And there goes my diet...

M. Gautham Machaiah

After a rather sumptuous lunch on Saturday, I was overcome with guilt, more so, because the party in the evening at Chennai promised to be another binge.

Barely had I taken my window seat when the airhostess appeared with a tray. “Would you like some fruit juice or tender coconut water?

“Tender coconut water please,” I said as she left a glass on my tray. But the tender coconut water turned out to be an over sweet glass of lemon juice. Being the not-so-fussy types, I silently gulped it down without a whimper. Perhaps, the Universe intended me to have lemon juice I said to myself.

She was soon back with the menu. I politely declined any food asking only for a cup of coffee. “Nothing else?” she protested.

She served me my coffee and with it some digestive biscuits. “Finally, she seems to have read my mind,” I thought in relief.

As I was sipping my coffee, she reappeared, “Are you sure you do not want to have anything?”

“I am absolutely sure. I have had a very heavy lunch,” I said with a smile.

But this lady was not one to give up easily. Even before I could finish my coffee, she was again at my seat, this time with an obscenely large piece of sinful mango mousse. She thrust it right under my nose with an uncompromising note, “Try this, you will like it.”

“It is too big a piece,” I murmured, but by then she had disappeared. With no choice left, I began digging into my plate and I must confess this was the best ever mango mousse I had in my life. “That was really good,” I offered as the air hostess cleared my plate, and she responded with a know all, “I told you so” smile. I silently blessed her for her kindness.

A few minutes later I caught her glance and she had a funny smile on her face. Perhaps she was thinking in jest, “And there goes your diet.”

Man proposes, air hostess disposes...