The One That You Love

It’s a sultry Friday. It is the month of May. And an evening soiree has just begun.

Guests have started sashaying in.

Thankfully, the cool evening breeze, an unexpected guest, has also decided to make its presence felt.

Invitees in their finest avatars have started strutting into the ball room, where the party fervor is blossoming.

All look like copies of each other dressed in dapper outfits. Probably hand-picked from the latest fashion catalogs.

The air is filled with a heady concoction of both, delicate and masculine fragrances.

Faint sounds of air-kissing, idle chatter and clinking of glasses make up the rest of the ambiance along with the delicate symphony of a latest music piece in the background.

The evening is a celebration of sorts among family and friends. It is a gathering of acquaintances with most occupied (or at least pretending to be) in deep conversations. Except for one gentleman.

In a corner against a wall, he is standing purposefully in direct vision of the entrance. A few friends are serving him company. But they are as well invisible to him right now as he is engrossed in his thoughts.

For the umpteenth time, he looks at his time piece and asks himself, ‘’Where is she? She said she will be here a long time ago. Did she have to be late today also?’’.

He reminisces how she used to keep him waiting during their earlier days. And how he would wait unfailingly till she turned up. And then her excuses and apologies would follow. And then he would give in, easily falling prey to her charm, as he admitted later.

Patience was his virtue!

Time had flown by since then. Much had changed. But not her commitment to time…apparently.

She had promised she would be on time, like she always did (promise, that is). He knew he will, ''wait and watch''.

Also, she had mentioned the previous day that when they meet he will not be able to recognize her but he knew, he definitely would. In spite of the passage of time.

They had chosen today to be with each other in spite of the large gathering. In the presence of hundreds of eyes, they were confident that their coming together would go unnoticed and would remain special irrespective of the backdrop.

Amidst the shallow pleasantries and the ample facade of instant bonhomie, their rendezvous was going to be so much more profound and enduring, which they both knew. And truly, the thin veil of civility and graciousness that was on generous display in the evening somehow felt vacuous to him.

He would have rather preferred a quieter ambiance but she had insisted on this setting. Like always he gave in to her request.

They had ‘met’ each other for the first time on this day years ago and they wanted to make it special. A special occasion just between both of them and it didn’t matter what the environment was. They had grown beyond all the typical fluff that such meetings are expected to be.

This secret rendezvous was planned to rekindle the love both had felt for each other since many years ago.

She was his first love, someone he loved from a long time ago. But of course, now she was married and but then, so was he.

With lot of anticipation and excitement they were eager to be back with each other, in each other’s arms, reminisce and set afire the old memories.

But here he was, still waiting eagerly like he did in those days with his keen eyes transfixed only in one direction. As if waiting to catch her first glimpse before anyone could set their eyes on her.

Standing there in a room full of people yet detached from the environs; Wrapped up in his own private thoughts about his impending date with the woman he much adored and had a special place in his heart. It had been a long while but the feelings were just the same.

And finally! There she was standing in the doorway. She knew he would find her even before she did. She was right! She felt an intense pair of eyes looking at her and she turned her gentle gaze towards it and caught him fondly looking at her.

Their eyes met. Then she immediately looked away as if blushing and to escape his passionate gaze. She could sense that he felt the same way for her like in their earlier days together. And so did she inside! The excitement and exhilaration and yet the same calmness and peacefulness in each other’s presence.

For both, it felt as if the entire room had suddenly emptied up and only two of them were left in the room. Walking towards each other making their way through the crowd it was as if they were walking through a thick field of poppies and gently pushing away the tall flowers in their way.

A la dream sequence in a Bollywood movie.

And finally the twain met! Closer up, she did look different from her normal self with the way she had tied up her hair, a hint of lipstick and dark Kaajal in her eyes (she would rather not, on other days) and a stunning saree which made her look younger than her age. She was even sporting her favorite Mogra flowers in her hair.

But in spite of all this, he would have recognized her even from far away, unlike what she imagined.

Now they were standing face to face and both had not said a single word. As if soaking in each other’s circle of energy. And then, slowly he inched closer, put his arms around her awkwardly, bent his head, kissed on her forehead and then gently whispered into her ears. And just like he expected she would, she blushed! 

The same tilt of her head, the familiar glint in her big brown kohled eyes and her long slender hands palming her face as if to hide the pink color rising on her cheeks.

Just about the same time a huge balloon burst in the air somewhere above, shiny festoons rained over the entire hall on to the heads of all the gathered guests and just as suddenly, the gathering erupted in unison, ''Happy Birthday to you….Happy Birthday to you….''.

And amidst the ruckus, unperturbed, she gently stroked back the grey hair on his forehead and she whispered back to him, “Happy 50^th Wedding Anniversary to you too, my love.’’