Whiskey in Mid-Air

“Johnnie Walker Black, neat”, I barked at the bartender as if I am a whiskey guy. But the truth is, this will be my first ever alcoholic beverage. I tried my best to imitate David, a close friend well versed with whiskey. He has often offered me this drink arguing that I should loosen up. “Maybe today I do need to loosen up”, I thought with a long sigh.

“Yes sir.”

In not more than fifteen seconds she offered me the drink with a smile, “here, sir.”

Taking the drink I nodded at her as thanks. I felt a tiny bit awkward for having barked at her, but at the moment I just could not be nicer. In one shot the drink went down my throat.

“Arghhh!” I banged the glass on the counter. Nothing in the world could have prepared me for the fire in my throat. My temper shot up a few degrees higher and I uttered some inaudible curses to David while the bartender looked at me with concern.

This had been the worst ever week of my life! I had rushed back to India to be with my mother at her final hours. She died of a failing heart. After the last rituals I had to deal with nasty relatives, money hungry lawyers and moody government officials. All these along with the scorching heat of May and the insalubrious air made sure I would never return to Kanpur in my lifetime. With my mother’s passing the reasons anyways were gone but now the non-existent possibility was completely non-existent.

I sold off what could be sold, donated what could be donated and trashed what could be trashed. The only thing I took with me were the family albums. Among them I found an album of my failed marriage. For reasons unknown I kept them in my backpack and couriered the rest to my residence.

Though I am eager to reach home the journey is always a harassment. It takes one train trip followed by three flight trips from Kanpur to San Jose, hopping over some immensely crowded airports of New Delhi, London and Los Angeles. Let me tell you, I am not a very patient person and waiting has never been my feat. Sitting at station or airport, being near so many people and breathing the same air makes me fidgety. Everything disgusts me and it gets difficult to hold my temper. To kill the monster of boredom I skimmed through the album a hundred times. Each time with a different emotion. Finally anger overcame all and has persisted since.

I was onboard an A380 British Airways flight bound to Los Angeles. I particularly dislike this airlines since they misplaced my baggage once, but under the current urgency I couldn’t get seats in any other flight with satisfactory service.

My throat was not burning anymore. The aftertaste was warm and even soothing. Twirling the glass in my hand I looked at the bartender and said, “same”. She served my second with a smile again.

This time I just sipped instead of a bottom’s up. Halfway through the drink I could feel the effects coursing through my nervous system.

“You know… I was once married”, I said to the bartender. She came closer and pasted the most apologetic look on her face. I wonder what she was apologetic about!

“Sorry to hear that sir.”

My eyes grew wide with surprise, “sorry that I was married?”

“Oh no no… I meant I’m sorry that you are not married anymore sir,” explained the bartender.

“Well… I too am sorry about that…”

I took out the marriage album which had found its way to my jacket pocket somehow and offered it to the bartender, “here, this is my ex.” She peered over the counter table to have a look.

“She is pretty.”

“Oh yes. It was love at first sight.” Having said this, the night of confession flashed before my eyes like a scene from a movie.

***

“I’m sorry to have called you tonight… Ev… even though I know your answer… but… but I just have to say it today”, said Amarjeet. Tears rolled down his eyes as he had no hope. He tried his best to keep his voice steady but after every few words he gasped for breath. The pain in his chest seemed to crush his lungs.

“I know what you want-“, he didn’t let Antara continue.

“No, please just listen to me once… I…I… I like you. And it… It is since the moment I saw you. I tried… I tried and I really tried hard to avoid you and forget you. But… I just have to tell you-“

“I know you like me. I would like to date you too”

“I want to date you and eventually marry you but I know you don’t want to end up with a Sikh wearing a turban. I’m not like Ned Nickerson whom you fantasize about so I accept your refusal but I have to confess!” Once that Amarjeet had started pouring his heart, he just couldn’t stop. He went on and on talking as fast as he could with voice full of sadness.

“AMARJEET SINGH! Are you even listening to what I am saying? I said ‘I WILL DATE YOU’”, Anatara had to nearly shout to make him hear her acceptance over the phone. She just couldn’t bear him weeping. It broke her heart.

There was complete silence over the phone.

“Hello? Anyone there?? Did you hear what I just said?”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I said, I will date you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes”

“But why?”

“Good lord! What do you mean why? Now stop your tears, be happy and go sleep. We will meet tomorrow morning before class by the temple.”

“What?”

“See you tomorrow by the temple,” Antara smiled as she disconnected the call.

***

I came back from my reverie and looked at the bartender. She was still waiting for me to continue. I looked back at Antara’s picture. She was wearing a peach coloured salwar-kameez. Her head was covered with the dupatta. Her eyes were cast down and she had a smile on. She was both happy and sad.

“After dating for a year I proposed and she refused initially. Her parents were against this union. After much coaxing she agreed to elope. This picture is from our wedding day.”

***

“Marry me Antara!”

“What?!”

“I said, marry me before I go to the USA.”

“Are you crazy? I can’t do that!.”

“Why not?”

“‘Coz for starters I love my parents and don’t want to hurt them!”

“Then don’t you love me? Is that why you are ready to hurt me?”

“You don’t have to misunderstand me on purpose you know!”

“Antara I will be leaving in August this year. It is already April. I will be gone for two years. Your parents are against us. What if they marry you off when I am not around? I can’t live with this fear everyday till my return. I will not be able to study at all. I have to be sure that you are mine.” The anxiety in Amarjeet’s voice grew with every word.

“Amar… Just concentrate on your MS for now. That is your dream. Your parents’ dream. Go fulfill them. I will wait for you”, said Antara with as much earnestness as she could harness.

“Not until you marry me. Let’s elope!” Antara’s mouth went dry while on the other hand Amarjeet’s eyes were now sparkling with the superb idea he had just had. By hook or crook, he had to make her agree, within the next four months.

***

“Another one please…”, I gave my cheesiest smile to the bartender, sliding the glass to her side and continued, “that day I was on cloud number nine!”

“In fact I had been on high clouds since we started dating. She complimented me perfectly. Everything that lacked in me was there in her and she made me feel complete…” After a break of five minutes I added, “She looked best in pink and she made sure that pink was her colour for every party we attended. Before I happened to her, she always maintained a low profile. I don’t know why but once we started going out, her charm knew no bounds. First I thought it was only me who was enamoured with her soul and then out of blue, boys were flocking all around her, gawking her! It was outrageous!” My blood pressure shot up recalling the look of her lab mates. “I just wanted to thrash their heads together.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but you don’t look cool with that kind of expression sir,” remarked the bartender.

I must be scowling! I fixed my face and smiled at the girl before me, “She used to say the same thing you know…”

“She helped me with the MS application. Skipping and hopping around college campus, pulling me around to get my work done as if we are on a joy ride. And what a joy ride it was for me. Never in my life had I been so carefree. I was one of the top performers of my department and God, my CGPA went down that semester much against my parents hopes.” It was definitely the drink making me reminisce all these moments. I sighed and I sighed again.

“All the sighing won’t do you much good sir, let by gones be by gones,” said my new found friend. I looked at her badge. It said her name was Angela. I sure was socialable and voluble tonight. And look at the adjectives I am coming up with!

I felt the need to take a leak. After another bottoms up Angela showed me the way. I smiled at the person who vacated the relief room for me. Why was I smiling like a fool? It was definitely the whiskey! Antara would have loved to see me smile so much.

I stood before the WC unburdening my bladder; the images of our first night were dancing before my eyes. Though it was a total failure, we had fun trying to imitate the blue videos we had watched together. We laughed at our naivety and cuddled each other to sleep with high prospects for the next day.

“The next day never came”, I said out loud with frustration to the three doppelgängers in the mirror. “She should have told me her time of month was around! It was so… so frustrating!!”

“And now there are three taps! Which one of you am I to use? You all look alike!” Every time I reached out to one of them, either my hands wouldn’t reach or three taps converged into two. “Ah! I think you are the right one! Are we experiencing turbulent weather? Or is it the drink? Everything around me is spinning! I need to puke. Blarghhhhhhh.”

“Hey man… You okay in there?” Someone asked from outside.

“Blarghhhhh, I guesssss sooooo,”I slurred.

“Crap…! Hey buddy, need some help here………….Thank goodness the door is open. Let’s get him out of here!”

A pair of hands helped me to the nearest seat.

“Is there a doctor on board?” announced a flight attendant.

“Yes. Yes, I’m a physician,” a man replied not very far.

The doctor checked my pulse, my blood pressure and asked me quite a lot of questions. I mumbled him some replies. The friendly bartender filled him about our rendezvous at the bar. The doctor said something to the flight attendant and she produced quite a handful of medical equipment. I was immediately put on an IV. I closed my eyes. Yet I wonder how I could see Antara. Her eyes are swollen and red from crying.

“Amar please let me go. We are not meant to be. This marriage is not working… I married you for your peace of mind. I did not tell my parents because I wanted you to win them over and marry again with their consent. But now you are using it against me, blackmailing me to do your bidding or you’ll tell them. I don’t mind doing your assignments or filling applications for your internships or even developing your father’s dream system. But I need something in return. I need some respect and I need some appreciation. I am sick and tired of your complains about everything I did not do. For the past two years your brutality towards me has gone from bad to worse! You have transformed me from a naive girl to a scorned one. I took pity on you when you were crying all over me to date you and now you have made me sorry to have ever felt so. You dislike my happiness, you dislike my parents, you dislike my friends, then why did you marry me? It is not possessiveness that has engulfed you, it is obsessiveness. You just wanted me and once we were married I was nothing but a slave to you! I just hate you Amar. I hate you! Give me back my life!”

“But I did give it back to you! I did divorce you! And yet I am the one who is still suffering. You are happy with your new found partner. You even have two kids! I shaved my beard and cut my hair to start afresh. It hurt my parents more than anything in the world. Yet I am still carrying the invisible baggage. How am I supposed to get my life back? How?”

***

“Doctor… What is happening? He is shaking!”, nervously Angela called to the doctor to get his attention. He was speaking to Mary, the Chief Purser.

“Oh my god! He is hyperventilating! Get me oxygen! Quick!”

Angela ran to get the oxygen cylinder from the medical emergencies compartment. She was back within seconds. The skilled doctor immediately set it up. The seizures did not stop. “Angela, help me hold him still. I need to check the pulse,” he said looking at her.

“He is having seizures and his pulse is dropping”, said the doctor turning towards Mary. “He needs to be taken to a hospital. Is it possible to land within an hour?”

“I’ll check with the captain. Please wait a minute.” After speaking to the captain over the intercom she replied, “We can land at JFK airport in around two hours. Can we hold him till then?”

“I hope so… Just ask the paramedics to be ready at the gates at JFK.”

“Dear God please, please tell me what should I do! I should not have served him more drinks after the first signs of intoxication. Oh dear God!!!” Angela prayed inwardly.

She held on to his shoulders to calm him and shushed in his ears, “It is okay… Everything is fine… Calm down… shh…shh…”

***

The album slipped out and fell on the floor as Amarjeet was carried by the paramedics.

He woke up two days later at JFK Medical Center. His last memories were of the days he spent with his dying mother in India. A medical staff informed him that he was brought in for alcohol poisoning. Apparently he had consumed way too much alcohol on board a flight bound to LA. The in-flight medical support was not sufficient to treat him, so the flight had an emergency landing at JFK.

“Wow! I’m sure the airlines will hound me now for some kind of compensation!”

The staff smiled at Amarjeet’s remark. “Your belongings are here, in this cupboard.” Pointing at the bouquet of yellow Gerbera standing at the side table he said, “That came in for you today.”

“Can you pass me the card? Ah… and also my cell phone.”

Amarjeet first switched on his cell phone and then looked at the card with curiosity and asked, “Who is Angela?”

Shrugging, the staff left the room while Amarjeet looked out the window trying to figure out last five days of his life. He couldn’t deliberate for long as he heard his favourite tune play on the cell phone. “Now, how am I to soothe my little sister’s hysteria?” He thought with affection as he answered the phone, “Hello Sissy…”

THE END