NARRATOR: Over at Midway, Shadia is trying to hold it together.
Let me get this straight.
I'm not trying to make fun of you, Paul.
Where's your wife at?
She is right here.
Your wife is right there?
She's right here.
NARRATOR: Philadelphia passenger Paul has requested
a preboard pass for his wife.
And Linda's right here?
Yeah, she's standing right here.
There's no one over there, sir.
The only problem is, where is she?
People say that they don't see her, they don't talk to her,
whatever.
She has a complex about it, too.
How would you feel if people didn't act like they
couldn't talk to you at all?
How did you get a boarding card for her?
I checked in at the self check-in [inaudible]..
We always check in--
So you never showed anyone her ID?
No.
Does she have an ID?
Well, she has her ID, but you have to ask her.
That's for her.
OK, well, Linda, can I see your ID?
She left it in her bag.
It's in her bag.
Can she go get it from her bag?
We went ahead and checked that stuff in.
When we come in-- - And you checked her bag in?
- Yes. - OK.
I don't understand what the big deal is, why I can't she
just get a boarding pass.
OK, you have a boarding card for her.
I mean, if you've purchased a ticket for this person
that you're claiming is standing next to you,
that's perfectly fine.
But unfortunately you don't qualify for pre-boarding.
She's not someone with a disability.
She has no disabilities.
How do I know that you're not crazy if you're
saying that you can't see her?
Because I can't see her.
Val, do you see anyone there?
No, I don't.
All right, how do I know that all you--
I'm flying on the plane with you guys?
- So am I standing-- - Whoa!
Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa!
Oh, my god.
I need an ice pack.
You just stepped on her freaking foot!
[laughs]
You stepped on her foot! - God.
What the hell you laughing at?
I need an ice pack now!
OK, sir, calm down.
I need an ice pack!
OK, calm down.
I need-- get an EMT, paramedics, something!
I need a freaking ice pack!
You just stepped on her damn foot!
Sir, if you don't calm down, they're
going to call the police here.
I'm going to try to assist you as much as possible.
Just give me, like, two seconds.
I-- I know, but she's freaking crying over here!
Get me a damn ice pack and some aspirin!
I constantly hear the screaming in my ears.
Half of it's screaming from her getting hurt because somebody
stepped on her.
The other half the time she's screaming because she
won't shut the hell up.
Why is she yelling?
Because you stepped on her foot.
Can you tell her I'm sorry, because I--
I didn't see anyone there.
Can you tell her you're sorry?
I'm sorry.
But I don't see anyone standing there, so unless you explain it
to me, just give us a few minutes
until we could work with a manager here.
We just called Eric, because I don't-- at this point,
I just don't think he's even fit to travel.
Because let's say he's holding an empty seat for her
on the aircraft and someone decides to sit there,
he might have a breakdown on the aircraft.
So we have to wait for Eric to make the final decision.
You have an imaginary wife.
Pardon me?
You do have an imaginary wife.
How do you not see her?
She's air!
She is not air.
She's right there.
I talk to her just the same as I'm
talking to you, little girl!
He paid for two tickets--
one for him, and one for his wife.
He has Linda on here, who's his wife,
and I don't know what to say.
How long does it take for a manager to get down here?
NARRATOR: Manager Eric arrives at gate B3
and gets the lowdown from Shadia.
He needs to pre-board because his wife needs--
his wife gets stomped on.
OK.
So I asked him where his wife is, and his wife is invisible.
Her name is Linda.
That's what he said?
When I went to go over there to see her,
he's claiming I stomped on her toe
and is demanding an ice pack.
So Kerry just went to get an ice pack.
[laughs]
For his invisible wife?
His invisible wife was sitting on the floor.
You're kidding me.
She's right there on the floor, sitting down.
So--
Is this some kind of a joke?
No, I wish it was.
Are you sure?
Here's the ice pack.
This is all we have.
Put that on her foot right now.
Do you have a towel?
I could get you a paper towel.
Can I get that towel?
Sure.
What's up?
So, I want to get on the pre-board, right?
I want to get over there so I can get on there early.
Same thing like-- like you almost did,
you almost stepped on her.
This young lady right here just stepped on my wife's foot,
and she's screaming that her toe is broken.
I need to get on the airline.
Don't-- please--
OK, well, you know, I don't know what to tell you.
I really am at a loss for words.
I really don't know what to say.
So you have an invisible wife that nobody can see but you is
what you're telling me, right?
Well, what do we consider a disability?
I guess not all disabilities are physical.
So, we can let you pre-board.
I just want to make sure you're going to be OK once you're
on board the airplane.
Yeah, I'll be fine as long as nobody else starts messing
around with me or does anything like that, yeah,
everything's good.
OK.
Thank you very much.
Now, do I need just one or two?
Well, she stopped yelling, at least that's freaking better.
That's part of what--
[laughter and applause]
NARRATOR: Eric's been the victim of an elaborate April Fool's
joke.
[laughter]
Thank you so much!
They got me.
But do I still have a job?
OK.
[laughs]
That was a good one.
Eric!
Eric, I'm sorry!
We still love you!
Oh, that's OK.
That's OK.
Shadia thought up the whole plan for the invisible wife.
We asked the passenger to help us out with this joke,
and we made him have an invisible wife.
I thought it was a joke at first,
and then the longer I talked to him,
I just thought he was really disturbed.
He was a great actor.
He's not a shy man, that's for sure.
Here, do you need an ice pack for your head now?
Is it hurting you?
[laughter]
I just didn't know how I was going to handle that, you know?
How do you handle that, your invisible wife?