February 2010 was when Freia convinced (conned ?) us into letting her go to the US for a holiday alone. The day we saw her off at the airport and were driving back home, Reia checked / informed us that she would be going to the US alone (without Didi) next year. And lest we forget, she kept reminding us about what she claimed we had promised her throughout the year. And the one way to get Reia to do whatever we wanted, and which mainly revolved around studying all we had to do was say “Don’t you want to go to the US?”
On April 6th, Reia comes back from her last exam and calls me at office. The 1st question, “When can we go for my visa ?”. And I’m like, “But how were your exams ?”. “Good, but when can we go for my visa ?’. Knowing I wasn’t easily going to get out of this task, I set about doing it. For starters, there were no appointments for a visa. And when I told Reia, she coolly said, “Can you please try, 3 times a day, morning afternoon, and night.”. I did. And still had no luck.
And in all such situations, there’s just 1 person we all turn to. 007. Not James Bond, 007, but our very own, 007, Claudian. And just as James Bond never fails in a mission, neither does Claudian. The next day, he managed to get an interview 4 days later.
Reia’s interview was at 7.45. And we had to leave home at around 6.30. I thought we’d have a tough time waking Reia up. However at 6.15, she woke me up and was ready with all her papers well before 6.30. The interview had a couple of hiccups, such as Reia being thrown out and asked to come back with someone older. And having to stand in the long line all over. And wondering what the hell the wooden stick they gave her was for. And whether the visa interviewer was nice or not so nice. And …
Three days later, she got her visa for 10 years. And then promptly wrote to her Din uncle as to when was a convenient time to visit. 3 days later, no response. One more mail, this time verified by Freia to Don. Again, 3 days later, no response. A phone call, and a message left. No response. One more call. And one more message. Again no response. So Reia having crossed all other hurdles, finally stumbled and had no answer. Since she was just unable to get in touch with Don. A good lesson for the future, when in real life, its most time impossible to get in touch with someone you want to desperately connect with.
So Reia, philosphises. Anyways, I have a 10 year visa, so maybe next year. And in any case, next year, I’m going to Scotland. And I’ll visit the US as a tourist, and … That’s when Don finally calls. And says, “Oh, I never received your mails”. And you can come anytime, as long as you bring Simbu. But Simbu has no visa. And Mabel is even more excited than Simran. However, this time, no time is wasted, and 007 put on the job. And he delivers.
Both kids, Reia -15 and Simran – 10 are US bound. So tickets are being organized. So late in the dat, tickets are expensive. But fortunately, British Airways seems reasonable. And we ask the travel agent to go ahead and do the booking. And all is set. Till the travel agent gets back, 2 days before the flight, saying British Airways have cancelled the booking, as they fall under the “Unaccompanied Minors” category. And this category, requires a local pick-up and drop at any intermittent stop over more than 6 hours. And the London stopover on the way back is 8 hrs. The only person we know in London, is the Queen. Who unfortunately doesn’t know us. So that’s out.
In the meanwhile good old Air India is having its bi-annual strike. This time by the ex-Indian Airlines pilots. And so no one wants to fly that airline. So guess what. We get a very good deal for their direct Mumbai – New Jersey flight. And their on-line booking system was flawed. Unlike the other airline websites, it allowed us to book a “Young Adult” aged between 12 – 16 along with a child of under 10 years. And so, we did it.
It was an interesting sight to see Reia pushing the luggage trolley with the tiny Simran walking beside her. We were concerned. And they were super confident. Immigration wouldn’t let them through till an Air India official confirmed their boarding passes. And Air India staff, in their usual super efficiency took 30 minutes to do what should have taken 2 minutes. Fortunately for everybody, they made it to the flight, being amongst the last passengers to board. And all of us heaved a sigh of relief. Whilst across the Atlantic Frank and Don were saying under their breath, “Oh No.”
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