As Natalie registered, she noticed that her seat number had changed. It wasn't the seat she'd originally picked out for herself.
Based on company policy, Austin would be in first class while she and Hank sat in business class. Most of the time, Austin would ask them to buy first-class seats. However, there was only one seat left this time.
After checking in their luggage, Hank noticed that Natalie hadn't moved. He asked, "What are you thinking about while staring at your ticket?"
Natalie showed the ticket to Hank and asked, "Is this a mistake on the airline's part?"
Hank read the ticket before replying, "Airlines would never make mistakes like that. Someone upgraded your seat."
Did someone upgrade her seat? Natalie was confused.
Hank patted Natalie's shoulder and reassured her, "You're lucky. Maybe someone made a mistake and upgraded your seat from a business-class one to a first-class one. Someone probably canceled their flight after we bought our tickets. If not, you wouldn't have been upgraded even if you wanted to."
Natalie thought about it and found it a likely possibility. She tended to be a lucky woman. When playing cards, she tended to win round after round. Thus, she pushed it to the back of her mind.
When Austin found out that Natalie's seat had been upgraded, he grinned and said, "Hank, why don't you ask the airlines if there are empty seats so you can get an upgrade too?"
Hank realized he was right and exclaimed, "Shit, how could I have been slow enough to forget to do that?"
As he spoke, he called the airline company.
He was disappointed by the results. Hank explained, "There are no empty seats. Forget it. It's only a three-hour journey. I'll take a nap. When I wake up, we'll be there already."
Natalie thought for a moment and said, "Hank, sit at my place."
Hank had been busy for the past few days. He'd had to arrange various aspects of the event and deal with a bunch of people. He was much more exhausted than she was.
Hank shook his hands and replied, "I'm a tough man. I could take an overnight train in a straight-backed seat. This is nothing. I'm not that fragile."
The three of them chatted for a while.
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