There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.

Ronald Reagan

Chapter 12:

   Riya trudged down the aisle to find the next closest flight attendant. She was so angry, that her cheeks were puffed and red. She scanned the room and spotted one attendant, who was busy flirting with a cute French man.

   "Excuse me, I was wondering if there was a spare seat anywhere on this plan." Riya impatiently interrupted.

   The woman looked her up and down, and said in a bored tone, "I'm sorry, but all the seats are occupied."

   Riya glanced at the French man and noticed an empty seat beside him. "What about that seat," Riya asked, suspiciously.

   "Oh, that one is occupied by his girlfriend."

   "Ah, I see. And his girlfriend wouldn't be too miffed to see you flirt with her boyfriend hmm?"

   "I think we are done here?"

   Riya sighed. There was no point in being rude to her. It wasn't her problem that she had a fat husband. "Right. Well, thank you. I must get back to my seat, or quarter seat, if I'm being honest, " she said, smiling warmly and turned around to walk back. The attendant was quite mystified by her sudden change in demeanor but went back to resume flirting with her latest catch.

Riya saw Madhan animatedly chatting with the couple sitting in the column beside theirs. Madhan caught Riya walking towards them, and whispered something to them, which made the couple light up in smiles.

What did he tell them, Riya thought curiously.

"Ah, you must be the lovely wife. I'm Nandini, and this is my husband, Suresh," the woman said.

Riya smiled in acknowledgment, but commented no further.

"We are absolutely delighted to meet a couple who's going to the same city as we are. Who would have guessed, " Suresh said, gleefully. "Why are you standing? Please sit," he ushered.

Suresh did not notice the dark glare Riya gave, but Nandini did.

She thwarted his back and gestured to Madhan. "Oh yes. He told me your little problem. Well, I have the perfect solution," she gushed.

"Well, you both are newly wedded, and must be totally in love. I'm sure no one will mind if you sit on his lap. I would kill for that kind of an opportunity," Nadhini said coyly, looking at her husband.

Riya was horrified. "What the heck?"

"That's a wonderful idea," Madhan said. "I don't know why I didn't think of that before," he said, blushing.

Riya wanted to puke. No! This was not what she wanted as the solution.

"Come on Riya. Go ahead," Suresh said, winking.

Please wear your seat belts. There's a slight turbulence.

Riya smiled weakly. "Maybe later," she said, as she asked Madhan to scoot over so that she could sit down.

Once uncomfortably seated, she wore her seat belt and had to control the urge to not cry out in pain. It was too painful since there was an arm rest blocking on the side.

After fifteen minutes, when she could no longer tolerate the clotting of her blood flow, she unbuckled her seatbelt and got up.

Suresh looked at them and winked at Riya. "Come on now. Don't be stubborn. Your later is now."

Riya had to bite her lip from saying anything. She looked at Madhan, who seemed to look just as uncomfortable as she was.

"Okay," she said, sighing, and sat on his lap.

I can't believe I'm thinking this, but this has got to be the most comfortable seat I've ever had, she thought and grimaced. She didn't want to like it, but given the circumstances, she would take his lap any day.

"Are you comfortable," Madhan asked, quite timidly. He was worried about how she would react, knowing that she was really grumpy all day.

"No." Never in a million years is she gonna accept that, Riya thought.

"Oh. Okay, get up then. I'll stand," he offered.

Riya was stumped. Here she thought that he didn't care about how she felt, at all, and he was offering to stand throughout the plane journey.

Now her conscience was eating her up.

"No, it's okay. I don't want you to stand because of me. I'll adjust," she said.

Madhan tautly refused. "No, I insist."

He gently pushed her off of him and stood in the open space near the restroom.

Riya sat down comfortably on her chair, but not happily. She knew she was being a horrible person, but really, she didn't want to be squished like that. And also, PDA was unacceptable according to her.

After about an hour, when she could no longer control her guilt, she requested Madhan to sit and said that she would sit on his lap.

For the rest of the plane journey, the two didn't talk to each other, but conversed with Suresh and Nandini, and when they got on the second flight, luckily there was one vacant seat which Riya requested to occupy. That flight journey went on uneventfully.

Madhan was determined to do something about his weight. He didn't want to sit away from Riya just because he was too fat and he also didn't want to pay for two tickets for himself alone. Sighing, he decided to go to a gym the moment he landed in the United States.

Flight 286 has landed in Salt Lake City, Utah. Please wait till the seatbelt sign is off to leave the flight.

Riya turned around from her seat, to find Madhan gesturing her to wait till he reaches her spot. She looked around to see all kinds of nationalities getting up, laughing, and talking with the people next to them, and smiled.

It had been ages since Riya visited the United States. Born and brought up there till her elementary, she moved to India in sixth, and never looked back since then. She was quite excited to get out and explore the country.

She waited impatiently till Madhan came with four suitcases. Quickly grabbing one handbag and a suitcase, she rushed out of the airplane, as fast as she could with out stepping on anyone's shoes.

Madhan chuckled at her excitement. He could tell how excited she was to be here.

"I'm hungry. Let's go to Tacobell," he said, winking at her.

Riya was so excited that she didn't think when she hugged him and raced ahead to find out where the nearest Tacobell was in the airport.

Madhan just stood there stupefied. She can be really affectionate if everything goes her way, he thought. I really must make sure I don't get on her bad side, otherwise, I'll be punched and not hugged, he shuddered.

It didn't take him long to catch up with her since he had long legs, and he liked to walk.

"Slow down, Usain Bolt," Madhan said, laughing, as he watched Riya panting with her hands on her bend knees.

"Nope. I just couldn't until I found Taco Bell."

"Well, we are here. Shall we go?"

"Yes!"

Riya opened the door, and took a deep breath in. Oh the aroma, she thought, as she smelled the baked beans and burritos. The restaurant arrangement appeared to be the same as it was several years ago. There were tables of two, three, four, and six arranged in a random order, and the sauce packets were still placed in a washbasin like a table. The straws were neatly kept in a cup, and the soft drinks machine was in the corner, right next to the counter.

Fortunately, there wasn't a long queue, so Riya quickly gave her order.

"Two seven layer burritos, please. What would you like, Maddy?"

"Nachos and a Mexican Pizza," answered Madhan, in a daze. What's with her? Now she's calling me Maddy?

They sat in a table near the sauce counter, and Riya took a handful of mild sauce packets and giggled as she read what was on the back of each packet.

"My, they've gotten more creative, haven't they?" Riya laughed, as she finished reading the fifth one.

"I wouldn't know, but they are quite funny," Madhan said, laughing.

Madhan got up as the waiter called out their order number, and Riya snatched the burrito out of the tray before he even sat down.

"Mmm, this is so good, " she gushed. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this? But you know what? Honestly, my mom makes amazing Mexican food too. It's no wonder I didn't crave for this."

Once she finished her two burritos, she washed her hands and started crying. "I miss my mommy. Take me back home, " she whimpered.

Madhan's eyes bulged. One minute she's so happy, and then next minute she starts crying? Too stupefied to do anything, he threw away his half-eaten Mexican pizza, and guided her out of the airport.

A fresh cool breeze welcomed them as they stepped out of the airport. He told Riya to wait at the entrance, as he went searching for a car to hire.

Madhan paid for the red convertible and put his luggage in the trunk. It was only then he remembered that he forgot to get the other luggage from the baggage claim.

Parking the car in the next available slot, he jogged towards Riya, narrowly missing a van.

"Riya, the baggage claim. We forgot to get our other luggage."

"How could you be so stupid?" Riya said, angrily.

Great, now she was angry. God, what was with this woman.

Riya didn't wait for him. She went back into the airport, looking for the baggage claim. Madhan followed Riya as she searched.

They were able to easily find their luggage as their luggage were the only ones remaining.

Another man who was standing there lifted one of their luggage and placed it on his cart.

"Excuse me, but I believe this is ours," Riya said, to the man.

"Oh, alright. I thought this was one of those baggage unclaimed. Here you go," he said, handing the cart over to them.

Madhan silently lifted the remaining three pieces of luggage and placed it on their trolley.

They didn't talk as they walked out of the airport. Nor did they talk as they drove home.

Riya was looking out the window the whole time, sparing Madhan no glances. From time to time, all she could say was "wow", or "this place is so beautiful."

Finally, after an hour drive, Madhan parked the car in front of a small apartment complex. The place was a cul-de-sac, except instead of houses, they were apartment complexes. It was made of red brick painted purple, and the lawn in front was absolutely gorgeous. There was a fence behind it, which indicated that there was a swimming pool.

"Give me the key," Riya ordered.

Madhan handed her the key and said, "2B."

Riya opened the trunk and took two of the lightest bags. "Bring the rest upstairs," she said, as she carried them through the stairs. The steps were one foot long, and Riya started panting half way up.

She went to the second floor, but on the door, she found that it said '3B'. Groaning, she face-palmed herself for walking three floors, and slowly walked back down. Madhan was waiting there ringing the door-bell rather impatiently. He was tired of her jokes.

"Hey." Riya said, and Madhan looked up, startled to find her up, and not inside locked up.

"What are you doing on the second floor?" he asked, curiously.

"Well it said 2B, so I thought I went up two floors. Then I saw 3B, and thought I absent-mindedly climbed three floors, but turns out, I did climb two, but I had to climb only one. Totally forgot that the floors in the US start from the ground."

"Phew. Calm down, Riya. Hand me the keys."

Riya threw it at him. He used the word calm, she thought agitatedly. How long will it take for him to learn?

"Sorry," he said, rather sheepishly, as he opened the door with ease.

Riya dropped her bags inside and gasped.

The interior design was totally Victorian, and she fell in love with it.

"OH MH GOSH, this place is absolutely gorgeous," Riya exclaimed.

"I know, right? And it's all yours," Madhan said, feeling proud.

It was a 2BHK, with a tiny living room and dining room, and complete with a balcony.

It seemed just right for the two of them. She ran her fingers along the wall, which had an ancient look to it. The living room had a two seater and one seater sofa, with a TV that was 72 inches big, along with a music stereo. The kitchen had a counter in the middle, where she could cut vegetables, and the sink was quite large to place a lot of dishes. There was an inbuilt dishwasher and dryer. The cabinets were in wood, with golden handles, and the center was in glass.

All the utensils were either China Dish or glass, and everything looked exquisite. She walked over to the balcony where she had a good view of the swimming pool. It glistened in the sunlight. There was also a washing machine in the side of the balcony, and she smiled gleefully, knowing that she won't have much work to do.

She walked into their bedroom and saw a king sized bed. There was a cabinet to the side and a desk that had a night lamp on top of it. The bathroom was so glorious. It was a dream come true. There was a jacuzzi, for two people, and a shower, and also a western restroom. Further inside, there was a shelf where she could keep her clothes. Half of it was already filled with Madhan's though.

She went to the other room, which was totally empty. When she questioned Madhan about it, he said it was the guest bedroom.

But he continued further saying that she could have this room till they get settled into their marriage.

Riya was stumped. She didn't expect Madhan to be this understanding, although she had guessed he was a real gem.

Riya politely thanked Madhan for being very thoughtful and understanding. She brought her bags from the living room and placed it in her new room.

It felt very empty. There was an empty cabinet, but unfortunately, there was no bathroom of her own.

Madhan had offered to share his bathroom closet with her, and she surprisingly agreed. The room she could give up, but not the restroom. It was absolutely divine. She took two hours to shower, and when she came out, she was so shocked to see a beautiful, very comfortable bed in her new room.

"Madhan! What's this?" Riya squealed.

"Your bed? Oh no. You don't like it do you? I shouldn't have listened to Reshma," he said, muttering to himself, worriedly.

"I LOVE IT! But when where how?"

"Oh, while you were showering, I looked up a couple of beds and asked Reshma. She suggested this one, and I ordered it immediately. In fact, the movers just left right before you came out of the shower," he said, shrugging.

Riya smiled gratefully and thanked him profusely. She jumped onto her bed and slept like a baby.

Meanwhile, Madhan watched her from a distance. He was glad she was happy. For the time being at least.

He shot his boss an email, telling him that he was married and now back in town. He unpacked his bags immediately, keeping everything in it's right place. He hated being organized and grimaced as he looked into Riya's room. Her suitcase was open, and a few clothes here and there were out of place. He quietly crept into her room and unpacked her suitcase as well.

Boy, he didn't know how much trouble that action was going to get him into.