Having enjoyed the beautiful wedding of my daughter, it was time to get back to the routine. Even the routine seemed so prosaic after a year of hysteria. I was itching for a vacation; however, my wife didn’t want to leave our location. I wished for a cruise, but she reminded me of our dues. I yearned for fun and she wanted none. I understood that concurrence is a rare occurrence, and discussions may have repercussions. When, I first uttered I Do, I did not realize that it would become my daily routine!
My goal was clear but means to the mission was menacingly mystifying. If pleasing agreement cannot be achieved, a pleasant amazement may do the trick, I thought! Surprise her! Bhama (wife) in Bahamas mission thus took shape. I started booking the flight tickets as they were becoming expensive by the hour, and we had only 72 hours to leave! I was still able to get a reasonable price with a business-class return for a deal. I was gloating that would give her a pleasant surprise. The next chore was booking a hotel. It is difficult to surprise someone with a cheap hotel. I was under pressure to look for a hotel with an expensive feel. The feel resulted in paradoxical perception-expensive feeling in the heart and empty feeling in the pocket! Maybe mutual agreement would have saved me from this predicament. Alas, I already bought non-refundable tickets. I have no choice but to proceed with the amazing choice-the Atlantis on Paradise Island.
I was in a quandary about when to inform her about the trip. She was under the impression that we were going to Virginia Beach and stay at one of our time-share properties, and thus save tons of money. I decided to inform her just before we reached the airport. The flight was in the morning. However, my plight started in the evening. Radha decided to make snacks on the morning of our departure day, so that we do not have to spend too much money on outside food. That tumbled all my plans. What man proposes, spouse disposes, I suppose! She left me with no choice but to reveal about the bewitching Bahamas the previous night. After careful scripting, I said, “Radha, it is our 25th marriage anniversary, a memorable moment that would never come again. I wanted to surprise you with a trip to Bahamas." Sensing her anxiety about the expenditure, I said, “you have done so much for all of us, you deserve to enjoy at least once. Do not worry about the expenses, I have planned and arranged the funds; Ask thy shall be given. Your wish will be my command on the trip." My emphatic statement earned an approving smile from her. I did not realize that the power of my speech would wipe out her anxiety and my assets in one sweep later!
Both my wife and my daughter felt extremely fortunate to have found such a doting person as myself, who was willing to keep them happy at any cost. As we proceeded to the check-in counter, the agent asked if we wanted the business-class upgrade. It seemed as if the agent was aware of my emphatic promises at home and decided to add woes to my vows. Before, I could think, I saw the blinding bright light emanating from their eyes, much before reaching the sunny paradise. So, I blindly said yes. The joy in their faces was priceless, but the agent figured out the price and charged my Master Card.
As we settled in the comfortable business-class seats, the flight attendant greeted us with light snacks. I hungrily opened one. Oh! My goodness, it really smelled like shi.. I was perturbed. I deal with a lot of meconium, but I certainly don’t want to eat one. I was about to call the attendant, when my wife pointed to the back seat. A young couple in the back seat felt pampered in the business class to change a dirty pamper. It was business casual in business class for them. At once, there was a silence and no one dared open their mouths as everyone experienced breath holding reaction. It taught us unity in action in a fraction. It was a bizarre situation, as we can neither open the windows nor hold the breaths for long. The couple later apologized.
Once we landed, we breathed fresh ocean breeze for a change. The lady at the hotel counter suggested that we could try the one and only Exumas excursion. I booked Atlantis for it had the vast number of acclaimed activities such as aquaventure, dolphin cay etc. I began to explain to the hotel registration lady about all the great things the resort was offering within its premises in an effort to preempt any request from my family. The lady was undeterred and pointed at the picture of a beautiful exclusive island with turquoise blue waters and declared that it was worthless leaving Bahamas without visiting it. How can a vow stricken doleful doting father and husband deny such an opportunity for his family?
It was time to have some refreshing food after a prolonged breath holding journey. We asked the front desk for suggestions for a vegetarian restaurant. She gave directions for a popular restaurant nearby. After we were seated, we went through the menu. We didn’t find anything that remotely resembled vegetarian. At last, my daughter found bread and butter in the breakfast menu. We were excited as we were hungry. The waitress did not write down what we ordered nor did she move from our table. We were bit taken aback. We reiterated our order. It was now her turn to be surprised. She seriously thought we were discussing about grocery shopping, as she never had any customer order bread in a lobster specialty restaurant. She asked us “what do you want to order to eat here?” still in disbelief that someone would eat bread on a seafood abundant island. A colleague of her passing by said that the last time he served bread was about six months ago, and if we were keen he can find some! It was time for us to find a safer restaurant. The waitress as we were leaving, asked us where we are from. After learning that we came from USA, she exclaimed, “boy, I never knew American economy was so badly hurt."
We had no choice but to seek an upscale restaurant for at least salad serving. I ordered a salad for Radha and myself, and my daughter wanted pasta. The ambience was very elegant and music was soothing. After about half an hour, our salad was served on a beautiful peewee platter. It had three leaves arranged in a very artistic manner with dressing sprinkled on them with a medication dropper probably. The leaves were exactly the same as the weeds; I plucked in my lawn few days ago. I was surprised, how fast they came back to my plate across the ocean! Nevertheless, the waiter enthusiastically encouraged me to enjoy the artistic leaves. I was not sure how we were going to share the tiny third leaf with a dot of dressing on top. It was $27 with 15% surcharge and further unknown tax. I probably needed to add an additional 20% for the tip. I could have consumed the same in the comfort of my own lawn; I thought. Radha pacified me and said that she brought some home-made snacks that we could eat for tonight.
None of these dampened the enthusiasm of my family. After we came back from the beautiful island world adventure trip, we found a note from the hotel concierge that they were offering a 10% discount coupon for dolphin encounters. The ticket was $200 per person. As I was trying to hide it from the temptation prone souls, the dolphin images caught my daughter’s attention. She was ecstatic and screamed loudly “dolphin encounter is so cheap now." She didn’t stop dancing. My wife looked at me pleadingly for my daughter. Your wish is my command words were distinctly ringing in my ears as my lips bore mystic Mona Lisa’s smile with the poignant philosophy of surprise.
