"Besides," Mavis continued, "if my parents were stranded at the airport, why would they call you instead of my brother or me? Why would they reach out to a daughter-in-law they've never even liked?"
I froze.
Then it hit me.
No wonder Christine and Mavis had been so calm. They thought the ones stranded in Ravelia were my parents.
Though I couldn't really blame them. I hadn't been clear when I explained.
And Mavis had a point. My in-laws had been vacationing abroad and weren't supposed to return until next month. But they'd decided to come back early to give Hubert a birthday surprise.
If they told everyone in advance, it wouldn't be much of a surprise.
So they'd contacted me to book the tickets.
When they got stranded at Ravelia Airport, they chose to reach out to me again, afraid that Hubert and Mavis would worry, and afraid the two of them would blame them for going in the first place.
Besides, in their eyes, I was the one in the family with nothing else to do. If they called Hubert or Mavis and one of them missed the call, that was a wasted chance at getting help.
I explained this patiently. Several times.
But no matter what I said, Mavis and Christine refused to believe me.
I had no choice.
I left the office, spent half an hour driving to the new company, pushed past Hubert's assistant, and burst straight into the boardroom.
This time, I'd learned my lesson from what happened with Mavis and Christine. I got right to the point.
"Hubert, it's bad. Your parents. My in-laws. Charlie's grandparents. They're stranded at Ravelia Airport."
The board members exchanged glances, too alarmed to care that I'd barged into their meeting uninvited.
"Ravelia? Hasn't the news been warning people to stay away from there?"
"Let me make some calls. I've got business interests over there, a security team, a private jet."
"Yes, Wanda, tell us exactly what's going on. We'll figure out a rescue plan together."
I let out a breath of relief.
With this many people willing to help, my in-laws would be saved for sure.
But Hubert shook his head.
"No need for anyone to worry. I already knew about the situation and arranged a plane and a security team to pick them up."
He offered the room an easy smile. "I just forgot to tell my wife, which is why she panicked."
"But let's pause today's meeting for now."
Everyone nodded in understanding and filed out of the boardroom one by one.
Once the room had emptied, Christine and Mavis arrived.
Both of them looked furious.
"Wanda, you've completely lost your mind. Barging into a board meeting?"
"If I'd known you were going to come here and make a scene, I would've stopped you no matter what!"
I had no patience for either of them.
My eyes were fixed on Hubert. Something felt off. I'd gone to the company the moment I received my in-laws' call, and every time I tried calling them back after that, the line was dead.
How had Hubert arranged a plane?
The question nagged at me, and I couldn't hold it in.
"When exactly did you arrange the plane and security team?"
"Have you reached your parents?"
"How are they doing?"
Hubert looked at me, his face full of barely contained rage.
"How could I possibly have sent a plane to get them?"
"I was managing the room. If the board found out I couldn't even handle something like this, they'd lose all confidence in me. Do you have any idea what that kind of thing does to a company?"
The more I listened, the more wrong everything felt.
