Christmas Miracle

Chapter - 3

If Riky didn't do something soon, this flight would become downright suffocating, it was insufferable as it is. Since the airlines couldn't upgrade her to first class owing to a full flight, she had to contend with a business class seat. But the man who sat next to her was more obnoxious than the one she had met at the café. What was his name again? Oh yeah, Tilak Gandhi. At least he had been warm, polite and funny. This man had been ogling at her since the second he had found he was going to sit next to her. And since the flight had taken off he had been belching. Loudly. She couldn't stand it. And she had immediately asked for a seat change. Only who would want to sit next to him was a big question. So far the flight attendant hadn't returned. Where the hell was she? Despite the fact that the business class offered comfortable seating and distance from the person sitting next to you, she was practically squished and this was when she was a thin person. The forty something man who sat next to her, wasn't. Overweight by at least a hundred pounds, a big pot belly and beefy arms, the man sat on both his and half of her seat. It was cold inside the aircraft and the man was sweating in his Hawaiian print shirt and brown trousers. If he belched one more time she would scream. Riky raised her hand towards the switch to call on an attendant when she heard a voice speak to her.

"Miss."

And Riky breathed a sigh of relief. The attendant she had spoken to earlier was here with a polite smile plastered to her face. But Riky also saw the worry in her eyes. Did she not find someone Riky could exchange her seat with?

"Yes," Riky said in a calm cool voice. Though she was far from feeling it.

"As you had requested we have found someone who is agreeable on changing his seat with you," the woman said politely, "however, the seat is in economy class," she told her and Riky felt her heart sink.

Economy class? Hell, she rarely travelled even business class. But she knew it wasn't the attendant's fault. This time of the year, the flights were overbooked. She was lucky, she had even got a seat for as late as she had gotten her tickets done. What should she do now? She will just have to sit in the company of Mr. Belch mountain. She saw the knowing grin on the man's face and she almost closed her eyes. She could take the offer. But what if there was another jerk sitting there? She opened her mouth to thank the attendant when Mr. Belch did something even more unthinkable. He made a strange sound and as Riky stared at him in disbelief her nostrils protested at the bad smell. There was no time to think. She could suffer anything but this man.

"I will take it," Riky said. She couldn't stand sitting here another second. She would have a massive headache by the time they landed that is if she didn't throw up first or die of the smells emanating from Mr. Belch.

The attendant nodded her head and gave her a look that suggested she understood her desperation perfectly well. And Riky hated that look. She had never been one to stand pity. Angling her chin she rose from her seat and indicated for the man to move out so she could leave. The man made an elaborate effort. He had to practically vacate the chair in order to make space for her to get out.

"This way Miss," the attendant said as she carried Riky's small cabin bag with her.

Riky grabbed her purse and followed. She hoped she had made the right choice. Well, technically she hadn't had a choice. She had paid an exorbitant amount of money to be on this flight and have a business class seat. To trade it for an economy...anyone who heard her would probably laugh. But who was to know. She won't tell and there was not one soul on this flight who knew her. But that was not the cause for her worry. Lately she had been making a lot of wrong choices and bad decisions had been a companion to her longer than that. She pushed the morose thoughts aside for now. She needed to be stronger and prove it to certain people she wasn't as easily broken.

The seats were so small. The whole section looked smaller to her for some reason. Maybe because it was packed. And she was aware of numerous pairs of eyes on her. Keeping her head a bit high and her gaze absolutely straight she followed the attendant all the way to the end. Not near the toilets, please, she prayed. She could have groaned but she didn't. She agreed her current situation looked bad but she had been in a much worse one before. It was just a matter of an hour and forty minutes now. The attendant paused and turned to face her.

"This is your seat ma'am," she informed her and quickly opened the door to the luggage carrier and adjusted her cabin bag inside.

Riky pursed her lips. She would have preferred having an aisle seat. A window seat was...never mind. Beggars couldn't be choosers. There were two other seats occupied by men. She took in a deep breath. One was an Asian. While the other...wait...what. Not him. Not the man from the café. Why was he here? Why did he have to be on the same flight as her? Her eyes met his very humorous ones. And she stifled the need to groan. What was strange was that where she was irritated and surprised to see him there, he didn't look either. In fact he seemed mighty pleased.

"Are you sure there is no other seat I could take?" she asked the attendant.

"I am sorry ma'am, we are completely booked and there is no available seat. Besides despite the attraction of travelling in a business class seat only one person agreed," she said politely.

Riky looked at the woman she was talking to. It didn't seem she had made much of an effort in trying to find someone to exchange seats with her. The man she was speaking about was probably the first one she must have asked. The attendant seemed to be ready to go do other things than sort out her seating arrangements again. She decided not to push her issue further. Tilak Gandhi, was a better bet than the man she had just been sitting with. With a deep breath she straightened to her full height and went to sit in her new seat. The two men quickly got up to make space for her.

As she sat down she hoped fervently that the person who had swapped seats with her wouldn't come back asking for his original seat considering he would be spending the remaining time on this flight seated next to Mr. Belch.

Another hour and thirty two minutes to go.

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