Tony laid their tickets on the counter before the check-in official and pulled his passport out. 'Could we have a window seat?' he inquired, determined to see as much of the continent as he could.

'We got a slight problem, sir,' the clerk informed him. 'AA 7319 to Los Angeles has been delayed. We're asking all passengers to move to the information desk.'

Tony narrowed his eyes. 'Delayed? What happened?'

'Nothing much, sir. The plane was forced to make a stop in Hawaii due to mechanical faults. They'll help you at the information counter.'

Tony collected their papers and left the queue reluctantly, followed by his mystified family. He explained what the official had told him and they joined a growing crowd at the information counter. All the seats were occupied with the disgruntled earliest arrivals. Several children ran around hyped up from the excitement of travel while their parents' expressions reflected every emotion on the spectrum from annoyance to resignation. Michelle settled onto one of the suitcases and sighed. 'This would have to happen on our perfect vacation!'

'Now honey, it's not necessarily a bad thing,' he began. 'They'll have to put us up and we haven't seen Sydney yet! And Ryan can't blast us for returning a day late! I'd take the deal!' His eyes sparkled with anticipation as he met hers, noting an answering grin in them.

An official arrived with a loudspeaker. 'Ladies and gentlemen, American Airlines apologizes for the inconvenience. It now appears that the mechanical faults are a little more complicated than on initial inspection so the plane is forced to remain in Hawaii.' She paused to wait for the murmurs of displeasure this generated. 'The Australian airline Qantas has 15 empty seats to LA. We are reserving them for passengers accompanied by minor children or passengers over 70.'

'Everybody else is welcome to make their own way home,' Tony whispered into her ear. 'Canoes are going cheap!' Michelle chewed her lip to keep silent, giving her head a slight shake.

'What about us?' demanded an overweight middle aged woman with a surly expression.

'If you could just bear with me a moment, madam,' the official begged. 'I'm going to announce the names of those passengers we've rescheduled first.' She read out a list and the favored few moved off. 'If I could have your attention,' the official begged, interrupting the renewed complaining their departure generated. 'You are all going home, I assure you. Now the next flight with available seating isn't due for another five days, so those of you who need to return before then please step across to my left.'

'Tony, come on,' Michelle told him as he remained beside the suitcases with folded arms. 'We can't stay for five extra days! Ryan wouldn't accept that.'

'Tony, I must return to work,' his father agreed reluctantly. 'Your mother does too.' He glanced at his son before pushing their trolleys over to the left. He sighed and followed the rest of his family accepting the logic of their statements whilst warring with it internally. Just for once he could have stayed in an interesting new city with all expenses paid for five days and work had to ruin that!

'Thank you. Those of you who do not have an urgent reason to travel will be allocated hotels. I ask your patience. Those of you with compelling reason to travel will be rescheduled to other airlines though the route to LA will involve changing planes a couple of times. We are routing you all through Singapore on Qantas flights and will assign you seats on various airlines that will then return to their home countries where you can catch a connecting flight back to the US.'

A general groan followed her explanation. Tony seized Michelle's palm and pulled his finger in a circular pattern round it. 'Round and round the garden…' he murmured.

His mother sighed quietly. 'Guess you've got to be young to deal with this kind of trip,' she lamented.

'Luckily, we are,' her husband whispered back, slipping his arm around her. Michelle watched them fascinated, never failing to marvel at the obvious love between the pair. What they would have been like as newly weds could only be guessed at. Furtively she glanced at her own husband who was engaged in his customary pursuit of rubbing his face, surveying the terminal with narrowed eyes. She watched the corners of his lips turn up and prepared herself for another sardonic comment.

'Ladies and gentlemen, Mumbo Jumbo flight 1 welcomes you aboard,' he whispered into her ear. 'We assure you of our airline's perfect safety record as our one and only plane is still flying since the days of earliest aviation…'

Michelle was unable to contain her amusement, forced to bury her face in her handkerchief to avoid the irritated passengers' annoyance at one of their number so obviously lacking solidarity with the group. Understanding her desire to hide, Tony gently pushed her behind him, pulling her face into his shirt. A few muffled sounds emanated from her, strangled by his hand which he gently placed over her mouth, chewing his lip to keep his amusement under check. His father threw him a resigned look, reminded of the countless times he had whispered something to his younger sisters resulting in gales of giggles from all four of them at the most inopportune moments. 'Antonio,' he said mildly.

Tony threw him an apologetic expression and returned his attention to the increasingly harassed official. 'What kinds of airlines are you plannin' on using?' demanded the same overweight woman as before. 'We paid for a decent airline; we're not going on no crap!'

'Couldn't have expressed it better myself,' Tony was unable to resist whispering into her ear.

Michelle shook her head against his chest, her shoulders shaking harder. She chewed her lip in a vain attempt to settle, relieved when Tony's father laid a hand on his shoulder and gave him a firm push to the opposite side of their luggage. Suitably chastened, Tony resumed his air of slightly bored frequent flier, crossing his arms across his chest.

'I can assure you that all of you will be relocated to reputable airlines,' the official insisted. You have a choice of Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, KLM, Alitalia…'

'Tony, lets take Alitalia,' Michelle begged, joining him. 'It goes to Rome, and we've never been there. Think of all the sites…'

He glanced quickly at his parents who nodded their approval. 'We'll go on Alitalia,' he volunteered. The official looked relieved and crossed their names off her list. She typed something into her computer and asked them to return for their tickets within the hour.

'That's hardly enough time to do anymore than grab a coffee,' Tony muttered regretfully.

'Looks like we'll see Rome,' his mother comforted, understanding his disappointment at being denied a chance to explore Sydney. 'I went there for two weeks with Abuela when I was sixteen, it was the perfect vacation.' She smiled at the memory and Tony forced himself to nod back, wondering how any trip with his irritable grandmother could possibly be described as "perfect." 'Abuela went down with appendicitis and ended up in hospital, so your uncles and I toured the city alone.' His grin widened as he met her eyes which resembled those of a convict granted an unexpected reprieve.

'This is the final call for Garuda flight 9 to Denpasar,' floated over the P.A. system. 'All passengers please make your way through customs.'

'Where's that?' Michelle asked softly.

Tony glanced at groups of young people hurrying to customs carrying surfboards. 'Somewhere with good waves,' he observed.

'It's the capital of the island of Bali,' Mr. Almeida replied with a smug expression. He glanced round the group. 'There appear to be some benefits to the old system of education!' His eyes rested on Michelle who chewed her upper lip and his wife who appeared engrossed in a poster. 'And that belongs to…Come on Tony, I spent hours with you over geography. Don't tell me you've forgotten!'

'Ah, no, I haven't,' Tony told him, his brain working furiously. 'The island is part of er, ah, Indonesia,' he said firmly, meeting his father's eyes. Are you ever gonna stop treating me like a school kid, papa?

'Well done,' his mother exclaimed, proudly. 'I could never remember these tiny places.'

'You were never taught about them, sweetheart,' her husband assured her.

Tony fell back a step, nodding his head at the screen indicating departures. 'It says Garuda Indonesia,' he admitted quietly to Michelle, earning him a swift punch on the shoulder.

'So you noticed that all along, Tony, and just acted knowledgeable,' she exclaimed. 'How can you manage to pull it off?' He gave her a wicked grin and they quickened their pace to join his parents. 'I'm impressed, Marco,' she told him. 'How in the world can you remember that after all these years?' Hearing the words leave her mouth caused her to bite her tongue in embarrassment. 'I mean,' she began, turning red at Tony's strangled laughter.

'I know dear, how can I remember anything about school all these hundreds of years since I've finished,' Marco said wryly. 'Thing is, back in those days people were not so concerned with children's rights. We had an irritable teacher who carried a real large stick, and well, it really wasn't advisable to fail to answer his questions correctly! Every so often, when he was in an exceptionally bad mood he would question us about some continent we studied the previous year and demand to know the height of some obscure mountain peak, or the main export of Papua New Guinea.'

'I'm real glad I wasn't there,' Michelle said with feeling.

'Well let me tell you Papa wasn't much better,' Tony assured her, enjoying the ambience of an international airport. 'He just lacked the stick!'

'Now Tony…'

'Yeah, Papa. Don't think I've forgotten. I had to miss Batman just because I couldn't put my finger on Palau immediately!' He shook his head in disgust.

'And you still remember,' Marco sighed. 'It was entirely your fault, Tony, I gave you an hour to study the Pacific islands and you spent it messing around. Anyway, if you hadn't grumbled so much I might even have excused you…'

'I didn't grumble!' he exclaimed indignantly. 'I merely pointed out that we're unlikely to visit that place ever so it's not real important! And then do you know what Papa done?' He glanced at Michelle who hung on his words with bated breath. 'He spanked me! And then the next day we continued those Pacific islands and I figured I'd better take a real good look at them this time, so when Papa asked about Cuyo I said 'sure, I can show you the most important spot in the whole world,' and he still wasn't satisfied! He spanked me again for giving lip! So you wouldn't have had fun in his geography class sweetheart, believe me. Or maybe you would,' he added, glancing at his amused father. 'He never punished my sisters. Right before he asked me about Palau he asked Janey to show him Antarctica, and she pointed to Greenland, and Papa just made this hissing sound like he was getting a tooth extracted without anesthetic, but he didn't yell at her – no! He just told her to try again!'

'And here's the café,' his mother interrupted, leading the way to an unoccupied table. 'Come with me Michelle, let's pick some cakes. Don't pay attention to Marco, honey; he's got a thing about education! Just between us, I've yet to meet to meet a man, however sweet, who's totally sane!'

'How can you say that, Rita?' she protested, struggling to choose between two cheese cakes. 'You have four sons.'

'Exactly,' replied Tony's mother, deftly blocking the overweight passenger who had previously complained from pushing her way into the queue. 'Take both of them sweetheart, you're terribly thin!' She ordered five cakes, two for her newest daughter-in-law. 'It's our treat,' she insisted. 'We've got a real long flight ahead of us, and well, airplane food…'

Michelle nodded, having conceded the battle over food to Tony's mother soon after they met. She was destined to enjoy two cheese cakes while everyone else had one, followed by some delicious meals on the planes. As far as she was concerned, airplane food was fine, better yet; she had nothing to do with its preparation!

Tony pulled their chairs out as they returned with two trays grinning warmly at his mother. 'That was neatly blocked, mom.'

His mother nodded. 'I wasn't always a mother, sweetheart. Nobody jumps queues before Rita Torres!'

Once again Michelle marveled at their intense personalities. Tony's mother was the more outgoing of the pair, lively, talkative with sudden flashes of temper, her life's mission a keen desire to protect her numerous offspring. His father appeared the opposite; contemplating events with an intense expression, quiet with a wry sense of humor. Tony assured her he could be provoked into displays of temper himself though she had yet to witness such an event. 'Go halves over this one, sweetheart?' Tony asked, interrupting her thoughts as he pointed to her second cake.

'No, Antonio, let her eat them, she's much too thin,' his mother said before she was able to nod her permission.

All too soon the hour passed and they moved over to join the queue at passport control. Tony carried his backpack and laptop, Michelle's carry on bag in his other arm while she fished the boarding passes from his pocket. A short while later they boarded a Boeing 767, Tony generously allowing Michelle to claim the window seat. 'Just keep your head against your seat so I get a chance to look out,' he begged, forcing her bag into the overhead locker. 'Dammit, these lockers are not real large!'

Michelle threw him a guilty look, chewing her lip. 'Sorry, sweetheart. There's no way they would've allowed any more weight in the suitcase,' she apologized.

'You've been shopping!' he guessed, thrilled to note her face color. 'But honey, you didn't have to squash all your newest purchases in your hand luggage. You could've put some in my suitcase. I've got plenty of room.'

Michelle developed a sudden interest in her seatbelt, her fingers pressing the clasp. Tony left the locker hanging open and bent over her, his interrogator's senses on full alert. 'What aren't you tellin' me, sweetheart? Am I gonna be hounded by creditors for the next coupla years?' he teased, praying it wasn't so.

'No no, honey, it's just that…well look, I did find some dresses and cardigans – and a couple of sweaters…They are in your suitcase,' she admitted in a rush. 'There wasn't room in mine.'

'So what's in that bag?' he demanded, kicking himself for being unable to add two and two together.

Her blush deepened. 'Ah, honey, they're actually your things,' she told him guiltily. 'Sweetheart, the dresses can't take being crumpled, and you're so good at ironing your shirts…'

Tony pulled a face, chuckling. 'You're gonna iron them yourself,' he decided smugly. 'After all, you crumpled them! Now lemme force this shut.'

'Antonio,' his mother said, tapping his arm from her seat directly behind Michelle. 'You can't expect poor Michelle to iron those shirts. She'll be busy unpacking and rinsing those new dresses. They're gorgeous, we bought them together one day while we left your father in peace with his drawings.'

He rolled his eyes at her, slamming the overhead locker shut with his full strength. Don't even think of opening again…Fortunately it remained shut and he took his seat, fastening his seatbelt as a hostess walked down the aisle, ordering his father to push his designs further in. 'The aisle must be kept clear, sir,' she said sweetly, making certain he complied. Mr. Almeida sighed, placing his plans beside the window while his wife glared at him.

'You're not thinking of leaving it there, are you?' she demanded.

'Now honey, it's got to stay there till we're in the air,' he replied, an eye on the departing hostess. 'I wouldn't want to annoy that lady! She'll bring me a real crappy dinner!'

Tony studied the surrounding planes with keen interest, pleased to recognize most designs. The safety announcement came on the screen. 'Sure hope we don't need that,' his mother said, shuddering at the sight of an inflated raft.

'Mom, look at it this way. If we're destined to go swimming, at least it'll be in warm water,' Tony teased, his face serious. 'Just remember to bring something to drink.' His father glared at him, placing his hand over his wife's, muttering soothing words to her in inaudible Spanish. Michelle threw him a puzzled look. 'Mom hates flying,' Tony whispered into her ear, pretending to arrange a stray curl. 'She doesn't like anyone to know, but it's a real effort for her to get on at all. Whenever we went to visit her relatives in Chicago we always took the train! She says she likes the option of jumping off!'

'She likes to retain an element of control over her own life,' Michelle observed. 'I can understand that, sweetheart.'

Tony nodded, remembering how he hated being put under before surgery. 'It's gonna be fine, mom. We're on a reputable airline and it's hardly busy airspace!' His mother nodded.

'Just as long as there aren't any football players on board,' Michelle whispered. 'They do have a poor track record…'

'They don't even play the game here,' Tony assured her, fastening his seatbelt as the engines' roars strengthened. The plane reversed from the parking bay and rolled along the tarmac, taxiing to the edge of the runway directly behind another Qantas. Michelle's hand slipped into his own as a ring sounded.

'Cabin crew be seated for take-off.' The plane rolled forward, the engines roared directly beside them until Michelle was afraid they would explode, and they set off, gathering speed rapidly until the front of the plane tilted forwards. Moments later the back wheels also left the tarmac and she squeezed her eyes shut, hating the sight of the earth tilted at such an acute angle directly beneath her.

'Sweetheart, open your eyes. You can see the ocean now, there's the opera house.' She peered out, her hands clasping his own. 'We did get to see it after all,' Tony told her, satisfied. 'It's okay, honey, we're past the point of no return, we're leveling out now.'

'What's the point of no return?' she questioned, wondering whether she really needed to know.

'Plane can't return to the airport for the first 90 seconds after initiating take-off,' he explained, pulling out a pen and notebook from his pocket. 'You remember about the 'body in motion' stuff we learned at school.' He worked on his diagram a further minute while she watched fascinated, reminded of his engineering qualifications. 'Do you understand, honey?' he asked, pointing to his picture of a rising plane surrounded by numbers indicating air speed, weight, direction and wind speed. She frowned in concentration, shaking her head. 'Basically it means it can't turn round until it's more or less level,' he explained. 'Should anything go wrong, it would crash down backwards…'

Michelle grabbed the notebook and swatted him on the head with full strength, forgetting about his parents who watched her in amusement, her actions mercifully distracting his mother from the thought of flying. 'Now sweetheart,' he protested automatically, returning his notebook.

'You got lousy timing, Tony,' she replied crossly. 'I don't wanna know this, okay! I just wanna enjoy this flight!' She drew a finger along his lips. 'That means you keep quiet. Not another word till we reach Singapore!'

The weather was perfect for flying, a steady wind pushing them all the way. An hour after take-off he noticed the appearance of the meal trolley. It appeared Michelle was as hungry as he was, letting down both their trays and turning to him with a warm smile. 'Smells good.'

Tony hugged her, nodding his head. 'Yeah. I don't suppose they'd have a spare meal?' he asked. She shook her head hurriedly, turning to face the hostess. Minutes later they were burning their tongues eating roast chicken with fresh peas surrounded by roast potatoes covered in gravy. Tony licked his lips with a sigh of regret. 'Don't you just hate it when they bring these kids sized servings,' he groaned. 'I could easily have three of these.'

'Cheer up, sweetheart. We'll arrive in another five hours, you can hold on till then,' she teased, resting her head on his shoulder. 'Tony, thanks for bringing me. It was the best vacation I've ever had.'

He kissed her hand, reminding her the vacation was not yet over. They had Singapore and Rome ahead of them. Breathing in the scent of her perfume, he vowed to buy her a gift in both places. She was right; it was undoubtedly the best vacation of his life. He turned her face towards him, kissing her.