It has been 1 year 3rd October was our 1st Anniversary. Although I don’t remember distinctly how life was before I met her, I can’t imagine a life without her any more. Although it has only been one year. A day before our anniversary, we wrote this blog… together… It was fun… not just the writing… the whole ride… So here goes…
The initial frenzy:
She kept looking at her watch. She checked her make up and her hair. “I hope my dress does good to cover up the extra baggage”, she thought. This will be the third man that she would be meeting in 1 month. It is too many decisions to take. How can you just meet someone and decide whether you really want to spend the rest of your life with the person.
He took a shower, changed and got ready. They (he and his friend) picked up the bike and moved for the designated location. On the way there was a flat tyre. They were late. Towed the bike to a nearby puncture shop. Got it repaired and moved again. First it was some mall, then later a last minute decision change. She informed him that it was now Kentucky Fried Chicken round the corner.
She was about to order for her second coffee, when he called and confirmed that they will be late. Angry, she walks out. Too many things on her mind. She already liked him and almost thought she is in love. What if he does not turn out to be what she is expecting. This is an important date and he is late…!! She does some window shopping for diversion. It was too much attention to take. She decided to wait at Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Noida was particularly hot that day. Was it really the weather…? He wondered… They met. No she was not extra-ordinarily beautiful. But was he looking for that? she was nice… worried, nervous, shaky, could barely eat… But nice… He hogged…
Sitting at the table by the window, when she first saw him walking into KFC. Honestly, she was disappointed. He had long flowing hair and so thin that it definitely did not replete a fashion statement. There was actually a touch of feminine to his hair. Her dream castle got crumbled down and she was wondering, “what now…???”
She was quiet, he was trying to humor her for the last 4 hours. She wouldn’t talk much, or smile much. Heck she wouldn’t even react much to the jokes. He knew the first couple of hours were crucial. He used some really tough tactics to keep her distracted, including telling her a telugu movie story. Slowly, but steadily, after a couple of smokes and a 4 Dimension movie, she lightened up.
She was not very sure if they would enjoy the same things. But the initial frenzy gave way and she no longer craved to get away from him. She tried to enjoy it, like she would any other date. Spend a good day together.
The rickshaw ride:
He considered himself a pretty good and imaginative talker. Today was the day when he would meet his match, figuratively and literally.
One thing was certain, they were both talkers. To wind up the day, she proposed they go on a rickshaw ride. He had this habit of saying, “what next”, just to fill the silence. And all of a sudden, she decided to tail it, with a story. She began the first line and said, “what next”? and he tailed it further. On and on they went till the rickshaw ride ended and the story was complete.
How do you decide who you will spend the rest of your life with? They say you know, but how will you ever? Is it a button in your head which goes green? Or is it a bell that rings? What happens really? Well, nothing happens really. You know it, just like you know who you are, deep inside. Can’t really explain it. You never know when it might happen. You might wait an entire lifetime, for it to happen or it might happen in the next few seconds. It happened for him then and there, just when the story was about to complete. He knew this was perfect and he had to make it happen.
The day after:
That night she could barely catch any sleep. She was bombarded with calls, questions and she shelled back with her world of confusions. She knew it was not like the other “meetings”. He had something that she felt very strongly about. There was an undeniable and irresistible attraction about him, which she might have missed at the first glance. But she had been contented and a happy bachelorette, for a long time now. And giving in… and this time for something as permanent as marriage was a huge decision. She invited as many friends as she could to meet him the next day, thinking, there opinions might help clear the cobwebs in her mind.
He hated Noida. Everything except the rickshaw ride last evening was painful and tiring. No place to sit, no peace and quite where they could talk comfortably. Crowds and heat everywhere. He resolved to take her to a more comfortable place the next time they met. He also knew that he must shape this up as soon as possible if he wants this to work. Shouldn’t allow her to think too much. Stay focused, keep her focused. The next meeting had to be substantial, however, this meeting is also crucial. There was a nice JNU Spot, the motorcycle shop, the junk shop, and then the Chinese restaurant. There were things that had to be done together to give shape to whatever it is that he was trying to sculpt. And that’s exactly what he did, watching the sunset, window shopping and talking about bikes, shopping (if you may call it) and dinner. They kept the chopsticks, one each.
The moment she saw him next morning, she knew if not anything else, she was deeply infatuated. She simply held his hand. He kept touching her head every now and then. She felt very warm, cared and secure to be with him and by noon, she knew she can continue doing whatever she was doing, for a long long time. And when he dropped her home, she realized the day has come to an end and he will be gone tomorrow. Something came upon her and she pulled his face for a quick kiss.
