Foreign Body

Chapter 23

October 1, 2007

Wednesday, 10:58 p.m.

Delhi, India

“Excuse me, sir,” the cabin attendant said as she gently shook Neil McCulgan’s shoulder. “Could you raise the back of your seat? We’re in the final approach, and we’ll be landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in just a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” Neil said, and did as he was told. He yawned, then pushed back in his seat and wiggled around to get comfortable. Despite having left Singapore almost an hour and a half late, they were arriving only an hour late. Somehow they’d managed to pick up a half-hour, even though they’d been flying into the jet stream.

“I’m impressed with how well you sleep on a plane,” Neil’s immediate seat neighbor said.

“I’m lucky, I guess,” Neil responded. He had spoken with the gentleman for the first hour, learning that the man sold Viking kitchen appliances in northwestern India. Neil had found the man interesting, since their conversation made him realize, as an emergency-room doctor, how little he knew about the world in general.

“Where are you staying in Delhi?” the stranger asked.

“Amal Palace Hotel,” Neil said.

“Would you like to share a cab? I live in the neighborhood.”

“I have a hotel car picking me up. You’re welcome to join, provided you don’t have to wait for luggage. I just have carry-on.”

“Same with me.” He stuck out his hand. “The name’s Stuart. I should have introduced myself earlier.”

“Neil. Nice to meet you,” Neil said, giving the man’s hand a quick shake.

Neil leaned forward and tried to look out the window.

“Nothing yet to see,” said Stuart, who was sitting at the window.

“No lights or anything?”

“Not this time of year, not with the haze. You’ll see what I mean on our drive into town. It’s like a dense fog but is mostly pollution.”

“That sounds nice,” Neil said sarcastically.

Neil leaned back against the headrest and closed his eyes. Now that he was nearing his journey’s destination, he started to think about how he should meet up with Jennifer. During the two stops he’d had to make en route, he’d debated calling her. What he couldn’t decide was whether it was best to surprise her in person or by phone. The benefit of the phone call would be to give her some time to adapt to the idea. The problem with it was that there was a good chance that she might simply tell him to turn around and go home. Ultimately, it was such a fear that made him opt not to call.

The huge plane’s wheels touched down with a thump that caused Neil’s eyes to pop open in surprise. He gripped the armrests to keep himself back in the seat as the plane braked.

“How long are you staying in Delhi?” Stuart questioned.

“Not long,” Neil said evasively. He wondered briefly if he should disinvite the gentleman from sharing his ride. He was in no mood to get into any kind of personal conversation.

Apparently taking the hint, Stuart didn’t ask any more questions until they’d passed through both passport control and customs. “Are you here on business?” Stuart asked, as they waited for the hotel car to be brought around.

“A little bit of both,” Neil lied while being less than receptive. “And yourself?”

“The same,” the man said. “I’m here often and keep an apartment. It’s quite a city, but for my purposes, I prefer Bangkok.”

“Really,” Neil said with little interest, although he vaguely wondered what the man’s “purposes” were.

“If you have any questions about Delhi, give me a call,” the man said, handing Neil a Viking kitchen appliance card.

“I’ll do that,” Neil said insincerely, pocketing the card after a quick glance.

Both weary travelers settled into the hotel SUV’s backseat. Neil closed his eyes and returned to musing about how he was going to hook up with Jennifer. Now that he was in the same city as she, he found himself even more excited than he’d expected. He was truly looking forward to seeing her and to apologizing for not coming the moment she’d asked him.

Neil opened his eyes long enough to check the time. It was five after midnight, and he realized that as excited as he was to see Jennifer, it would have to wait until morning. But then he began to wonder how he would surprise her then, an issue complicated by his acknowledging he had no idea of her schedule. He suddenly had an uncomfortable fear. Although it seemed unlikely enough for him not to have thought of it before, she might have concluded the business about her grandmother during the course of Wednesday, her first full day in Delhi, and could be flying out at that very moment: maybe even on the same plane he’d just flown in on.

Opening his eyes, Neil shook the thought from his mind. He laughed at himself and looked out the window at the haze his fellow traveler had described earlier. It was enough to make health-conscious Neil feel congested.

Shortly thereafter, the hotel car pulled up the ramp to the hotel’s main entrance. Several porters and doormen surrounded the vehicle, opening the doors.

“Give me a call if I can help in any way,” Stuart said, shaking hands with Neil. “And thanks for the ride.”

“Will do,” Neil responded. He got his carry-on bag from a porter with some effort, insisting he’d prefer to bring it into the hotel himself — not only was it not heavy, it had wheels.

Check-in was accomplished sitting down at a desk, and as Neil handed over his passport, he asked the formally dressed clerk who’d introduced himself as Arvind Sinha if they had a Jennifer Hernandez registered. Unseen by the clerk, he actually crossed his fingers.

“I can check for you, sahib,” Arvind said. He used a keyboard that he pulled out from beneath the desk’s surface. “Yes, we do, indeed.”

Yes! Neil said to himself. Ever since he thought about the possibility of Jennifer’s having already left, he’d been torturing himself. “Can you tell me her room number?”

“I’m sorry, I cannot,” Arvind apologized. “For security purposes, we cannot give out guest room numbers. However, the operator can connect you, provided Ms. Hernandez hasn’t a block on her phone and provided you think it is appropriate to call. It is past midnight.”

“I understand,” Neil said. As excited as he was now that he knew she was there, he couldn’t help but be mildly disappointed. At the very least, he’d planned on going to her door and putting his ear against it. He’d decided that if he heard the TV, he was going to knock. “Can you tell me if she’s scheduled to check out in the next day or so?” Neil asked.

Arvind went back to the keyboard, then checked the monitor. “There’s no scheduled departure date.”

“Good,” Neil said.

After a few more minutes of formalities, Arvind stood up and his chair rolled back. “May I show you to your room?”

Neil stood up as well.

“Do you have a luggage tag?”

“Nope, this is it,” Neil said, hoisting his carry-on. “I travel light.” As he followed the clerk past the main entry doors toward the elevators, he wondered how he was going to surprise Jennifer in the morning. Since he didn’t know her plans, it was hard to decide, and ultimately he thought he’d just play it by ear.

“Excuse me, Mr. Sinha,” Neil said as they rose up in the elevator. “Could you see to it that I get a wake-up call at eight-fifteen?”

“Absolutely, sir!”