Dear passengers boarding flight TW437
for Chicago, please note that your flight has been delayed by an hour due to
change in weather conditions. We deeply regret the inconvenience, kindly bear
with us.
There wasn’t even the slightest
change in weather conditions, but this announcement had created a drastic
change in my mood. Though delays were a genetic trait of all flights in
Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport, this fact did not stop me from mentally reeling some
of the choicest swear words my vocabulary could boast of.
Tuesday night. 9 pm. Christmas
eve. And here I was, being forced to celebrate this occasion by slumping myself
in one of the seats outside the flight gate and assessing if my patience levels
could break a new record. The only thing that could still make me smile in this
exasperating situation was the poster across the airport lounge. After all, it
was one of my better pictures.
Much as I hate boasting, I had to
admit that I was looking simply beautiful in it. It seemed as if Lakme’s cherry
lip gloss had been made for my lips, my figure could have made an hour glass
squirm, my hair was looking glossier than the poster paper, my eyes were
shining brighter than all the Christmas lights decorating the airport, and my
smile….my smile was the reason my poster was receiving more attention than the
flight indicator board.
As I was charmingly admiring
myself thus, a deep voice from nowhere broke my reverie,
“Your picture doesn’t do you
justice.”
I tore my gaze away from myself
to see a young man sprawled in the seat before me. He had golden green eyes, a fair complexion
and the shaggiest hairstyle I had ever seen. His muscular physique was apparent
despite the loose T-shirt he had worn and his cologne had to be the most
sensuous thing I had ever smelt. He was travelling very light but seemed to be
carrying an excess baggage of attitude. I could only conclude that he was
defining the word ‘hot’ much better than the Oxford Dictionary.
Five years of modelling had taught me to
accept compliments with a bored pride though I still enjoyed the same heady
delight in receiving them. Therefore, I only gave him a stiff smile in
acknowledgement.
Before he could say anything
more, we were joined by a third passenger. He was a bespectacled young man of
about 6’’2. He had short brown hair, sharp angular features, a wheatish
complexion and was clean shaven. He had worn a simple checked shirt but highly
branded jeans and was sporting a scientific watch on his wrist. He was
obviously a frequent traveller as he was carrying only three things- his
boarding pass for a Toronto flight, an Apple i-Pad, and lots of indifference.
If he had noticed my poster…..or me, for that matter….he didn’t show it, and
silently sat down a seat away.
I went back to admiring my
poster, Mr. Specs opened his i-Pad probably to work, while the hunk constantly
shuttled his gaze between my poster and me. After some time, he seemed to have
had enough of the silence and broke the ice.
“Arjun” he said, introducing
himself amicably.
“Sarah” I replied politely.
We both turned to Mr Specs
expectantly. After what seemed like eternity, he replied monotonously,
“Siddharth”
“Since we have so much time at
hand and nothing to do, it would be criminal not to converse” said Arjun. It
was pretty obvious from his tone that his idea of ‘we’ meant him and me while
Mr. Specs was expected to mind his own business.
“What do you want to converse
about?” I asked Arjun.
“You seem to be the most
appealing topic I could think of.”
“I was hoping you would come up
with a better opening line”
“Opening lines are for
flirts….I’m an admirer”
Highly embarrassed by such
outrageous guts, I looked at Siddharth to see his reaction. He was completely
engrossed in his i-Pad and was oozing out generous doses of disinterest. I
decided that if I was going to be spending an hour with such company, I might
as well make it worth my while, so I decided to play along with Arjun.
“So Arjun…..judging by your looks
I’m sure you must be having a lot of admirers too.”
“What’s the use if you aren’t one
of them !”
“Oh I’ve become a fan.”
“You lie as beautifully as you
smile.”
I smiled and he continued, “May I
buy you a coffee?”
I refused politely. Contrary to
my judgement of him, Arjun did possess a fractional amount of politeness and he
enquired of Siddharth if he would like a coffee. Without looking up from his
i-Pad, Siddharth replied,
“No thank you”
Arjun looked at him
condescendingly and said, “Hmmm…..I think you are one of those guys who doesn’t
eat outside at all”
“You thought right.”
“But home-made food doesn’t quite
have the right flavour”
Siddharth did not even bother
replying at this.
I decided to fill up the awkward
silence that had settled in, so I turned to Arjun and asked
“So what do you do when you are
not busy admiring me Arjun?”
“Oh I own a chain of eateries in
South Bombay….you must have heard of the Panama Group” said Arjun airily.
“Who hasn’t”
“Oh I’m sure Siddharth hasn’t as
he is a devotee of homemade food.” said Arjun, smirking at me.
Siddharth continued with his
favourite activity of keeping silent while Arjun continued to be full of
himself. Turning to me he remarked,
“Due to business constraints, I
am compelled to live in South Bombay you know….a small duplex in Cuffe Parade…..after
all….how much space does a bachelor need” he said modestly.
I suppressed my smile at this
direct information about his social status and indirect information about his marital
status and said,
“Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
“If I had met you earlier, by now
probably the answer to that question would be yes.”
This was too much even for Siddharth who was diverted from his i-Pad for a moment and was trying to
maintain a straight face.
I got irritated at this overconfidence and said
coolly,
“What makes you so sure that I
would have agreed?”
“I would never have given you a
reason to refuse”
“Your hopes really fly high”
“I will even make the horses fly
if you so much as wish it”
“Right now, the only flying
object I’m interested in is my plane…..and it is just not flying.
“Where are you headed?”
“Chicago”
“So am I !!! …..Are you going for
a vacation?
“I’m going there for work.”
“So am I !!! …..Where are you
staying?”
“The Hilton.”
“So am I !!!”
I strongly suspected that the
last ‘So am I !!!’ had been decided on the spot, but I still maintained an
expression of surprise.
“These amazing coincidences
demand that we meet on a date in Chicago” said Arjun with a disarming smile.
“Now how can I refuse such
flattery” I said sardonically but Arjun didn’t get the sarcasm.
Now substantially smug, Arjun looked
at Siddharth and said,” Would you ever leave an opportunity to cater to one of
the most beautiful women in the world?”
By now, I wasn’t even feeling
embarrassed and Siddharth, now mentally aware that he was sitting next to the
most talkative man in the world, assured him cordially that he would never
leave such an opportunity.
Just as Arjun was loudly
wondering whether we should meet up at the Italian restaurant at the Hilton or at
the Chinese buffet across the Hilton, a crisp voice on the airport speaker
system made an announcement requesting passengers of Toronto flight TW523 to
board the plane.
Siddharth finally seemed to come
into the present and looked up from his i-Pad. As a reflex action, I looked at
him.
“You’ve not forgotten your wallet
I hope” I said unsurely.
“No I remembered it this time” he
said easily.
“And your phone?”
“You know it’s always in my
pocket.”
“I do wish you’d carry a small
bag at least.”
“I don’t need to.”
“Remember to text me when you land.”
“Have I ever forgotten?”
Siddharth had already risen from
his seat. I got up and hugged him tightly. For the first time in the entire
evening, he smiled…..and for the first time in the entire evening I was happy
my flight was delayed.
“I’ll see you on Sunday” I said
smiling widely.
“Take care and have a safe
journey” he said pecking me lightly on the cheek.
Siddharth then turned around to
Arjun, who looked as if a hurricane had just hit him, and said boyishly,
“Enjoy your date with the most
beautiful woman in the world” and as an afterthought, he added, ’’but do come
over to my place to have ‘homemade’ food sometime…..you see….the most beautiful
woman in the world’s cooking is as beautiful as her looks” he said grinning.
Collecting his i-Pad and boarding
pass, my husband,with that perfect nonchalant expression I had fallen in love
with, winked at me mischieviously, and walked towards his flight gate with an
attitude that defined the word ‘hot’ a million times better than Arjun did.
