The flight was crowded but after waiting for the bulk of passengers to board I found my seat and had hopes that the two seats next to mine would remain empty. The flight staff had given the word that doors would soon be locked and we'd be underway shortly so I was feeling pretty good about it.
But at the last moment a small group of people poured in, dashing my hopes. A slim, older lady and a young boy approached and I could see on the boy's boarding pass that they would be occupying the empty seats next to me. I let them in and replaced myself back into my seat in the aisle.
Nan, as she'd introduced herself to me, had been tasked with bringing her grandson home after spending the school holidays with his dad who lived interstate. Like myself, she always found it difficult to sleep on planes so after the young fella had fallen asleep we began chatting. She had a raspy voice from years of smoking but was a genuinely lovely person. She was still quite attractive for her age which she revealed was 63. She was long since divorced and retired early thanks to some great property investments. Now she spent her time doting over her grand kids.