I turned around and saw my college roommate Jenna standing behind me. We hadn’t seen each other in over a year.
“Jenna! What are you doing here?”
“Business trip to Denver. What about you?”
“Family vacation to Maui. Actually, my first trip since my divorce.”
We ended up talking for almost 20 minutes, catching up on life, work, her kids. She was sympathetic about my divorce and said all the right things about new beginnings and better days ahead. It felt good to talk to someone who wasn’t walking on eggshells around me.
By the time I finally got the water and said goodbye, I realized I’d been gone almost 30 minutes. I hurried back toward our gate, but when I got to the gate area, they weren’t there. I scanned everywhere, but instead I saw something that made my stomach collapse.
Standing alone in the middle of the waiting area was my 5-year-old niece, holding her little pink purse, looking around with terrified eyes.
I ran over to her and dropped to my knees. “Sweetie, where is everyone? Where’s Mommy? Where’s Grandma and Grandpa?”
She looked up at me with big, scared eyes and whispered, “They went on the airplane. Mommy said to wait here for you. She said you would take care of me.”
I whipped my head around the entire gate area. No parents, no sister, no family. The departure board showed our flight had left 15 minutes ago.
“Sweetie, did Mommy give you anything for me?”
She nodded and pulled out a folded piece of paper. It was in Maribel’s handwriting.
“Raylene, you’re always talking about wanting a child. Here’s your chance to spend some quality time with one. We changed our flight to leave earlier. Don’t worry. We’ll have a peaceful vacation. Take good care of her. — Maribel.”
I just sat there holding my niece, trying to breathe. My own family had abandoned a 5-year-old child in a crowded airport and left me to find her. And she had been alone for 30 minutes while I chatted with Jenna. Anything could have happened.
“Sweetie, were you scared?”
She nodded hard. “There were so many people. I didn’t know where to go.”
I felt sick, betrayed, furious. I called and texted everyone.
“Maribel, what is wrong with you?”
“Mom, Dad, how could you leave a child alone?”
They didn’t respond. They probably turned off their phones as soon as the plane took off.
“Come on, sweetheart,” I said, picking up my suitcase. “Let’s go home.”
Back at my apartment, I made her mac and cheese and we watched cartoons on my couch. She seemed okay on the surface, but I could tell she was confused and hurt by what had happened.
“Aunt Raylene, when is Mommy coming back?” she asked during a commercial break.
“I don’t know, honey. She went on vacation with Grandma and Grandpa.”
“But why didn’t I go? Did I do something bad?”
My heart broke hearing that question. How do you explain to a 5-year-old that her mother abandoned her for no reason other than selfishness?
“Sometimes grown-ups make bad decisions,” I said finally. “But you didn’t do anything wrong, sweetheart. This isn’t your fault.”
