When I woke in the morning, the skies were grey and rain was running down the windows.
Amy stirred, still in my arms, and opened her eyes. She grinned. "Bet the sun's shining in – how do you say it? Kalaikunda."
I kissed her cheek. "Looks like we're the first ones awake again. We should probably all have a decent breakfast – I know the airline food is good, but it won't hurt to have a proper meal inside us before we get going."
I got out of bed, and Amy followed. We went down to the kitchen and I started frying bacon, while Amy buttered bread.
Sarah and Laura came into the kitchen. "Smells good," said Laura.
I put a plate of sandwiches on the table, and we started to eat.
When the sandwiches were gone, I poured us more coffee, and we went through into the living room. It was still raining steadily.
"The car will be here for us in an hour," I said. "We'd better do our last bits of packing."
The girls disappeared upstairs, and I followed Sarah after them. I dressed, then looked round the bedroom again, making sure I'd not forgotten anything vital.
"Got your passport?" Sarah grinned.
I patted my jacket pocket. "We all got new ones when we went to Satpura."
I picked up my case. "Mine's on the landing," said Sarah.
We went out onto the landing and I picked up Sarah's case in my other hand. I heard the car pull up outside.
"Ready, girls?" I called.
Amy and Laura reappeared with their cases. We went down the stairs, and I opened the door. The driver took our luggage and put it in the boot.
I locked the door, then walked away from the house, turning to take one last look.
I squeezed in beside Amy and Laura in the back seat, and Sarah got into the front. The car pulled away down the drive and out of the gates, the windscreen wipers moving hypnotically.
Sarah turned to look at us.
"You OK?" she asked.
I nodded.
"We'll be fine," said Amy, putting one arm round Laura's shoulders and the other round mine.
We were soon on the motorway, and as we approached the airport a 747 thundered low overhead.
"Unmistakeable, aren't they?" said Sarah. She sighed. "Such a shame they retired Concorde – I would have liked to be the second female pilot to fly her."
"Second?" I asked curiously.
"Barbara Harmer was the first," Sarah explained. "She got to fly with Tom Cruise in the cockpit once."
"Huh," I said.
"What's up, Tim? You sound a little jealous," teased Laura. I pinched her lightly. "Ow!"
Another aircraft flew overhead. "Now I'd settle for flying that," said Sarah.
"What is it?" asked Amy.
"The new Airbus. I think Tim booked us on it."
"That's right," I said. "Remember, girls, our first flight was on one of those last time, when we went to Satpura."
Amy grinned. "They're pretty luxurious."
The car pulled up at the departure area, and we got out. I found a trolley and put the suitcases on it, and Amy and Laura pushed it through to the check-in area.
We checked in, and cleared security straightforwardly, then made our way through duty-free. I spotted the coffee shop where we'd stopped before.
"Apple Danish, Amy?"
She grinned, pleased that I'd remembered.
"Spiral one for you, Laura?" I continued.
Laura nodded. I turned to Sarah.
"How about you?"
She looked at the selection. "Hmm, pecan and maple, I think."
I bought the pastries and coffee and we sat down to eat.
Laura used her finger to pick up the last crumbs of her pastry, then glanced up at the departure board.
"Looks like they're ready for us," she said.
We made our way to the departure lounge, but before we had a chance to sit down, the announcement came over the address system. "Would all first-class passengers please report to boarding."
We walked to the desk, and the smiling stewardess checked our boarding passes.
"Please, Mr Smith, follow me."
We walked after her down the metal corridor. I felt the usual thrill as we approached the aircraft door, and then we were inside. The stewardess took us up the stairs to the row of first-class cabins.
This time we walked to the end of the corridor, and the stewardess opened the door to a larger cabin than we'd had on our previous trip.
"Goody," said Amy. "Room for all of us."
The stewardess smiled at her, and closed the door behind us. Amy bounced on one of the couches and Laura took the adjacent one.