A huge celebrity mix-up
I had no business stealing a movie star’s son.
Put it on the list for a trip that most definitely did not go as
planned.
My husband and I headed out Thursday on a cross-country trip to attend the wedding of my college roommate’s oldest daughter. Any trip from our remote coastal marsh is a heavy lift. This one turned into an epic three-day adventure.
I will skip all the twists and turns and fast-forward to the part where we got rebooked into the fanciest of first class cabins flying from New York to San Francisco.
As I put my things down, I was suddenly face-to-face with the woman seated in the row in front of Husband.
Julia Roberts.
Yeah, that Julia Roberts. She was traveling with her teenage, son who plopped down in the seat across from her and behind me.
Julia Roberts pulled her hair to the side of her face, signaling she was in no mood to engage, just a mom traveling with her kid.
The menu looked delightful. It didn’t matter. I was too tired to enjoy it. I passed and passed out and slept for a few hours.
So did Julia Roberts.
So did her kid.
So did Husband.
About an hour before the flight ended, when everyone else was still sleeping, the very sweet flight attendant came up to me and said, “You are such a nice family. Your husband is nice. Your son is so well behaved. I’m sending you off with TWO bottles of wine.”
That’s when I realized. “Thank you,” I clarified, “but that’s not our kid.” “He’s not?”
“No, that’s her kid,” I pointed across the dark aisle, now realizing the flight attendant didn’t have a clue Hollywood royalty was on his plane. “Do you know who that is?”
Blank stare.
“That’s Julia Roberts,” I tried to whisper.
The flight attendant looked across at the sleeping figure buried under three blankets.
He smiled and gave me the wine.
When the flight landed and we were all gathering our things, I turned to my NOT son. “The flight attendant thought you were our kid and remarked how well behaved you were, what a nice family we have and gave me two bottles of wine. So, thanks for that.”
“Really? How cool!” the kid replied.
I looked over to Julia Roberts. That billion-dollar smile spread across her face, not as any huge celebrity, but as a proud mom, it was clear it’s probably her favorite role to play.
Maybe I was reading too much into it, but it
appeared both mother and son appreciated a rare moment where he got to be the star instead of her.
Happy to oblige, one mom to another.
And just like that, mother and son took off into the crowd, keeping their heads down.
Husband and I grabbed our bags, two bottles of wine and made it to the wedding just in time, exactly where we were supposed to be.
Daryn Kagan is the author of the book“hope Possible: A Network News Anchor’s Thoughts On Losing Her Job, Finding Love, A New Career, And My Dog, Always My Dog” and Executive Director of the Just One More Foundation. Email her at Daryn@ darynkagan.com.