Candace ValenzuelaVerified account

1/ Four years ago, my daughter went into labor with her first child. My friend Sue raced me to the airport in record time for two evening flights, w/a short connection time. The airline employee at the 2nd gate looked at my purse & laptop case draped over my arm. "No," she said.

3/ “My daughter is in labor,” I said, my voice trembling. “I’m trying to get to her in time.” She shook her head. “Not my problem.” That’s when I heard the stranger’s voice behind me. “I’ll take it, honey,” he said.

4/ I turned around to see two tall, burly men smiling at me. They were traveling furnace repairmen for plants and factories, I would soon learn, on their way home to Providence. In that moment, though, one of them had become my instant husband.

5/ The woman’s face was a map of disbelief. “You’re with *her*,” she said. He smiled again and said, “Yep.” The woman sighed and ushered us through. “You’re holding up the line,” she said.

6/ Do I even need to tell you how hard I hugged that man? We talked for the entire flight. I told him my father had been a maintenance mechanic at our local electric company. He told me that meant Dad could fix anything in the plant. That meant everything.

7/ After we landed, I rushed to the airport exit. “My daughter is having a baby!” I yelled as I approached the cab driver at the front of the line. “Then what are we doing here?” he yelled back, grabbing my suitcase and throwing in into the truck. “Let’s go, Grandma.”