Love Short Story – Arranged Love OR Arranged To Love??
Short Story Love – Arranged Love OR Arranged To Love??
Photo credit: Ladyheart from morguefile.com
Sunday mornings in my house were very usual…Mom would be busy in the kitchen, and once she was done with that she would move on to doing other household chores, gliding swiftly in between them, at times multitasking, which would remind me of a figure skater-just that this one was sari clad! Dad would be busy with his newspaper, and the duo incomplete without a hot cup of chai.
Just then the doorbell signalled the arrival of someone. I opened the door just to find myself fighting the uncontrollable urge to slam it right back on my ‘visitors’ face. It was my aunt Lalita.
So much for my ‘usual’ Sunday… I cursed under my breath. My aunt just loved to make her presence felt whenever it was time to search for a suitor for marriages. She always tried to play the cupid (more like a cross-eyed cupid considering her excellent consistency in failing to find a suitable suitor for any of my cousins!) As I had guessed…the cross-eyed cupid had found her target/victim once again, and this time it was me!
I agreed to meet the guy anyway since I had the liberty to reject the proposal if I’d wanted to…which is exactly what I had in mind. As I sat on a comfy couch at a cosy coffee house, where we had decided we’d meet up, I started plotting all of my evil plan A’s and B’s to get rid of the guy…even if it meant that he’d have to reject me instead of the other way round! I was laughing manically in my head when my master plan in progress was interrupted by the sight of a tall, dark haired, medium built guy, who I guessed looked 29ish. Enter- Dr. Nikhil Malhotra…
For one, I preferred my garam chai over “coffee”! And you have to admit! There’s ‘hot’ coffee on one hand…and then there’s ‘boiling’!!What’s the point in getting your taste buds fried every time?!
“And…No…I’m 26…” he said uncomfortably as we continued our oh-so-interesting conversation.
“Oh..I thought you must be around 29…you do look quite mature…I mean…no I didn’t mean- ” I blanked out halfway..
Sh*t!!I can’t believe I just said those words out loud!!FIX IT ASAP!! I panicked in my head.
“I need to tell you something…please don’t…take it in the wrong way ‘Kay?” I began. .
“Hey, sure, don’t hesitate!” he encouraged me to go on.
HAH!!My puppy dog eyes always work!!This guy really IS a tool! I’m sure this goody-two-shoe doesn’t believe in flings…
“Look…I…you know…I don’t really believe in marriages…not even committed relationships!! I’m really not the marriage material Nikhil…I mean…how can anyone commit to just one person all their life?! It just doesn’t make sense to me at all! I’m just tired having been in too many relationships before, but I’m always open to having a fling.” I blurted.
When I looked up at him I expected a disgusted or atleast a shocked expression! How was he still so calm and composed??He narrowed his eyes as if trying to read my thoughts.
“Okay…if that is all that’s bothering you then…” He sighed. I looked at him expecting him to dump me then and there.
Reject me you buffoon!! I pleaded in my head hoping I’d push my thoughts into his head.
Damn the telepathic vampires…I cursed under my breath, as I continued to wait for an answer.
“A fling it is then!!” He said it loud enough for the old couple sitting adjacent to us, hear-process-and throw me a disgusting look. Yeah sure ‘they’ find me disgusting…
I just felt like I had been struck by lightning 5 times simultaneously and then sucker punched in my gut…I could actually feel bile rising in my throat..
“Seriously! What are you made of?!How could you just agree to having a fling with a marriage proposal? Whoa!!Wait…are you the one night stand types?! Coz now I’m genuinely NOT interested!” I was casually turning the tables now.
He calmly set his coffee cup on the table and said “Well…if I’m not mistaken… YOU were the one who suggested the ‘fling’ in the first place…”
“I…I…was… I was just testing you! I have dated too many guys and you can’t fool me mister! ” I blurted.
Oh I’m so damn good at this!
“Hmm..you know that’s funny…because your mom seems to have missed out on the too-many-guys detail while briefing me on your past dating life..” He smiled wickedly.
“Maybe I never told her everything…Wait…Why…Why do YOU have to butt into my personal life?!” I protested.
“Personal life…really? You have one??” he mocked.
“Urrrghhhh! Go to hell loser!” I stomped out of there. Never spoke of him or heard from him again.
4 months later…
It was my first day at work. I was working as a dietician at a well reputed hospital. I was on my ward rounds, and as I was going through a patient’s folder, filling out the nutritional assessment form, a nurse tapped my shoulder with her finger. She told me that there was a doctor asking for me, and so I followed her to where he was standing with his back facing us.
“Excuse me doctor…I was told that you-YOU!!” It was ‘him’…
NO…WAY..Ofcourse! He was a resident doctor here!!
“Right…the new dietician…so tell me…how many carbohydrates, protein and fat does this food, that’s supposedly going to my patient, contain?” He asked pointing towards the covered food plate that was being carried to his patient’s ward.
He continued this stupid game of his for 3 weeks, when finally I lost my cool.
“Is this your way of getting back at me?? Just because I rejected you??” I raised an eyebrow.
“Rejected?…Oh no..You’ve gotten me all wrong. And just for the record…you did try really hard at getting ME to reject YOU…” He winked.
Okay..so my master plan sucked.. I thought as I looked at him and sighed heavily.
“Yayy…you’re a genius…you had me all figured out in a jiffy…joy…” I added sarcastically, at which he laughed heartily. Genuine laughter…I couldn’t help but smile…
A month went by after that, and he continued to annoy me with his dry sarcastic humour…and a few more ‘boiling’ coffees…my taste buds went numb for a few weeks.
“Heyyy pouty…got off on the wrong side of the bed?” he grinned.
I really was, in a rotten mood. I stared at him “You know..I have a great solution for patients with a low B.P…All you need to do is walk into their ward…and just talk!! You’re gifted you know…Well ofcourse…then there are chances that they may turn hypertensive too…” I drawled. He didn’t laugh like I had expected him to.
“Seriously, everything alright?” he asked, creasing his forehead. His eyes full of concern that reflected clearly in his voice.
“Umm…I guess I could really use a cuppa coffee right now”. I smiled half-heartedly.
I couldn’t believe I had actually said that! Why is he being so nice to me all of a sudden?!
“Sooo…let me get this right…you liked this guy for over two years and haven’t confessed it to him yet?!” he said choosing his words carefully.
“Yep! And I find no reason to confess it anymore.. I still do not know whether to take it as an insult or a compliment. He said.. ‘If I could just clone you..I’d make two of them…make one of them my wife, and the other my girlfriend and keep you as my sister!!’…I’m really stupid, aren’t I? Wait..Don’t you dare answer that”. I grimaced as I took a sip of my coffee.
Shoot!!I burnt my tongue again! My taste buds were never going to forgive me.
“Wow!…you know…he sure has some talent there. With words I mean. Although I do know something he needs really bad right now…” He sighed, his face now grim. I waited with a puzzled look and took a sip of my coffee.
“Therapy.” His lop sided grin was back as he winked. I couldn’t help but laugh.
It really doesn’t matter how things turn out between the two of us…in the future I mean. I have to admit one thing though…the beginning wasn’t that bad afterall…
__END__
