” “I’m already late for the important meeting with the investors…” Now I’m not sure how I’ll get to LA.
When I told Steve about the investors, his eyes got really big. “Are you going to LA?” “Why are we meeting?”
I quickly told Steve what was going on and told him about the big project I had to show to get a big promotion. His face changed as I talked about the business and the backers. He told her, “Well then, we can’t let you miss that meeting because I know those investors very well.”
“What?” “How?” I was shocked and asked.
Steve pulled out his phone and said, “I used to fly their private jet a few years ago, and they were very nice to me.” “Give me a call or two, and I’ll get you in touch with them today.”
He kept his word and made a number of calls. A little over an hour later, I was led into a fancy meeting room. It made no sense to me.
It was great that the meeting went even better than I thought it would. The investors liked my project idea and agreed to give me money for it. On top of that, my boss called me and offered me the promotion I had been looking for. I was so happy!
When I left the room, Steve was already there waiting for me. I felt a tight hug from him as he said, “You did it!” “Cony, I’m so proud of you.”
As I gave him another hug, I had a lump in my mouth. It felt right that this man, who I had never met, was now an important part of my life. I had felt like something was missing for years, and now I was here. I couldn’t help but wonder what else the future held.
The following week, Steve came over to meet Mom. There were tears, laughter, and a feeling of being whole again that had been missing for a long time. That day, I finally knew what it was like to have a whole family.
Who would have thought that a normal flight to Los Angeles would lead to the finding of my dad after a long time? It was a story twist like you only see in movies. But here I was, living it. It was too much for me to handle, but I couldn’t help but feel thankful and excited about what the future might hold.
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