My Grandmother Insisted on Flying Economy Instead of First Class, Then I Found Out Why a Pilot Needed to See Her

waited to board.

“I’m not upset.”

“You’re a little upset.”

“I’m confused.”

She held my arm while we moved with the boarding line.

She carried a wooden cane now, one with an old brass handle that had belonged to her mother.

“That seat was comfortable,” I said. “You’d have room. You could rest. Now you’re going to spend six hours squeezed into economy.”

“I’ll survive.”

“The seats barely recline.”

“I don’t need them to.”

“Grandma.”

She patted my wrist.

“Sam, what you did for me was incredibly generous. I know