"Seat 2B, right here sir," the strikingly attractive stewardess advised me where to sit, "and have a very pleasant flight."
I was surprised that she had actually added those last words as employees of the particular airline were not really known for their friendly attitude. Come to think of it, they were not known for their good looks either.
The Pakistan International Airlines flight from Lahore was running behind schedule and for all intents I should have been surly. But the moment I laid eyes on the lovely young lady, my anger dissipated in a flash.
I was traveling First Class and had a nice seat in a nearly empty section while the economy cabin behind was chock full. Saudi Arabia was a favourite destination for labour and low end workers from Pakistan, though quite a few Pakistani professionals had excellent management positions in the country. However, only a few boring and stuffy types were occupying about a fourth of the available seats at the front of the aircraft.
In a few short hours I would be in Jeddah, starting a job in international management for a leading multinational corporation. I was apprehensive about taking the position. Saudi Arabia was not known as the most pleasant destination for a single, young, well-off person. Yet the package that had been offered was so much better than what any other location could match.
I smiled as the plane taxied out and recalled a dear friend seeing me off at the airport with a snide passing remark, "No one ever gets any pussy in Saudi, so you might as well leave your cock in a bank in Pakistan!"
Being PIA, the entertainment systems were relatively few and boring, so sleeping, talking to someone or reading were the only options. I had enjoyed a full night's rest so was not sleepy. There was no one sitting next to me and the choice of conversation partners among the passengers was non-existent. The Pakistani newspapers held my attention for only a half hour.
Thankfully breakfast was served and broke the monotony. I noted from the uniform nametag that the pretty young lady was named Qamar. There were a number of items on offer on the well-laden food cart and I pointed to some eggs.
"Sir, yeh shakal say achchey hain, laikin zaiqay say nahin! (Sir, those look good but do not taste so!)"
I asked her to surprise me. She set the plate on my table after placing a number of food items in it. I noted that the stuff she had selected looked a lot more appetizing than the eggs.
I noticed a smile breaking at my response of, "Thank you so much, Qamar, I am sure you got me just the best things."
"Enjoy," she said while surprisingly giving my arm a slight pat.
"I was wondering though whether you are also like the eggs," a look of bewilderment crossed her face, "and if those very pretty looks hide a not so nice personality, I certainly hope that is not the case!"
Qamar openly giggled, gave me a wink and moved off almost whispering, "I bet you would like to know!" Her hand brushed mine as she left to serve the next passenger two rows back. I was definitely flirting with her, but was not so sure if she was returning the favour in kind.
The meal concluded and I needed to visit the facilities. On this aircraft the only toilet was right up front, next to the cockpit entrance and across from the First Class galley. Just as I reached for the handle, the door opened wide and a female form backed out hard into me. We both took a tumble into the galley area.
It took a split second to try to get myself off the floor when I noted that Qamar was lying right on top of me, her backside exactly over my midsection. A pregnant pause followed before she realized her predicament. Qamar started to lift herself off my body, apologizing profusely for not looking where she was going. Apparently she had just ensured that the washroom had all the needed amenities and was exiting as I came up behind. Rather than gain traction on the floor, her feet slid on a slippery surface and instead of getting up, she then fell back again in a manner that her face came up close to mine and her lips landed on my cheek. She appeared helpless and did not notice as I put one arm around her waist and helped her up, the other holding one of her hands. My palm had come up against her breasts and she pulled away after an extended moment.
"It is okay miss," I comforted her with a pat to her shoulder, while releasing her hand, "I should have looked out also before running into you."
We had caused a bit of a ruckus and another stewardess and the purser came up to see if all was well. Qamar was turning red at the prospect of receiving a grilling for pushing a First Class passenger onto the floor. Instead I owned up to accidently bumping into her and knocking us both down. I could tell that neither of the crew members fully believed the story, but noted that Qamar mouthed a silent, "Thank you," to me.
Sometime later she brought me a piping hot cup of tea and sandwiches without my asking. Apparently Qamar was trying to make things up to me.
"I am so sorry sir," she sounded very apologetic, "I hope you like the tea, which is from a personal blend and not from the airline stock. My uncle specially prepared the mix, he works for Lipton's and makes special batches for me every so often."
"I am sure it is delightful, but I am not sure if the tea and the kiss on my cheek quite compensates for the terrible fall I took and then having to lie for you!" I kidded her as I made a face to indicate severe pain while pointing to my ribs.
Luckily she caught on after initially turning red at the mention of the supposed kiss, bent down next to my ear and whispered, "Fine sir, how else can I make sure your trouble is rewarded?"
"Nothing at all up here," I said while adding in a low voice, "but if you are in Jeddah tonight, do allow me to take you out to dinner."
Qamar smiled, gave me another wink and light pat on my arm, and went off to resume her duties without giving me the answer I sought. The tea was indeed delicious and the prospect of a future tryst with her made it even better.
II
Jeddah airport was designed by an idiot for idiots to operate. The damn plane was parked out three districts away from the terminal. Then a rickety bus shunted passengers to the building. No separate First Class passenger vehicle was provided so one had to just bear the rush of workers, who had never heard of deodorants, into the vehicle. One quickly learned the rush was to get to the front of the immigration queue, or rather ten different queues, half without an officer at the desk. It took the better part of an hour to get through immigration, another half hour at customs, and finally I met my new colleague Spiros who had been waiting to pick me up, holding a large picture of one of our company's main consumer brands.
We headed out to my hotel, the Al-Salam Meridien, located not far from the company offices. It looked like a half decent place. As I checked in, I noted that my suitcase was not where I had placed it. Looking around, I saw it being loaded onto a large cart along with bags for what seemed to be a flight crew.
As I quickly accosted the bellboy and retrieved my luggage, I heard a familiar voice asking the same bellboy to take her stuff upstairs. I turned and both Qamar and I were sudden struck speechless. She was staying in the same hotel and I found out that PIA had been using the facility for many years. Taking a risk and noting that she was standing out of earshot of the rest of the crew, I asked again if she was open to my invitation for dinner.
"Frankly sir, I would love to go," she responded, "but we are not allowed to be out alone and must return by 10:30 pm."
"That is too bad," I was disappointed but pushed things forward knowing that the crew would not be on an open expense account but some sort of per diem arrangement that would not cover the better outlets in a supposedly 5-star hotel, "perhaps then we can visit one of the restaurants in this fine place."
"Actually, what I meant to say was that we are allowed to go out if two or more female crew members are together and follow time rules," she explained, "and so if it is okay with you I could ask another colleague if she will come along!"
I gladly agreed and was just in time to catch Spiros before he exited the parking lot. He was game in less than five seconds. In this way I could focus on my target, rather than being in a sort of unneeded three-way situation. Also Spiros would have female company, a definite rarity in Saudi. Fifteen minutes later, just as the call to afternoon prayer sounded, Qamar approached us, along with another pleasing, but not so striking, female.
"This is Chanda," she explained, "and we will be glad to accompany you."
After I had introduced him, Spiros suggested that we could have a quick lunch at a fast food joint, go on to the beach, and then have an early dinner, before bringing them back. Chanda was game but also had to visit the market for a bit of shopping. Qamar on the other hand, had simply sided up to me and given my hand a quick squeeze. They asked for a half hour to change out of their uniforms and I figured I could sort myself out too.
III
Thirty minutes later, Spiros and I were on tenterhooks waiting for the ladies to arrive. In the mood of things we had forgotten to ask what their room number was. Hotel policy in Saudi was not to provide information about single females, notably those associated with the airline, and we could not rely on the concierge for this information. As the time ticked away, we wondered if the girls had duped us. Further tentative minutes elapsed before the two forms we sought finally appeared.
"I bet you thought we were not coming," Qamar piped up.