My Sister, a Pilot, Asked If My Husband Was Home — Seconds Later, Everything Fell Apart

The Cockpit Call
My sister—an airline pilot—called me from the cockpit, and her first words made no sense.

“Ava,” she said, “I need to ask you something strange. Your husband… is he home right now?”

I was in our Manhattan apartment kitchen, barefoot on cold tile, watching Aiden through the doorway as he sat in the living room with his morning paper spread across his lap like a shield.

“Yes,” I replied slowly. “He’s sitting right there.”

Kaye went quiet. Not the normal cockpit quiet—this was the kind of silence that feels like a mistake.