On the plane, I heard a child crying from a sealed overhead compartment — I was shocked when I opened it.

For a moment, she looked like she might protest, but then her shoulders slumped, and she simply shrugged. Without another word, she turned and walked off the plane.

I stood there, clutching the crying training doll, utterly speechless. Who tests their girlfriend’s “parenting readiness” with a doll on a cross-country flight? And who loses track of it after a night out, only to leave it crying, abandoned in an overhead bin?

The man sighed, rubbing his temples as he glanced back down the aisle where his girlfriend had just disappeared. “I thought this would be a wake-up call,” he muttered, almost to himself. “Guess I was the one who needed waking up.”

I couldn’t hold back any longer.

“You really thought a doll would solve things?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked at me, managing a weak, embarrassed smile. “Guess it sounds pretty ridiculous, huh?”

“Ridiculous?” I repeated, struggling not to laugh.

“It’s honestly… unbelievable. I mean, people could’ve thought there was an actual child in danger up there!”

He scratched his head, clearly at a loss. “Yeah, well… maybe I deserve that.

But, you know, better to find out now than later, right?”

I shook my head, still stunned by everything that had just happened. “You know what? Good luck.

You’re going to need it.”

He gave a defeated nod and muttered, “You have no idea.”