The wailing rang through the airplane cabin like an alarm, prompting passengers to shift uncomfortably and glance around with annoyance. Rachel Martinez held her 6-month-old daughter, Sophia, tightly against her chest while murmuring apologies to anyone within earshot. In the tight economy section, the baby’s cries seemed even louder, and Rachel felt the heavy pressure of disapproving looks on her back.
“Please, darling, please,” he murmured, gently rocking Sophia as exhaustion clouded his sight.
She had been awake for nearly 36 hours. After finishing a double shift at a diner in Los Angeles, she hurried to catch a red-eye flight to Chicago. The ticket had drained the last of her savings, but her sister Carmen was getting married in two days. No matter how distant their relationship had become, Rachel couldn’t simply stay away.
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