"Chalo jaldi Naina, we have to reach the airport," Sameer repeated the same dialogue for the sixth time in half an hour as his wife was forgetting things to add one by one. She made countless trips to their bedroom to check if something was left and true to her worry she kept adding new objects inside the suitcase.
"Tumse zyada jaldi toh mujhe hai airport pahuchne ki," Naina said hurriedly while putting the charger pin and power bank inside the front section of the black luggage.
"Dikh raha hai woh," Sameer replied to her with a sarcastic smile.
"Chup." She put a full zipper on the bag and took a glance around the room.
Confirmed that now nothing was left to collect. Naina finally dragged the trolley suitcase out of the room, her steps quick as they were already running late. SamaiNa took the blessings of all the elders and deities to make their flight journey safe, and Nishikant said gently - "take care of yourself beta."
"You too...main call karugi aap sabko pahuchne ke baad," Naina told him in a soft voice and hugged him once again for a moment.
"Aai aap please humare ghar jake check karte rehna ki aai theek ya nahi, unhone medicine li ya nahi. You know she is a bit careless, toh is baat ka khayal rakh dena. Please please please." She requested her mother to take care of her mother-in-law in her absence, and Sarita reluctantly nodded her head.
"Tum chinta mat karo, ab jao, late ho gaya hai," Sarita said gently.
SamaiNa and AdiKa sat inside the car with Prashant driving them to the airport as someone needed to bring back the vehicle from there. He drove gently, not uttering a single word, glancing at his sister time and again from the rearview mirror only to find her sharing goofy scenes with her husband. He exhaled and kept rotating the wheel while chewing his thumbnail. They finally reached the airport before the time and dragged the pieces of luggage inside the wide expanse area where they could see a plethora of people scurrying from one end to another, some strolling lazily, and some just sitting on the bench, waiting for the flight departure.
"I shouldn't be saying this to you but still. Take care of my little sister." Prashant told his brother-in-law with a calm visage.
"I will, more than myself," Sameer assured his dear Saale-Sahab in a gentle voice.
"Khud ka bhi khayal rakhna." He simply patted his shoulder, looking here and there anxiously.
"Tum bhi, sabka khayal rakhna, and don't miss me much. I will be back soon." Sameer said with a playful smile and this coerced the emotionless doctor to beam at him.
"Agar zyada yaad aaye toh mujhe video call kar lena. Okay?" He added further, causing Prashant to crack into a soft smile, though he hid it quickly behind a normal look.
They all chit-chat for some time and then Aditya went to the duty-free center to buy his wife food and beverage and himself a liquor bottle. The couples continued treading from one corner to another with excitement budding within them, and it was time for the check-in. They followed the instructions, completed the process by going through the strict security guards and screening at the gate, and strolled in, settling their bodies on the aligned benches with air-conditioner facilities causing humans to feel a little shiver. Most of them carried warm jackets and shawls to prevent falling sick, and Mumbai's large and famous Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport was occupied now with uncountable people waiting to go for the trips. Naina glanced at her wristwatch, wondering when their flight to Port Blair will depart from here.
"So jau kya?" She asked her husband with a drowsy expression.
"So jao, jab announcement hogi I will wake up you," Sameer said with a sweet smile and sat next to his wife to become her pillow. Naina rested her head on his left shoulder, her soft palm wrapping around his elbow which was swathed with a leather black jacket.
