Make That Three Happy Meals

Sakina tried not to look even the slightest bit irritated at the concerto of crying infants that commenced upon take off. How could she possibly be so treacherous?Had she not been one of those harried, embarassed moms once upon a time when she made her annual trip to England to visit her parents.

She recalled how her diaper bag would be crammed full of goodies for her two toddlers:

one new dollar store toy for each hour of the plane journey. Then there were multiple teething rings and rattles for her newborn and every Thomas the Tank Engine book ever published.

Yet her babies would still cry seemingly endlessly. Sakina would be walking the airplane aisles soothing her newborn while the twins held onto her skirts.

Other passengers surely gasped at her courage on undertaking such a long journey.

Several never hesitated, though, to ask to be moved to alternative seating.

Sakina had thought those days would be the hardest of her life. But she had friends who were parents of teenagers. They would whisper to her to enjoy those years. It was like being told to enjoy the removal of a bunion because soon she would need an amputation.

But today, years later, for just a moment, she WOULD relish the independence that having adult children meant. She could read,watch movies, write in her journal or just watch fluffy clouds from a window. She had earned this, hadn't she?

Plomp!

A flight attendant placed a compartmentalized white tray onto Sakina's table.

"The Hasan family?" she enquired, balancing a second tray on her arm.

Sakina had forgotten about the special meal issue. The Hasan family was from Hyderabad. Food was of the utmost importance to these wannabe mughals. They had decided that she,her husband and her middle son Adam would choose the Asian Vegetarian option as the three of them were becoming more partial to a meat-free diet lately.

Hakim, the maulwi in training would accept nothing less than the Muslim meal. Mainly no one wanted to argue with him about the gelatin or E numbers that may be lurking in un-Islamic entrees.

That left Faisal who Sakina could not see eating a chick pea and eggplant salad anytime soon. She decided the mainstream American meal would probably suit him best as there was usually a fish or pasta option. If by some awful trick of fate, all the regular entrees ended up being pork-based, he could fill up on the bread rolls that were usually provided. The carnivore in him would be satisfied by a fast food run on the way back home from the airport.

Suzy, the flight attendant, was distributing the various meals and calling out the choices far too loudly for Sakina's comfort.

Sakina wore a headscarf but had never been entirely comfortable with the idea that it was for manifesting the fact that she was Muslim. Her reasons for covering were just a tad more complicated than that. Therefore, something inside her cringed when Suzy called out:

"Mozlem meal, mozlem meal-which one of you is Hakim?"

Sakina was so perturbed she could not even enjoy the irony of being handed a Hindu Vegetarian tray whilst being clad in black hijab.

Soon Faisal was the only one left unfed. But Suzy was not subtle about anything.

" Fettucino Alfredo." she announced, setting down a steaming plate onto the sliding table .

"You are the only one in the family without a special meal right?" "Three Hindus, one Mozlem and one Regular?"

Sakina nodded quickly praying that somebody's 'Call Attendant' light would come on soon.

Faisal pulled the sheet of foil off his plate and smiled:

"Looks yummy. Oh so mine's the Kuffar meal. The Meal for the Eternally Damned?".

Two young women with blonde permsand impossibly high heels were sitting across from Faisal. They both chuckled and one of them kicked off her stilettos.

Sakina remembered a time when all she had to do was order three United children's meals. A trio of boxes containing macaroni, cheese and a colorful juice box would arrive to the delight of her mini brood.

Sakina looked around her. She spotted the anxious parents across the aisle from her who had been trying to quieten her toddler earlier.

Now the husband was trying to coax the child to eat a few apple wedges but she would not stop wailing:

"I want to walk around!" loudly at four minute intervals.

The hapless, sleep-deprived parents were explaining the impossibility of movement in these cramped Economy Class quarters.

Sakina smiled at the two year old and asked:

"Would you like to try some of my chick pea salad?