Paul looks visibly shaken after listening to his
voicemail on the cellphone. His plane though diverted to land in Treviso
due to a medical emergency, remains on the runway for a good 70
minutes. The plane is now locked down for a police investigation.
Passengers are now breaking into groups and generating heated
discussions among themselves. Paul overhears the group behind raving
about how the emergency landing grown to become the airline's plot to
steal from their luggage.
At one point, a huge white guy wearing a
Michael Jackson t-shirt stood up and spat, "Don't think we have no idea
what you are trying to pull here! This country is down in the dumps and
now they are desperate enough to do anything! First thing outta the
people that step into this land. I know my rights! Give me my money
back!" When Michael Jackson guy catches Paul looking at him, he sneers,
"That means you as well! Job stealing nut here, there, everywhere." A
police officer moves over to hush him down.
Paul sinks back to
his throne of blankets. Jen is still not back. She has gone to find out
when they can be released. He presses the speed dial on his phone for
voicemail and listens to it again. Frowning even deeper, he massages his
headache with a vengeance.
To his posterior right, there is a
much milder discussion raised among a pack of teenagers. They had their
cellphones and electronic tablets out to watch noisy videos on Youtube.
"Woah! Shit man. Did you see that?" One boyish voice springs. "There is
no way he could have survived that!" Another girly voice adds, "Turn it
off! This is so gory. How could Youtube not moderate such graphics?" The
boyish voice returns, "Check it out, it's all featured videos. This
shit is happening all around the world, man! Here's another one, my
personal favorite. Trust me, this is THE bomb! See here, they actually
counted how many times this chick came back. Bam! One! Here's two.. and
wait for it... Bam! Fuck you three!"
"You don't suppose..." A third meekly voice asks, "That it is really happening?"
"What do you mean?" The girly voice returns.
"That
what all these videos are trying to tell us. No matter how incredulous
the idea might sound, that it is actually happening right now. Hell,
there was a time where putting a man on the moon or getting AIDS from
monkeys or raining frogs sound unbelievable, and yet it's the truth."
The meekly voice says, " That people all over the world are putting out
these stuff, is to warn us that it is really happening regardless of
what we believe in."
The group goes silent for a while.
The boyish cracks a nervous smile, "Then bro, we are fucked."
Paul wonders what exactly they are watching. Kids
these days, they believe in anything and everything. Some nerd with a
hand phone and a computer could scare the living daylight out of
everybody. Just like bacon -
Bacon? Why did it jumped
into bacon? This fever is killing me. But having some bacon would be
nice. Maybe a little meat is all I need to get better? I am so hungry
now. Paul raises his hand to catch the attention of a flight
attendant, but she is distracted by the angry pleas of the impatient
passengers. Where the hell is Jen? This is ridiculous. What is taking
her so long? How hard could it be? You talk to the flight people and
they either give you an answer or not, then you come back to your seat.
It is as easy as ABC! She must have been mingling around, talking about
you know what to you know whos… Typical Jen. Always missing the bigger
picture, missing the goal… Stupid, stupid, stupid…
He spots
Jen who returns with another couple. She introduces them to Paul, "Pablo
and Nico are from Spain. They are the pyrotechnic consultants for
Keane's concert in Venice on the fifth! That's in our itinerary too!"
Paul manages a weak smile and an even smaller 'hey' that sounded more
like a grunt. Jen asks her new friends to excuse her husband as he was
stricken with the cold right before they left for their honeymoon.
"The
MEV type 2 strain that's been going around lately?" Pablo takes an
interest, "Ouch. Antibiotics are not going to work. I have some
Brazilian ginger pieces which will do wonder to that nose of yours. Let
me see if we still keep them in our carry-ons? By the way, since we are
here in Treviso, why don't you guys stay for a couple of days before
entering Venice? Keane will be having a private show in one of the
mansions here tomorrow and you can come with us if you like? I know a
great hotel you can stay as well."
"Really? That's so generous of you guys!" Jen pips and looks to Paul for approval. "You know you love Keane as much as I do..."
Paul says nothing but stares blankly at them. Jen catches the drift and declines the offer politely.
"No worries." Pablo smiles, "But take the ginger, it's good remedy." With that, Pablo and Nico return back to their seats.
Jen looks at Paul with her hand on her hip, "What is the meaning of this?"
"I
should ask you instead." Paul retorts, "What is this? Where have you
been? I thought you have gone to speak with the flight attendants but
no! You are just chit-chatting..."
"I have been talking to the air-stewardess and Pablo and Nico were doing the same thing." Jen protests.
Paul
turns his voice into a whisper and hisses, "And you are taking their
offer to a party and a hotel stay? Do you know that Europe is in the
dumps now? They have no money and are desperate enough to do anything!
Do you want to get murdered in your sleep?"
"What's the matter
with you? I was just making friends, isn't that what's traveling's all
about?" Jen lowers the tone of her voice, "I haven't had anyone to talk
to in our entire journey because you are too sick to even muster a
decent greeting to another human being and is it too much to ask if I
want someone to talk to, to chit-chat?"
Paul realizes how
neglectful he has been towards his new bride, pauses momentarily and
reveals what is really bothering him, "Did you switch off my phone?"
"What?"
"I have told you before. Don't. Fucking. Touch. My work phone."
Jen feels her bile rising, however she grits her teeth to contain herself. See
the bigger picture. Don't say things that you know you will regret. Do
not sink to his level. It's all over if you do. See the bigger picture.
She snatches Paul's work phone, points it to his face and cries a tear,
"Don't forget where you are now, who you are with and what you are here
to do." Wiping the tear away, she throws back the phone to him and sits
back down. "Asshole." She looks away to wipe more tears from her
reddened cheeks.
As if waking up from a dream, Paul sees that he
has gone too far. Men are hypocrites. Often they blame the women for
crying incessantly, but often ignore the fact that they were the ones
who went overboard in the first place. Overwhelmed by guilt, Paul works
hard to pacify Jen.
"Don't touch me." Jen shakes him off. It takes Paul a whole hour to get his wife to accept his apologies, approximately the same time that the plane is permitted to disembark her passengers. She relents when Paul gives in to staying in Treviso for the next two days.
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