Oly Pub

PART – 1

The door was knocked thrice.
“I’m coming in just a moment” shouted Imara from her bedroom.

It was one of those lazy Sunday mornings when it feels like the world’s worries is off your back and you can finally curl up in your own bed, watching Finding Nemo and eating an extra cheese Pizza.
Imara loved these days.

Tkch tkch. There, another knock.

Imara hurried up to the door, opened it and greeted her guests with a chirpy smile.

“Hey guys! You actually kept your word from last week and came over. Come on in” invited Imara.

“We knew you would be sleeping off the whole day so we showed up. But you look a bit extra happy today. What is it?” asked Niloy.

“Good question! I’ll answer that, but first you guys need to sit down on that couch. And tell me, what would you guys prefer, coke or beer?”

“Someone’s being extra nice today” laughed Anna and continued, “Get me a beer.”

“I’ll have a Coke” said Niloy.

“Two beers and a Coke, coming right up!” said Imara in the tone of an excited teenage waiter working for some extra tip.

After Imara had left the room to bring in the beverages, Anna sighed.

“What date is it?”

“It would have been three years today” replied Niloy with a grim face.

“And yet she seems so—“she was interrupted by Niloy. “Let it be. It has already been a hard six months for her. I think she’s getting out of it a little. It’s good for her” said Niloy.

Anna didn’t argue. She knew he was right. She knew what Imara had to go through. She deserved some happiness, she thought.

 

PART – 2

The three of them were sitting on the three couches, place in the form of a triangle.

“How’s work for you Dr. Niloy?” mocked Imara.

“Ughh! It’s tiring but good. My real job is to just listen to my patients for as long as they want to talk and share their problems. Diagnosis is the easy part, listening is the tough one. But then they mostly thank me after every visit like I’m some kind of supreme healer or something, and I go back to feeling really good about my work. Plus, human mind is fascinating. Anyway, what’s with you? You didn’t answer my question from before” replied Niloy, the newbie psychiatrist.

“Oh yes, you guys need to know this. So sit tight for I’m going to tell you about a boy I met last Tuesday” said Imara, putting her hands up in the air as if she was a magician about to reveal the secret behind her magic tricks.

“You met a boy? Last Tuesday?” asked Anna in a sarcastic tone. “That’s new. And good. So who is this fortunate ‘boy’?” she asked.

“Don’t mock me, bi**h!” smirked Imara.

Niloy and Anna stared at her for a moment and then exchanged a look between each other and smiled. They had surely missed this sassy Imara.

“Okay, now the grand story. I want no interruption. I’ll take questions after I’m done” posed Imara and started.

“Last Tuesday I had some extra work in the office, some extra editorials. So by the time I left the office, it was almost eight and was raining pretty bad. I wasn’t in a cooking mood so decided to have a quick bite at Oly Pub on my way home. The place was crowded and I had to wait for another ten minutes before I got a couple’s booth. I was still pondering over what to order when this guy came up to my table. I had presumed he was a waiter so without looking at him I said,” Can you give me another minute? I’m still deciding.”

He didn’t reply but I swear I heard him laugh. I shot back at him, “What is your problem? Did I say something funny to you?”

He looked at me apologetically. Then I noticed he wasn’t a waiter. He was just a guy.

“I’m sorry. I thought you were a—“he cut through my apology and said, “Hey, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have laughed. Now I feel really embarrassed to ask you this but as you can see, this place is terribly crowded. They said they don’t have any single’s table and that you were sitting here just by yourself. If you would let me sit across the table, they would be happy to serve me dinner. But you have to understand, this idea did not come from them. It’s all me.””

Imara paused to take bring another bottle of beer for herself. When she came back, Anna said, “You and Oly Pub, creating epic stories since three years back!”

“Let me guess, you let him sit with you?” asked Niloy.

Imara nodded. “Yes. I had to! I had practically shouted at him before. Plus, he seemed like a decent man.”

“They all do. Look at Niloy. He looks so nice and classy, but…” Anna raised an eyebrow.

Niloy gave them both the I-don’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about look. They shared a laugh.

After some time Imara continued with her story, “So yes, I let him sit across the table. One thing led to another and we started a conversation.”

 

PART 3

Imara had just ended her story. She had gone into details about how the boy had ordered a continental dish and a plate of sandwich with it and how inappropriately funny it was; about how they shared her wine and his sundae. She talked a great deal about his lips. Imara always noticed the lips of a person. She said his were always smiling. He had a proud chin and his hair had an imperfect yet classy alignment. And boy, he was funny! It was a perfect unofficial date for them.

By the time she had ended her story, Anna was clutching Niloy’s arm pretty tightly.

“He is a lucky man, Imara” winked Niloy, ignoring the lump formed in his throat.

“I should say I’m the lucky one. And here’s the best part— we are going out on a date today. Our first official one” said an excited Imara.

“That’s great. I’m really happy for you” smiled Anna. She almost choked on the word ‘happy’.

“Thank you, best friend. But I think you need some water. You were almost choking there,”
Imara went to the other room to fetch a glass of water.

The room remained silent for a while. You could only hear Anna sob a little.

“Maybe she hasn’t taken her pill today. Don’t cry now, Anna. She’s going to come in any moment.”

“How can I not cry? She is back to where she was six months ago. Nothing has changed. Nothing. Didn’t you hear her? She recited the same old date she had with him for their first time, three years back. The same restaurant, the same crowd, the same dishes. I can’t even help her anymore. That accident has not just taken one life but has also destroyed hers. I can’t witness her like this Niloy. What will we do now?” cried a helpless Anna.

“I don’t have the answer either” Niloy sighed.

When Imara came back to the room with a glass of water, they both put on a weak smile.
Niloy dared, “What was his name, again?”

“Shayan.”

There was a long silence in the room.

 

Part 4

The next thing Imara remembers is the four-walled room she has been living in for the last three months. There are no windows here. Even now sometimes when the doctor comes to visit her she asks him about his work and offers him some Coke.

Of course she never forgets to mention the accidental date she had with that ‘boy’ last Tuesday. It’s her favorite story.

__END__