The flight had open seating. As we settled into the seats we had chosen, we heard coughing nearby. It was the young man in the seat in front of us. The young man with the eye patch. As he continued to cough, one of his colleagues asked how he was feeling. “Not so great. The medicine hasn’t kicked in yet...and the doctor isn’t sure whether it’s bacterial or viral.” Then, between hacking coughs, he added. “The doctor said I’m contagious.” We’re getting pretty concerned and I offer Flo a chewable vitamin C tablet. Flo is not happy. The coughing echoes through the plane as people file by and move to empty seats in the back. “At least the eye isn’t oozing anymore” said his colleague — clearly concerned about the well-being of his travel companion. Another friend, sitting across the aisle, offers a barf bag. Flo is getting more and more upset. We consider changing seats, but the plane is too full. A young women stops by the man with the eye patch. She considers the middle seat next to him, but moves on. Then it occurs to me. Have you ever left a bag on the seat next to you hoping that it would deter someone from taking your coveted space? This dramatic display fitting only in a quarantined ward in a hospital was a spoof. They were trying to save the middle seat. The plot was revealed when a person, unable to find another seat, came from the back of the plane and gestured toward the middle seat. As the newcomer settled in, the coughing stopped, the eye patch came off, and the sick passenger moved over to join other friends in the empty middle seat between them. As reality set in, Flo could not stop laughing. It was great theatre.