Desde sempre e para sempre Chapter 3

Desde sempre e para sempre

Chapter 3 

Aaji: “Breno? Are you okay?”

Aaji was the only one who called him “Breno.” She tugged on his arm to pull him down and checked his forehead. “Are you unwell?”

Gael: “Aaji! I am fine, please, not here! I am not a kid anymore! I grew up a long time ago!”

Aaji: “Hmmmm…much too early. But, for me, you will always be the charming boy running around in your favorite beach shorts that Leo and Davi had accidentally dyed pink!”

Gael instantly remembered her pink…he cleared his throat.

Gael: “I don’t think that was an accident.”

Aaji: “They were only 4!”

Gael: “Those two were born with mischief waiting to be unleashed.”

He guided her to her seat on the plane.

Gael: “John booked the entire First Class for us so we have our privacy…”

Aaji laughed: “This is not how we traveled…”

Gael: “As much as you would like to pretend that things have not changed, they have. Back then we could not afford to buy a ticket so easily and today I can buy the Airline. I am your grandson, if I can compromise, then so can you.”

Aaji: “You can never compromise. It is just not in your system. Coming to India is not a compromise. This is sympathy because you know I am dying.”

Gael: “You are an old witch who knows how to play with emotions very well. If you ever say that again I will push you off this plane!”

Aaji: “I have always wanted to sky dive!”

Gael: “Keep doing what you are doing and I will make your dream come true.”

Outside, in the boarding area

“This is the last call for Miss. Naina Malhotra…”

“Oh my God! Oh my God!”

“What?”

 “I messed up! I gave her a seat in the First Class!”

“What?! BUT THE ENTIRE FIRST CLASS IS RESERVED!”

“I hope she doesn't show up…”

Naina ran into the scene, her hair flying, a complete mess…she had lost track of time trying to choose the best whiskey for her Dadi. Personally she despised whiskey but her Dadi loved it. Fortunately she had been able to pay for the bottle and make it in time for her flight.

Naina: “Naina Malhotra!!! Present!”

She kicked herself mentally! She was not in school anymore!

The agents at the boarding kiosk looked at each other. Mutually, they reached to a consensus. Gael’s reputation was enough to scare the daylights out of them. There was no way they were going to be the ones to break the news to him. The in-flight staff was going to have to deal with that. Besides, there was nothing they could do! The flight was all booked and Gael and his grandmother were not going to occupy all the First Class seats…As long as Naina Malhotra’s seat was assigned to the other end of the world and she kept to her side…

Both of them prayed a silent prayer and shut the boarding gate as soon as Naina was on the plane. God be with them.

Aaji: “I have only one dream, Breno.”

Gael: “I know. To be in India with your people, with your soil, with your potholes…”

He stopped speaking as soon as he sensed something. Something unnatural and foreign to him and something that he was sure he was not going to like…

Naina walked into the First Class with all her duty free shopping bags.

Naina: “Its okay. I can find my own seat. You don’t have to walk me to…”

Air Hostess: “Ma’am, I think there is a mistake. Hang on...”

Naina pulled out her boarding pass to check her seat number.

Naina: “I am sorry, is this seat 3C? I think you are on my seat….YOU?!”

Gael looked up. He didn’t have to look up to know who it was. He could recognize her voice in his sleep.

Naina looked past him and gasped in delight: “Nani! How are you??”

Aaji: “Ahhhh Naina! You won’t believe me when I say that I really missed you!”

Naina: “Oh! How sweet! I know I have that effect on people so I am not surprised…Sir, I would be happy to exchange seats with you if you would like to sit with your Nani.”

What in the world was wrong with him? Why did he lose control of all his communication abilities every time in her presence?

Naina: “Is he always like this or is he shy around girls?”

Aaji was looking at Gael keenly who was openly staring at Naina. What was wrong with him? She believed she had taught him some manners. He was always polite and well-behaved but right now, and even earlier, he was openly staring at this girl…

Aaji: “Breno!”

Naina: “Breno?”

Gael who had finally found his voice lost it all over again when he heard her say his name. No one called him Breno except for his Aaji. Not even his brothers. It had always been very private, his middle name.

Gael cleared his throat: “I…”

Aaji: “Actually I took Breno’s seat!”

Well, hell. Every time he tried to open his mouth these two women rendered him speechless. He never spoke much but he was trying for crying out loud! Let the man speak!

What was his Aaji even talking about?

She got up from her seat and practically pulled Naina into the seat she had just vacated. Naina had been surprised too and didn't realize what was happening.

Gael stood up automatically as soon as Naina sat down causing her to frown. What was with him? She put her bags on the seat next to her…Was he allergic to her? First he couldn’t speak and if she tried to get any closer, not if she tried but when the circumstances got them any closer, he ran the other way!

Was something wrong with her?

She tried to sniff herself to check whether she reeked…

Aaji: “SIT!”

Gael was caught off guard as his Aaji pushed him back. All lies! The old witch was not frail!

At the same time, Naina, who was busy sniffing herself, stopped: “NOT MY TRUFFLES!”

She sprang onto his seat as he came crashing down….More than her truffles were crushed…

Naina screamed and Gael practically fell on the floor more so because of her scream than his reflexes to prevent himself from crushing her.

The in-flight staff and Aaji were just staring at the two of them amidst the commotion. Aaji knew his temper; she could see it in his eyes. The rocket was about to take off any moment now and she quickly stood in between them. So much for trying to get them to sit together... She quickly handed Naina’s bags to the air hostess.

Aaji: “Why don’t you go ahead and get the plane moving?”

The staff scrambled out and then the real volcano erupted.

Gael: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE FIRST CLASS?!”

It was the way he had said it that did not sit well with her. Agreed she was only bumped up owing to the circumstances and she really could not afford to pay the fare for a First Class ticket but he did not know that and he had no right to judge her when he didn't know anything about her!

Naina got up: “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY? DID YOU BUY THE WHOLE FIRST CLASS?!”

“Ladies and gentlemen, the seat belt sign has been turned on…”

Aaji: “Breno…”

Gael: “Aaji, sit down and stay out of this!”

Aaji knew when to keep quiet and sat down on the closest seat next to her. But she had not taken into account that the woman next to her had a worse temper.

Naina: “NO! DON’T SIT DOWN! STAND UP!”

So powerful was her out lash that Aaji automatically stood up! There was a sharp intake of breath as Gael tried to grapple with the fact that she had just ordered his Aaji, HIS Aaji but then she threw him a curve ball!

Naina: “HOW DARE YOU ORDER HER AROUND!? Nani, you should only sit down if you feel like not because a…bird turd…likes to uhm…throw tantrums!”

Absolutely forgetting that she had ordered his Aaji just a millisecond ago, Gael was taken by something else…

Gael: “Wait a minute, did you just call me a bird turd?!”

Since that was the bigger problem here…

Naina sneaked a look at Aaji who was just staring at them her jaw dropped. Poor woman was going to have a heart attack but she had to set the imprudent boy straight! She walked over to him and pulled him by his collar because that was as far as she could reach easily  He was a head taller than her and she was wearing her tallest heels! 

Gael only obliged because he was shocked. No one dared to touch  him let alone pull him by the collar…he simply didn't know how to react to that. If it were anyone else but her, he or she would have been dead right now, literally. It was a good thing he had decided to let his entourage fly with John. She turned his face away with her hand so she could whisper into his ear.

Naina: “Bastard! I called you a bastard!”

Gael hid a smile. She didn't want to swear in front of his Aaji. How charming…

Gael: “You called me a bastard?! Do you know who I am?!”

That was NOT  a whisper!

Naina: “OH! TO HELL..O with you!”

Gael gave her a weird look shaking his head. He walked over to Aaji’s seat and swiftly buckled her in. He put her headphones on.

Gael: “This might get ugly. You pay attention to the safety instructions in case of an emergency and someone needs assistance…” He switched her TV on to the in-flight safety instructions video playing on the screen.

Naina ran over to Aaji: “Here, this is the manual with the safety guides in case you need to resuscitate someone in case of an emergency…”

Gael and Naina glared at each other while Aaji tried her best to stop herself from laughing. Gael noticed it and pressed a button pulling Naina out with him as a compartment panel slid shut providing Aaji a private booth all to herself.

Naina took a deep breath. She was not at home. They were on a plane! There were other passengers beyond the curtains who had probably heard her scream! She should stop behaving like an imprudent little girl herself! 

Naina: “May I see your boarding pass please?”

Gael: “Just shut up and sit down.”

Naina: “Where?!”

Gael: “On my head!”

Gael stormed to his previous seat and collected his stuff. He dumped it all on the seat in the row ahead of hers. His aaji was in the same row but he needed his space. Aaji had started it and so she could sit on her own and think about what she had done!

When Naina had not moved at all, he looked at her exasperated.

He grabbed her by her hand and forced her onto her beloved seat 3C! She didn’t say or do anything. Frustrated beyond words, he pulled the straps of her seat belt and buckled her in tight.

Gael: “Here! Now the whole row is yours! When we are up in the air, you may roll around from seat A to seat E!”

He turned around and sat down on his seat and signaled the air hostess to get them up in the air ASAP.

Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!

The only reason Naina had lost steam earlier was because she had felt the plane move. She had remembered that she was on a plane, about to take off and her fear of flying had seeped into her being.

Oh no! What was she going to do?! She tried to sing in her mind, she tried to think of Shah Rukh Khan but no, nothing happened! Her heart was beating so fast she felt like it was going to burst, she could not breathe, her knuckles had turned white…She tried counting and could not get past 5…1,2,3,4,5…what comes after 5? She was going to die…the plane paused for a bit and the engine started roaring. She knew what comes next. The momentum and then…She would not survive…

She looked around, there was no one around! The only reason she survived flying all these years was because she would be in the economy class and there were always people around her. She would always find someone to chat with to ease her fear and pain. She couldn't see Aaji because the compartment secured her in her booth. There was no access to her…There was only one other person.

Oh to HELLO with it!

She swiftly unbuckled herself and staggered to the seat next to him. Fortunately, he had not isolated himself in his booth. The plane was building momentum now…He looked around as soon as he saw her collapse on the seat next to him. She was struggling to put the seat belt on and as the plane moved towards take-off she got worse. She was gasping for breath and pale; she looked like death. There was no doubt that she was having a panic attack. He reached over and put her seat belt on. Breathless, she grabbed his hand with a death grip and looked at him with pleading eyes.

Naina: “S..ssttoopppp the…the…pp…lane!! I..I..c..canttt…”

There was no point talking to her or holding her hands. It would not work. Oh to hello with it!

He leaned forward and with his free hand cupped the back of her neck tilting her face up as he dove in. Her lips were the softest and the sweetest he had ever tasted.

What was this? A sympathy kiss? Was he trying to divert her attention? What was he doing again?

She welcomed his kiss, obviously lost in trance and pulling him into it along with her, leaving all rationality behind on the land as the plane finally took off, slowly and steadily rising up in the air. His lips met hers, hot and hungry…he had heard about make-up sex and they had been fighting just a minute ago…He stopped thinking as she wrapped her hands around his neck.

Now, this was no longer a pity party. He was no longer trying to comfort her. He was having a real party and he was not doing this out of sympathy but rather out of pure desire. He pulled her in closer, deepening the kiss while her fingers ran through his hair and found the back of his neck. She stroked tenderly easing the knots at the back of his neck and upper shoulders –

Gael pulled out so fast, Naina lost track of time and space. But it came back to her within a few seconds. She gasped and covered her face with her hands but before she could react any further Gael pressed a button which engineered the panels to pop out protecting himself in the booth from the scorned lady’s wrath. He had taken advantage of her vulnerability and now he was being the coward and running away from confrontation.

Why was the world scared of Gael Bourgeois again?