Khushi's Visit To North America

Arnav and Khushi boarded Air India flight AI101 which departed Delhi at 1:00 AM on Thursday.   As soon as Khushi settled in her seat, Arnav switched on the screen in front of her and navigated to the latest Salman Khan flick.  Arnav loves to pamper Khushi whenever he can.  I mean, when the well-meaning family is not around to interrupt them.

Khushi enjoys these gestures and falls in love with him a bit more every time.  When Arnav noticed the look on her face, with a wicked grin, he said “go on, you can kiss your husband now”.  Khushi hit him on his shoulder and looked around shyly.  When she noticed the other first-class passengers, she composed herself and smiled at everyone with a soft ‘Hi’.

No one can resist our ever-charming Khushi.  Within no time she noted the names of the crew and faces of the passengers who are still sitting and sipping their choice of beverage, except an elderly couple, who, cold-shouldered Khushi.  She tried but they did not budge.

Arnav had a hectic week clearing all the backlog.  He does not want any interruptions on his 10 day long getaway with Khushi to USA and Canada covering New York, WashingtonDC and Niagara Falls.

Arnav was very tired. By the time it is 2:00 AM IST, he had a midnight snack and promptly fell asleep.

During the fuel stopover at Vienna, Khushi spoke to all first-class passengers except the old couple.  Arnav went back to sleep as soon as the flight took off from Vienna.

When Arnav woke up next at 9:00 AM EDT, they were flying over Atlantic.  Khushi was sleeping peacefully while the TV is still running. Arnav never gets tired of admiring his sleeping beauty.

He loves to watch Khushi sleeping.  Not that he does not love to watch her when she is awake, she looks serene when she is sleeping which, adds glow to her face and mesmerizes Arnav every single time.  He bent over and kissed her on the forehead.

The crew noticed Arnav when he sat upright in his seat and came to enquire about his breakfast and a beverage to go with.  Arnav ordered black coffee and light breakfast.  He did not have the heart to wake Khushi up.  He knows, once in a while Khushi loves to watch movie after movie until she can’t stay awake any longer.  If she can’t have breakfast on the flight, she can have something at the airport before heading to The Plaza.

Arnav fixed the comforter when Khushi stirred in her sleep, to let her sleep some more.  Khushi finally woke up after an hour.  As soon as she woke up, she looked at the elderly couple. They both were still sleeping. With a sad face she dragged herself to the washrooms.  Arnav noticed this with an amused look.  Khushi can’t tolerate grumpy people.  He can’t complain, can he?  Otherwise he would have been left arrogant and egoistic for the rest of his life and would never have understood the meaning of happiness.

When the flight finally landed at JFK International airport in New York and crew announced that they can leave the flight at any time they want, Arnav literally carried Khushi out of the plane with his right hand around her waist and with a cabin bag on his left hand.  He did not leave Khushi until they are fully out of the gate.   When they were walking towards customs, they heard an announcement on the PA system requesting Khushi to wait for Mr and Mrs Smith at the duty-free shops.  When Arnav turned to Khushi with a questioning look, she was already heading to the duty-free shops.

To his utter surprise, the old couple who travelled with them from Delhi, stepped out of the cart as soon as they reached the duty-free shops and hugged Khushi as if she was their long lost child.

When Arnav reached them, the old man extended his hand and introduced himself as Graham Smith and his wife who was still holding Khushi in her embrace, introduced herself as Adele Smith.

Then they said in unison that Khushi is their saviour.  Graham narrated that after the flight took off from Vienna and everyone have fallen asleep, he had a mild heart attack and Khushi not only found the tablet he was supposed to take but, also stayed with him and reassured him constantly, while the crew and a doctor stabilised him.

After the narration, Smiths invited them to their mansion at Manhattan to spend a day with them and, also to watch fireworks from their home in the evening.

Arnav’s heart swelled with pride for Khushi.  He instantly said OK after getting a nod from Khushi.

Arnav did not plan anything on day one thinking this is Khushi’s first International trip and she might need a day to accustomed to the new time zone.

After exchanging contact details, Graham and Adele were driven to the customs in the cart and Arnav and Khushi walked to customs to finish the formalities.  Khushi refused to eat anything at the airport and wanted to have brunch at their hotel.

The look on Khushi’s face, when they were served Aloo puri and Halwa in the room is enough for Arnav to know that he made a right decision in organising them.  And he was promptly rewarded with a kiss on his mouth for his thoughtful gesture.  After finishing brunch, they went out to get gifts for Smiths.  They bought an elegant clutch and  a bottle of Vintage wine.   

Khushi wore a beautiful floral summer frock, while Arnav settled for Khaki pants and white shirt. They packed PJs and a set of change clothes for next day and set out to Smiths’ in a hired BMW with Arnav at the wheel.

The mansion was beautiful with manicured gardens all around.  The guards at the gate let them in without any questions and the other guard standing near the main door opened the car doors for them and then took the car away to park.  Surprisingly Graham and Adele opened the main door even before they rung the bell.  After another round of hugs and handshakes,they all walked in to the family.  The butler and house help looked at them in awe. No one was ever brought in to the family area in their first visit, unless they were family or close friends.   Well,no one was ever received by Smiths at the main door either.

After a brief chat about Arnav and Khushi’s visit to USA and Graham’s heart condition and treatment, they were served afternoon tea on the deck near the pool.  Later Adele took Khushi to show her around the house while the boys settled in the study to talk about their respective work.

After the tour of the house, Adele showed Khushi the guestroom on the first floor where they were going to spend the night.  The view was breathtaking from the window. It was a perfect spot to watch the fireworks. Their overnight bag was already brought into the room.  At 7 PM they all had dinner at the dining table in the family.  There were couple of Indian items along with the usual American menu making Khushi to look at Arnav and he simply shrugged his shoulders.  Graham and Adele looked at the couple with a smile on their face.

Once they finished their dinner, Smiths wanted to retire for the night, and told Khushi and Arnav to feel free and call the house manager who was on duty for the night if they need anything.  Khushi was already shown in her house tour, a fully stocked bar fridge, with fruits, chocolates, pastries and drinks, in the guest room.

Khushi was overwhelmed with all the attention and affection.  As soon as they reached their room, she hugged Arnav with uncontrollable emotions.  Arnav condition was no less.  He just hugged her back for few minutes.  When he realised he was wasting time, he picked her up and took her to the bed.

Then they spent the rest of the night loving each other and watching fireworks. 

Happy belated 4th of July to everyone who is living in USA or ever lived in USA.

Cheers……..