It seemed a little busier than usual. At the Houston airport, cabs and airport shuttles seemed to make a beeline to drop off passengers. En route to Columbus, a city in Colorado county 74 miles west of Houston, Priti, Pramit and Avik dropped off Sameer at Terminal A with hugs and best wishes for a good time at Minneapolis. People around him fiddling with smart phones to gauge directions and information were a new experience for Sameer. He couldn't fathom the need for a mobile phone beyond the basic functions of calling and text messaging. Having spent almost half a week in the US was adequate for him to understand that his simple 2G mobile phone was truly 2nd generation in terms of features as compared to a PDA. It was a trifle late by the time Sameer managed to follow overhead glow-sign boards and reach the Delta Airlines check-in counter. Having stared at the self-check in kiosks for a while in order to figure out how to proceed, Sameer decided to queue up behind the nearest person headed for the counters. Yet again, he was made to stare stark at the necessity of being smart enough to be self-sufficient. In the past, he had talked many a times about the need for being adept, confident and proficient in their individual skill sets, to his subordinates. In his heart, he vowed to walk the talk in future, as he inched closer to the Delta staff for assistance in obtaining a boarding pass.
Sameer was startled when the in-flight executive announced, "welcome on board your flight to Hawaii. I am Maria, your personal assistant and janitor for the next two hours". Sameer twitched and twirled in his firmly fastened seat belts, wanting to point out that his destination wasn't Hawaii. Better sense and calm prevailed on him when he noticed the wry smile on Maria's face. Even the passengers were highly amused and although momentary, she was an instant celebrity. Her smartness overawed Sameer a little bit. He was sure of deflating the charm and pleasantly infectious aura she had infused among the passengers, with his honest attempt at a fake accent, which was all but US English. Although thirsty for water, Sameer decided to keep quiet. As the aircraft detached itself from the jet-way connector, all that Sameer could think of was meeting Janki.
It was a little over an hour before he sensed that the descent to the flight had begun. As the aircraft gained proximity to ground, Sameer looked out of the window to discover the niche of scenic splendor that the state of Minnesota had carved for itself. No wonder it was known as the state of 10000 lakes. Maria was a benchmark for any great employee. She seemed to like her job so much that she could elevate it to exemplary levels in customer service with effortless ease. Sameer made it a point to make it known while thanking her as he deplaned.
As soon as he stepped out, Sameer reached for his mobile. Having switched it on, he dialed Sarika's number and she reassured him that they were waiting at the greeting point in Lindbergh Terminal. The excitement to meet them was palpable as Sameer hopped onto the train on LRT to reach terminal 1. All the while he wondered about Janki. How would she take to him? Would he be an amiable company or reason for 'stranger anxiety' for her. Did she resemble her parents or anybody else in the family, in appearance? For a moment he was speechless when he saw a tiny little girl, perched on her father's folded arm glaring at something irrelevant and faraway, through the corner of her eye. Sameer couldn't miss that stare for anything under the Sun. It was the 'signature' glance/stare that Sarika used to have, when a child herself. He couldn't decide whether to call it Janki's thoughts in yonder or nature's genetic wonder. For Sameer it seemed a glaring semblance with the little sister he had grown up with. A tight huddle and embrace with the three of them was too little to exude the warmth and feel of happiness that Sameer was going through at that time. As they settled down in the car, Sameer could sense both Sarika and Sharat raring to ask him about his journey, his days in isolation from family, the brevity of his decision, the difficulties he envisaged and so on. He was startled, when Sharat impatiently turned around from the driver's seat and subtly asked with an elusive smile, "how in the world did you put on as much weight. Sorry to say, but you look bizarre" . As the car entered Bloomington en-route to their home in Eden Prairie, for a moment, Sameer wished he could take the same flight back to Houston and better still, to Hyderabad in India. Sharat parked the car in the garage and they all stepped into the house. Suddenly, the two of them with Janki on their lap started singing the birthday song to Sameer. Sarika removed the cover on the dining table to reveal a large and beautiful pineapple cake with "Happy Birthday Mama" inscribed in icing. It was a birthday cake for her brother, she had baked, on behalf of Janki. As she and Sharat wished him, and Janki thrust a large block of cake into Sameer's mouth, the least he wanted to do was hold back his tears of joy!!!
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