Angad’s dumbstruck face had become a common scene that night, while Manali kept talking to minimal, Rajni was still giggling and happily chattering.
“But When? How? You…You’re so young” was all that Angad could mumble while he was trying to focus on his drivingand the women sat at the back of his car.
“Well Angad…after we ended our relationship I sort of got really bored of that marketing job. I had tried a lot to fit in to that place but it felt so pointless. I moved back to Chennai in the next 8 months. There I worked for another MNC for three years. Finally made up my mind and went to UCLA for a Masters degree in Art. But then during the course I met Arthur. He was Spanish, really cute and spoke with that amazing accent, we got closer and well sometimes you goof up! He was quick in washing his hands off the pregnancy. The loser is a struggling artist in New York now. I couldn’t focus on the course anymore so I just came back to India. I wanted to give birth to the child, even though my parents advised otherwise. Anyway, I clearly didn’t listen to them. Well thats how Shaalu came in to my world. To tell you the truth, in the last two years she has been the only reason for me to keep going. Mom and Dad accepted her the day she was born and life has been surprisingly happy since.”
Angad was silently listening to Rajni’s story, he still couldn’t believe the things which had happened in her life. He had imagined such a happy life with her, but then they were kids.
The valet soon came by to take the keys as he slowed the car near the entrance.
The Bayview on Marine Drive had become one of his favourite spots in the past few years. The way the staff received him showed that he was a regular visitor. They had his favourite seat set up, right next to the glass window where he could see the entire Queen’s necklace. One look at Mumbai’s most popular sight and he remembered how as a young graduate he had sat there and while away his time. His visits to Marine Drive were very popular on his blog. Both the women had accompanied him there, separately, as he would gaze into the Arabian Sea on countless occasions.
As the three of them took their seats, Angad’s eyes were still outside the window, smiling as he reminisced the most beautiful phase of his life. Manali had her face buried in her BlackBerry trying to avoid any conversation with either of the two, but Rajni couldn’t handle the silence anymore.
Archive for November, 2010
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
As the two of them walked towards the woman Angad noticed that he recognised her voice. It was a voice he had once spoken of at length. Rajni went ahead and placed her palm on the woman’s shoulder,she turned immediately. It hardly took Angad any time to recognise the face, it had changed a little, not that much puppy fat, the eyes had come out and the nose looked sharper now.
“Wow! Manali… you… you… is this really you?” Angad was struggling for words.
The look on her face said she wasn’t really pleased with this rendezvous. Manali knew he was here, but was making sure she did not bump into him. Things were still a little awkward for her, she just chose to smile silently.
Angad could read the situation and the awkwardness of it.
“So you work for Rajni now?”
“Umm…well I sort of work with her now. I have my own artist management agency and Rajni is one of my clients,” Manali was still a little uncomfortable.
“I can believe the three of us are meeting after such a long time. I mean Angad, you and Manali haven’t seen each other since what? Graduation? Man I’m so thrilled about having dinner tonight. So much to talk about. Manali you’re joining in too.”
“But I uh…,” Manali hesitated.
“No nothing doing… the three of us are going out for dinner tonight and thats my order,” Rajni asserted.
“But what about Shaalu and your mom,” Manali was trying her best to pull herself out of the dinner plans but Rajni wasn’t planning to let go.
“Mumma can take of herself for the night and Shaalu will sleep in a bit”
“Who’s Shaalu?” Angad was trying to hide his inquisitiveness, all in vain though.
“Oh…Shaalu is my daughter”
Angad thought this was the right time for him to just turn around and walk back to one of the paintings. Anything was better than the embarrassing silence. He remembered their first date, when he got her flowers and she just stood their for three seconds looking at them before accepting them. Those were really long three seconds.
She spoke at last, “Angad!! Oh my God! I can’t believe I’m seeing you here! How are you?!!” she said while giving him a warm hug. He felt his muscles loosening and his asphyxia going away. “I’ve been good Rajni. I can see you’ve been much better than me.”
He couldn’t take his eyes off her smile. One of the first things which attracted him besides her beautiful big eyes, wavy hair and the perfect shape of her body. She hadn’t lost any of those.
“So what brings you here?”
“Your paintings of course!”
“I mean I never thought you would be interested in art”
“Well… frankly speaking, I never expected to be interested in art either. But then this is what I do now. I go to exhibitions see the paintings and then tear the artist’s ego apart in a really mean review”
“Ahh…So are you going to do the same to me?” she said with her standard sarcastic smile.
“Do I dare! These paintings are beautiful. I mean I can see that you know exactly what to put on a portrait. These brush strokes, the patterns! I mean I knew you were always an artist. But these designs look amazing,”
Angad kept talking, trying to ignore Rajni’s smile.
She continued looking at him trying to remember all the good time she had had with him in the past. Here was a guy she once thought she loved. The same socially awkward Angad she liked. It had been seven years since she had heard from him and this truly was a pleasant surprise.
While reminiscing those scenes from the past she kept smiling unknowingly.
“What are you smiling at?” he said trying to conceal his own.
“At you silly! Haven’t changed a bit have you Angad?”
“I think that applies for both of us”
Rajni kept giggling. Angad saw an opportunity and went for it.
“Hey I want to know what you have been doing all these years…in detail! How does dinner with a socially awkward blogger sound?”
“It sounds perfect,” she kept smiling.
“So when do you get free from here?”
“I have to vacate the gallery by 11:30 tonight. So I think we will close in an hour.”
“Alright then I’ll keep myself with your beautiful paintings till then while you entertain your guests,” he almost turned secretly wishing that she somehow call him back. She didn’t disappoint him.
“Wait… Angad I want you to meet someone,” she was pulling him by the elbow.
“Who?”
“Someone you haven’t met in a long time”
She kept walking towards a woman who was screaming at one of the waiters serving cocktails. Geez! some lady this is, he thought to himself.
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