For twelve years, Daniel never forgot a single one of our anniversaries. That was why I knew that this surprise would become another one of those tales that would live through generations. Living with a pilot, our life became written in pencil because we had to take into account flights, delays, and calls at the last minute. It didn’t matter if we celebrated birthdays and holidays in advance but there was only one occasion which we considered holy, our anniversary.
That’s why when Daniel told me that he was supposed to go out on a short evening flight, he was truly upset about it. He kept telling me how much he regretted not being able to spend this night together with me. I just smiled at him, pretended to be disappointed and waited while my plan took shape in my mind.
The minute he fell asleep that night, I hopped online and bought a ticket for that exact same flight.
I could not wait to see the expression on his face when he reached there and spotted me at the airport. I would be wearing that red dress that he had a special place in his heart for, give him a pleasant surprise at the airport and then have our anniversary dinner despite everything.
The following day, I took my time to prepare, I curled my hair, did my makeup to perfection, wore that red dress and rushed to the airport where I unexpectedly saw Daniel near the gate in his uniform and hid myself behind a pillar so that he could not see me. I waited until the absolute end to board, found my seat in 14C, and just kept my head down.
We finally pulled away from the gate, and a second later, Daniel’s voice came over the speaker. It started out as his usual captain’s greeting. I couldn’t help but smile, just waiting for the standard weather and altitude update. But then he stopped.
He cleared his throat and addressed the whole airplane to tell the passenger he had to say something to an absolutely incredible person on the flight. For the briefest of moments, I actually thought he had somehow found out I was there.
But he kept going. “To the beautiful lady in seat 15C… you mean the world to me. I no longer wish to keep my feelings hidden. Soon, we won’t have to.”
The applause thundered through the airplane.
And I sat there, absolutely stunned, because I wasn’t in 15C.
I could not take my eyes off the window as the plane took off, hoping to come up with some explanation in order to make sense of what had happened. Maybe it was all just a joke; maybe the word “love” was just a figure of speech. But deep inside, I knew the truth.
As soon as the sign turned off, I stood up, claiming that I needed to go to the bathroom. I could not resist the urge to look downwards as I passed by the row 15, and what I saw shocked me even more than before. The young, beautiful blonde woman from 15C had her hand gently laid on her obviously pregnant belly.
I practically stumbled the rest of the way. I locked myself in the tiny bathroom and just fell apart silently. My lipstick was still perfect, the red dress looked great, but looking in that mirror, I just felt like someone dressed up for a celebration who had accidentally walked straight into the end of her life.
By the time the wheels touched down on the runway, all of my anxiety had been replaced by a sort of numb, oppressive calmness. I followed the woman through the airport. She never even went to baggage claim; she made a beeline directly for the crew’s corridor. Within minutes, Daniel emerged.
His entire face seemed to light up when he saw her. Without hesitation, he stepped towards her and placed his hand on her waist before kissing her.
That was when all of the fighting against reality stopped for me. I stepped behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned around and instantly all of the color left his face. I just stared at him and said, “Happy anniversary.”
He sputtered out my name and questioned me about why I was there, and I told him that I came here to surprise him, but it looked like I was the one getting the surprise.
The woman looked back and forth between the two of us and casually asked, “So this is the wife you’re going to divorce? Have you given her the papers yet?”
There, right then, were the last few remnants of my marriage. Not only did he have an affair; he had the whole thing meticulously mapped out from beginning to end.
He called her Emily. She knew everything. She knew I existed. She knew that Daniel wanted to wait until after our anniversary to tell me so that he would at least not seem like a complete monster. Daniel began stammering out some kind of excuse, but I raised my hand to silence him. I told him that he didn’t have any right to make an excuse for himself just because he got caught.
I slipped off my wedding ring and dropped it into his palm, pressing his fingers around it. I told him not to even bother coming back home and to just send me divorce papers, along with the address where he wanted me to send his things. Then, I gave Emily a look and told her, “Congratulations on no longer having to hide,” before turning and walking away.
That evening, I went back home by myself completely numb until I stepped into the house. There was his smell everywhere in the hallway, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I stood in the kitchen in that ridiculous red dress, sobbing uncontrollably.
But in the morning, I knew there were two ways out: let it destroy me or start a new life. I decided on the latter, so I called my sister, a lawyer, and a therapist. While sorting his things out, I discovered a signed divorce papers in his desk signed three days prior. But instead of falling apart, it gave me complete understanding. This was no mistake, but rather his second life that he had planned and lived all along.
Today, a year after the divorce, I have no idea what my ex and his new wife are doing. I just understood that healing is not about having answers.
Now, I’m back on a plane, but without the red dress or the desperation for someone to choose me. I’m just wearing a comfortable sweater and working on the book I put off for years. Looking out the window, I realize the opposite of heartbreak isn’t finding someone new—it’s coming back to yourself. Daniel didn’t destroy me; he just forced me to see how much of my own life I’d been leaving in the background, and I’m finally ready to look straight ahead.
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Bored Daddy
Love and Peace