Marry Me, Stranger

by Novoneel Chakraborty

  ‘I thought I knew this face when you came in but then I wasn’t sure if it was really you,’ she said once Prateek came over to her with a guess-who smile after the presentation.

  ‘But I was looking forward to meet you today,’ Prateek said.

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘I have been following you on Facebook since a year now. I read your post about Tech Sky’s recruitment.’

  ‘Oh, then why didn’t you message me?’

  ‘I wanted to but I thought maybe you won’t recognize me.’

  ‘Come on!’ Rivanah exclaimed and recollected her last meeting with Prateek. She was in the tenth standard while he was in the twelfth. He had proposed to her a day before Valentine’s Day that year, but his geeky image in school and caution from friends that he was a weirdo pushed her to publically turn his proposal down. She had not seen or heard from him since. And even now he seemed as unsure in front of her as he did in school. He rarely looked straight at her while talking. As if he was running the danger of getting slapped by her anytime.

  ‘I was there with you on the flight to Mumbai a day before. Your seat number was 17 A while mine was 19 D,’ he said in a matter-of-fact manner.

  ‘What? Why didn’t you approach me?’

  ‘It would have spoiled today’s surprise,’ he smiled. ‘I was in Kolkata on a holiday. Anyway, where are you putting up here?’

  ‘At my cousin’s place in Goregaon east itself. Do you stay here with your family?’

  ‘No. Mom and dad are in Kolkata. I stay in Andheri west. I’ve been working for Tech Sky for over a year now.’

  An awkward silence followed whereby neither knew what else to talk about.

  ‘This is wonderful,’ Prateek said with a sudden animated gesture, ‘Never knew fate would let us meet again.’

  Rivanah found the last statement bordering on it’s-my-chance-to-impress-you-again.

  Prateek received a message on his phone and excused himself while Rivanah went back to her desk. She stumbled upon him later in the evening inside the office elevator when she was about to leave office for the day. He requested for her phone number.

  ‘This sounds like a Kolkata Vodafone number,’ he said saving the number on his phone.

  ‘I didn’t get time to switch to a local number yet.’

  ‘I would suggest you go for a corporate post-paid connection, otherwise it may take time.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you out with it.’

  He still loves me, Rivanah concluded, feeling good about herself.

  ‘Should I drop you home? I have a bike,’ Prateek asked with childlike enthusiasm once they stepped out of the elevator.

  ‘Thanks but I’ll walk.’

  She could sense the disappointment in him.

  ‘Okay. See you.’

  He was about to leave when Rivanah stopped him on a hunch.

  ‘Is there any opening in Tech Sky for someone with a three months’ experience?’

  Prateek thought for a moment and said, ‘Not right now.’

  ‘Okay. If I forward you a CV, could you please let me know whenever there’s an opening?’

  ‘Sure. Mail me. My id is prateek.b@techsky.com’

  Rivanah typed some gibberish on her phone to show she was indeed jotting down the id and said, ‘I will ask my boyfriend to mail you directly.’

  Prateek’s response came a little late.

  ‘Great! Take care.’

  Rivanah knew Ekansh would never mail him his CV nor would she ask him to but it was her way of telling Prateek that she was in a committed relationship in case he still harboured any thoughts of proposing to her again. School was still manageable but working in the same office, she didn’t want to end up in an awkward situation.

  She came out of the office premises and was looking for an autorickshaw when Prateek slowed down his bike in front of her.

  ‘Say hi to Ekansh,’ he said.

  For an instant she was flummoxed. ‘How do you know his name?’ Rivanah couldn’t help but exhibit her surprise a little too overtly.

  ‘I told you,I’ve been following you on Facebook since a year.’ He drove off before she could see his expression.

  He already knew she was committed and yet…

  4

  Rivanah was supposed to ‘officially’ join Tech Sky Technologies on the Monday of the following week, giving her a lot of free time to kill before that. All that time made her realize she had no friends in Mumbai. There were some people from her college and a few from her batch working in the city, but they weren’t really ‘friends’ with whom she could hang out. And Ekansh had categorically told her before she left Kolkata that once she was on her own in Mumbai, she shouldn’t trust anybody.

  ‘When you move out of your home everyone connects to you with an agenda. At times the agenda is clear from the beginning and at times it is clear only when the person has fulfilled it through you. But by then it’s often too late for damage control,’ he had said.

  Though Rivanah was 22-years-old, she still didn’t have a natural instinct of judging the real face of a person. Ekansh was her only help. This was yet another thing she loved about him. He was what she was not. As a couple, it’s the one thing that becomes important once you go out in the real world. Two blind people can never cross the highway of reality together. She was the one who did things on an impulse and then thought what went wrong whereas Ekansh was the cautious one who weighed the pros and cons before going ahead with anything. His maturity was uncommon for boys of his age and she adored that about him. One thing he always told her was to be extra alert of guys who always took the first initiative to talk to her.

  ‘Then what should I do? Should I take the initiative instead?’ she said.

  ‘No stupid! What I mean is if you find a guy trying to talk to you all the time, even when he knows you aren’t interested, stay cautious.’

  ‘Hmm. Do you do that too? Talk to a girl even when she isn’t interested?’ she teased him.

  ‘Only when she is as hot as you,’ he giggled back.

  ‘I’ll kill you,’ She shot back.

  Two days before her official joining, Prateek What-sapped her in the morning and asked if she was free in the evening for coffee. She was a little apprehensive in the beginning and didn’t know what to say. The last time she didn’t comply when he wanted to drop her home. Now this. Rivanah didn’t want to come across as a snobbish bitch. School days were fine but now they were in the same office and more importantly, he was in the HR department. Rubbing someone the wrong way even before she joined office was something she couldn’t afford at this point. She thought of asking Ekansh once. She even typed a message but deleted it on second thoughts. She knew he would never say yes to her going out for coffee with any other guy. But why was she being so uptight about it? It was only coffee! Being in a relationship with Ekansh had dissected her from within into two Rivanahs: the impulsive Rivanah and the trying-to-be-mature-like-Ekansh Rivanah. While the two were duelling it out, Prateek messaged again saying they would be in Goregaon itself (in Oberoi mall to be specific). The impulsive Rivanah won.

  Great! I will pick you up by 6. Okay? Prateek messaged immediately after she said yes.

  The trying-to-be-mature-like-Ekansh Rivanah thought for some time and messaged: I’ll come there on my own.

  She reached Oberoi mall on time. They went to Moshe’s and took a table for two.

  ‘This colour doesn’t suit you,’ Prateek said pouring two sugar sachets onto his coffee.

  For a moment Rivanah didn’t know what he was talking about. Then she noticed him looking at her top. ‘But I love blue,’ she said.

  ‘But I think you will look good in black.’

  ‘I don’t like black,’ Rivanah shot back. She loved black as well but she said otherwise as a reflex action. She didn’t like Prateek’s patronizing tone. And it was right then that the trying-to-be-mature-like-Ekansh Rivanah taunted the impulsive Rivanah: I told you it will be
a mistake meeting Prateek for coffee. Who knows he may still be harbouring feelings for you. Don’t you know people always remain vulnerable toward their first love and interpret any unintended action as a positive signal to proceed?

  ‘Don’t mind but I feel Indian attire suits you more than western. I loved the way you looked in office on the first day. The kurti fit you just perfectly.’

  Mr School-lover trying to play Mr Husband, huh?

  ‘Is that an S3? You could have bought an iPhone instead. It’s better,’ he said and forwarded his iPhone to her.

  She excused herself to go to the washroom where the impulsive Rivanah convinced her to leave as soon as possible lest she said anything unpleasant. She came back and told Prateek that her sister had called and that she needed to accompany her to the vegetable market because she was all alone.

  ‘Please don’t mind,’ she said picking up her Vera Moda bag.

  ‘But your coffee?’

  ‘Di is waiting. I’m so sorry.’

  Before Prateek could say anything more, she was gone. On her way down the escalator she promised herself: No more coffee with Prateek. Phew!

  By the time Rivanah reached her sister’s place, the cook was done preparing dinner: chapattis which were as thin as papad, a dry bhindi ki sabzi, and a bland dal. It was the same thing Rivanah had been having since the past five days. She didn’t know why her cousin never complained. How can someone eat the same dull food every day? She decided she wouldn’t eat that night. But soon the tumultuous hunger in her took precedence and she ate the food silently. Seconds later, she spat out the bolus in the dustbin and proceeded to prepare Maggi noodles, burnt the pan where she was boiling water, hid it in the sink amongst other utensils in utter frustration and called her mother.

  ‘The cook here is such an idiot mumma,’ she said.

  ‘At your age I used to cook for my entire joint family, Mini. I used to tell you so many times to learn to cook basic food so you could at least sustain yourself in situations like these but...’

  ‘Mumma, I’m a programmer analyst not some home-maker.’

  ‘Youngsters like you only think of careers all the time. Now boil your career for two minutes and have it for dinner.,’

  ‘Oh mumma, I’m hungry and you are lecturing me instead of providing me with a solution.’ There was a beep on the phone. Ekansh’s call was on waiting.

  ‘Maybe I’ll order something. Call you later.’

  ‘But what will you order?’ Before Mrs Bannerjee could get a response, she switched the call.

  ‘Hey babu, why are you calling so early tonight? What happened?’ she said. Usually Ekansh called her after eleven at night.

  ‘I...I...’ Ekansh drawled as if he was choking on something. Rivanah had a bad feeling about this.

  ‘Ekansh?’ Her heart missed a beat. ‘Are you crying?’

  ‘Just...look outside,’ he said.

  Rivanah rushed to the window in the room with her heart in her mouth. Ekansh was standing on the footpath across the building, waving at her excitedly with a huge grin on his face.

  ‘Come down. Quick!’ he said and cut the line.

  Rivanah changed from her shorts and tank top to jeans and a tee and rushed down the building.

  ‘Ekansh!’ She was exhilarated to see him. She crossed the small lane to reach him and hugged him tight for a minute before she heard him speak.

  ‘People are watching,’ he said softly into her ears.

  ‘I don’t care.’ She broke the hug and looked deep in his eyes.

  ‘I missed you.’

  ‘Tell me about it. But how come you are here?’ Rivanah was yet to believe she wasn’t imagining Ekansh’s Mumbai visit.

  ‘Because my life is here,’ he said with a smile which made her all the more excited.

  She immediately kissed him on his cheeks and said, ‘Idiot, you could have told me. I would have come to receive you at the airport. I’m totally free till Monday, remember?’

  ‘I wanted to surprise you, but why the hell are you crying, stupid?’ Ekansh said rubbing her eyes. Rivanah was a tad conscious.‘Thanks for coming,’ she blurted, adding, ‘I’m hungry. Let’s have dinner.’

  ‘I can eat a horse myself,’ he said.

  They laughed and took an autorickshaw to Goregaon railway station and then took the local train. Before getting down at Churchgate, Rivanah called her sister and told her that she was with friends and would be late. Meghna didn’t care much.

  Ekansh took Rivanah to the famous roadside eatery Bade Miyan in Colaba where they ordered Badi roti and mutton rolls.

  ‘The food is awesome. How do you know about this place?’ she said finishing the hot roll in no time and burning her tongue slightly in the process.

  ‘One of my colleagues is from Mumbai. I flew down with him this evening. He told me.’

  ‘And when are you leaving?’

  ‘Early morning tomorrow. I have office. I’ll go to the airport directly after dropping you home tonight. I was just dying to meet you.’

  ‘Awww. Me too,’ she said giving him a soft hug.

  After a sumptuous dinner at Bade Miyan, they walked till Marine Drive and sat there by the cemented barricade looking at the distant city line and feeling the cool breeze orchestrate an urge for companionship within them.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said.

  Ekansh frowned and turned at her. ‘For what?’He budged as she moved her head from his shoulder and matched her sight with his.

  ‘I didn’t tell you but I met a guy this evening.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘He is just this school friend I met in office.’

  ‘Office?’

  ‘Prateek. He is in HR. He means no harm. I was feeling guilty that I didn’t tell you about it, that’s all.’

  Ekansh looked at her for a moment and then leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

  ‘Honesty is the essence of every successful relationship.’

  ‘I know. And I won’t ever hide anything. I promise,’she said and quickly touched her lips to his, once, and then quickly looked around to see if anyone had seen her. By the time she looked back at Ekansh, she felt her lips being sucked by him. She reciprocated for a few seconds and then pushed him back.

  ‘When will we be in the same city?’ she said.

  ‘Just complete six months here. I’ll then forward your CV to a few contacts I have made in office. Then we both shall be in Bangalore.’

  ‘Same place?’ she said.

  ‘Same place!’ he responded looking at her with an amused face.

  ‘Same room?’

  ‘Same room!’

  ‘Same bed?’

  ‘Same bed!’

  Rivanah clasped his hand warmly and with a puppy face said, ‘Let’s get married.’

  Ekansh looked at her as if she had just confessed she was an undercover agent.

  ‘What? Why do you look surprised?’ she quipped unable to interpret his looks.

  ‘You know my plans. I want to complete two years in this company first and then pursue MBA. That’s two more years and then we’ll happily get married.’

  ‘I know. I said it just like that. We are anyway too young to get married,’ she said resting her hand around his waist and head on his shoulder again.

  ‘Exactly. And what’s there in a marriage? As long as we are together, that’s all that counts.’

  ‘Right. There’s nothing more genuine and worthwhile than true companionship. But who will explain this to our parents?’

  ‘Seriously! A few days back my mom said they wanted to talk to your parents.’

  Rivanah burst out laughing. Ekansh looked curious.

  ‘My parents always do that. Good God! I think we are the first couple caught up in a situation where our parents want to talk and get us married, but we are not letting them.’

  They laughed in unison. It gave way to silence.

  ‘Ekansh, do you think love can die?’ Rivanah said with a tone which was a l
ittle serious for the occasion. Ekansh took sometime before replying.

  ‘If love is based on priorities and conditions, it can certainly die because priorities and conditions keep changing in life all the time.’

  ‘What is our love based on then?’ she said tilting her head up and looking at him directly.

  ‘Our love isn’t anything specific. I think when love is something specific, there’s a chance of losing it.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean, if life is night, then our love is light bulbs. If life’s a power cut, then our love will be a candle. If life’s a traffic jam, then our love will be patience. It’s nothing specific and yet it’s something without which we won’t ever be comfortable. Our love is a solution.’

  ‘Wow!’ she exclaimed and kissed his cheeks.

  They sat there clicking selfies together; sometimes talking, sometimes silent. When Meghna called her around 11:30 pm asking about her whereabouts, she realized she had to get back home before her parents found out who she was with. They had asked her to be at home by 9 pm sharp, no matter what. A couple of hours back she had called her mother and told her that she had eaten dinner and was preparing to go to sleep.

  They walked till the Baskin and Robbins outlet near Marine Drive, bought her favourite ice cream, and ambled till the Churchgate railway station. They took a Borivali bound slow local train whose compartment was mostly empty. They took a corner window seat away from the few other passengers.

  ‘Can I tell you something?’ Ekansh said.

  ‘What?’

  He took her hand and put it on his groin. Rivanah immediately pulled her hand away nervously feeling his hard-on.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she whispered.

  ‘Remember what you did in the bus on our trip to Mondarmoni from college?’

  Rivanah clearly knew what he was talking about.

  ‘I can’t do it now.’

  She was blushing. She looked away from him and out of the window with a sly smile.