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‘Good plan. You can read your letter to me over lunch.’
‘Thank you, Lucas.’
He smiled. ‘Thank you. I wouldn’t have missed this morning for the world.’
* * *
‘I really wish we could stay for another week.’ The taxi that had brought them to the airport had disappeared and as they walked together into the cool of the building it finally struck Thea that they were going home.
‘Which would you choose, though? More conference days or a holiday?’
Thea thought carefully. ‘Two weeks, then. It’ll have to be two. Another week at the conference and then a holiday.’
Lucas chuckled. ‘Yeah. It’s been inspiring, hasn’t it?’
In so many ways. ‘I want to come back. I want to see more of India than just a hotel room and a conference suite. And I want to take Dr Patel up on her offer. I’d love to visit her clinic and to see Ayesha again.’
‘You will.’ Lucas stopped suddenly, his gaze on the boards that listed flight departures. ‘We’re going to have to check in now. We’re a bit late.’
They’d dawdled through breakfast and taken a last stroll through the hotel gardens. The hotel concierge had practically bundled them both into the taxi, clearly disapproving of their reluctance to leave. But now, in the anonymous crush of the airport, it felt as if they were already gone from India, and it was time now to hurry back to whatever England might bring.
Lucas strode towards the check-in desk, leaving Thea with the suitcases while he joined the queue. The process seemed a protracted one, and she smiled at a woman who had sat down next to her and was cradling a sleeping baby.
‘You’re going to London?’ The woman was holding a pair of tickets, and Thea recognised the thick black code letters in the corner.
‘I hope so.’ The woman grimaced. ‘Looks as if there’s a problem. We can do without this.’
‘What’s happening?’ When Thea glanced towards the check-in desk, the queue had disintegrated into a crowd.
‘Overbooking, I think. My husband’s trying to sort it out, we need to get on a flight today.’
‘They must give you priority, surely. With the baby…’
The woman shrugged. ‘I don’t think that makes any difference. And Sara’s not really the problem. We live in Mumbai so we can just go back home if we don’t get a flight. My sister’s getting married on Saturday, though. This’ll be the first time my family have seen Sara.’
‘Look, my friend’s just on his way back. He might know something.’
As Lucas hurried towards them, a man standing behind the check-in desk started to make an announcement in Marathi, which was drowned out by groans of dismay from those who understood. As he repeated it in English, the queue started to break up.
‘What’s up?’ Thea looked up at him.
‘A couple of flights have been overbooked. Stay there, I’ll be back…’ Lucas was gone again, hurrying through the crowds, obviously sure of where he was going.
Another night in India. In an airport hotel, probably, but things could be worse. Thea turned to the woman next to her. ‘Guess we’ll just have to wait.’
* * *
It was half an hour before Lucas returned and by that time Thea was holding Sara, wishing she would wake up so that she could feel the tiny body move against her. ‘What’s happening?’
Lucas grinned. ‘Hey, there, sweetie.’ The greeting was for Sara. Despite having slept soundly through the noise and bustle of the airport, Sara seemed to decide that now was the time to open her eyes, and her hand reached for the thin cotton material of Thea’s shirt, clutching it tightly.
Sara looked up at his smile and her eyes began to swim with tears. Thea rocked her gently, turning so the child could see her mother, feeling the sharp, instinctive tug as one small hand wandered towards her breast.
‘What’s…?’ She swallowed hard. ‘What’s going on?’
‘I’ve got vouchers for a different flight in an hour’s time. We have to get to the flight desk to exchange them and then check in, so you need to give this little one back.’
He nodded towards Sara’s mother, who was talking quietly into her phone. The woman started to shake her head slowly, tears forming in her eyes. ‘No… No, it’s okay. We’ll get there, and if we don’t… I don’t know, but it’ll be okay… Yeah, come back here.’
