The flight was two hours. Two hours of me staring out the window, trying not to cry, telling myself she was fine, that she would catch the next flight, that this was all a misunderstanding. The clouds below looked soft and indifferent. Darius held my hand. Nobody talked.
When we landed, I turned my phone on immediately.
Three missed calls from Rose. A voicemail.
My hands were shaking as I played it.
“Mom? Mom, I… I do not know where I am. I tried to follow you but I lost you when everyone ran for the train between terminals, and then… Mom, I can not find my passport. It was in my bag, in the front pocket, and now it is gone. I can not board without it. Mom, please call me back. I do not know what to do.”
Her voice broke on the last word.
I felt like I had been punched.
“She lost her passport?” Darius said, reading my face.
“She says it is gone,” I whispered.
We rushed to the baggage claim, and I called her back while we waited. This time, she answered.
“Mom!” She was crying. “I am at the information desk. They said I can not get on another flight without my passport. I looked everywhere. It was in my bag. I swear it was in my bag.”
“Okay, baby, okay,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Stay where you are. Do not move. I am going to figure this out.”
“Mom, I am scared,” she whispered. “I do not know this airport. I do not know anyone here.”
“I know,” I said. “I am so sorry. Just stay on the phone with me.”
That was when I heard it.
Laughter.
Not Rose’s. Behind me.
I turned, and there was Max, standing with a couple of other passengers, laughing.
“You should have seen her face when she realized,” he said, loud enough for me to hear. “She was freaking out. It was hilarious.”
My blood went cold.
“What did you say?” I asked.
Max looked at me, still grinning. “Relax. It was just a prank. I took her passport during the layover. I was going to give it back before we boarded, but then everyone started running and I… I forgot I had it.”
He said it like it was nothing. Like he had borrowed a pen.
“You took her passport,” I said slowly.
“It was a joke,” he said. “Like the car keys thing. She is so uptight, I just wanted to loosen her up.”
“She is alone in an unfamiliar airport,” I said, my voice shaking. “She missed her flight. She is crying. And you think this is funny?”
Max’s grin faltered. “I said I was going to give it back…”
“Where is it?” I demanded. “Where is her passport right now?”
He patted his pockets. Then his backpack. His face went pale.
“I… I think I left it in the seat pocket,” he said quietly. “On the first plane.”
For a moment, I could not breathe.
Then I did something I had never done before.
I screamed at my nephew in the middle of an airport.
“Are you out of your mind?” I shouted. “Do you have any idea what you have done?”
People stared. Kendra rushed over.
“What is going on?” she asked.
“Your son stole Rose’s passport as a prank,” I said, “and left it on the plane.”
Kendra’s face went white, then red. “Max! Tell me you did not…”
“It was just a joke!” he said, louder now, defensive. “I did not mean for her to miss the flight!”
“You did not mean it,” I repeated. “She is eighteen years old, alone, scared, and you did not mean it.”
My mom appeared, looking confused. “What is all this shouting about?”
“Max took Rose’s passport,” Darius said, his voice low and furious. “As a prank.”
“Oh,” my mom said. And then, to my absolute disbelief, she laughed. A short, nervous laugh. “Well, I am sure he did not mean any harm. Boys will be boys.”
“Boys will be boys?” I said. “Mom, Rose is stranded.”
“She will be fine,” my mom said. “We will get the passport back. These things have a way of working out.”
I looked at my family. My dad, avoiding my eyes. Kendra, already making excuses for Max. My mom, minimizing it.
And I understood, with perfect clarity, that they did not think this was serious.
They thought Rose was being dramatic.
They thought I was overreacting.
They thought Max’s prank was just boys being boys.