Page 12 of Until He Confesses

“Oh alright,” I said. But I couldn’t shake off an eerie feeling.

“Do we know all the ingredients that the beef is spiced with? Don’t they usually use peanut powder?”

“Um… I don’t know,” she said. “We could ask the chef?”

“He’s in the bathroom.”

“Is there a reason why it matters?”

I turned to watch the man in the cabin as he spoke to his staff, but just as I felt him start to turn his head I looked away.

“No,” I replied.

I continued on with my work as she went over to deliver his meal, after all, he was a full-grown adult and knew well enough about his own allergies. When I turned once again and saw him eating, I couldn’t bear it any longer.

I searched for Wagyu beef and slipped a piece of it into my mouth.

“Mn,” I said just as Julianne returned.

“Oh, you’re eating already?” she asked.

“Have you had this before? Can you tell if it’s prepared with peanuts?”

“Peanuts?” she asked and accepted the piece. She put it in her mouth and started to chew. She was slow to respond but despite this, I tried to tell myself once again that I was overreacting.

“I can’t really tell,” she said.

“Yeah,” I said. “Me neither.”

“Can you please take a Coke to him just in case?”

She gave me a look and then her hands rested on the sides of her waist.

“Are you going to tell me what this is about? What are you worried about?”

I knew then that I could no longer keep silent but it wasn’t a big deal anyway so what was there to hide?

“I knew him in high school,” I said and her mouth fell open.

“What?” she mouthed. I quickly looked away and turned so that my back faced the aisle.

“Yeah,” I replied. “Anyway, he’s allergic to peanuts so that’s why I’m concerned.”

She looked at him, and then she grabbed a can of Coke, a glass, and a bucket of ice.”

“Go over there,” she said. “And just hand it over. You don’t need to say a word if you’re too shy.”

I nearly rolled my eyes at her.

“This is not about being shy,” I said. “I'm just trying not to have a billionaire die on our flight. Trust me, you don’t want that either.”

“Would make a great story though, wouldn’t it?” she joked but I didn’t find it funny. I was upset enough to go forward with the soft drink and couldn’t help but panic when I arrived and saw that he was nearly done with his meal.

His gaze went to the tray I held containing the Coke.

“I didn’t ask for that.”

“I know,” I said. “But… are you alright?”