Hey Dad! Meet My Mom

by Sharma, Sandeep

  I searched every coach but Rishi was nowhere to be found. The train left the platform but my eyes were stillfixed on it. Then all of a sudden, I saw Rishi in one of the coaches. He waved out to me. He seemed to be crying. Some lady was also with him. When I focused on her, I came to recognize her; she was the same girl I had seen in my dream at the barber's shop.

  “Dad!” Rishi cried again.

  “RISHI!” I woke up shouting his name. Rishi was in the bathroom. His face was covered under shaving cream and he was enjoying spreading it using my brush. He got terrified when I shouted out his name.

  “Okay, sorry. I’ll not use your shaving kit again.”

  I had never before waited for a Sunday so badly. Time is a pretty strange concept actually. When you waited for it, it seemed to stand still and when you wanted it to stay, it flew away quickly. Since the day I asked Myra out for coffee, I started my preparations for the upcoming evening. Rishi too helped me; well I was bit confused about whether he actually helped me or was helping make my situation worse. Every idea he gave seemed to be the most idiotic thing of the era to me. But I had no other choice either.

  Finally the D-day arrived. The clock was showing 10am and I started to choose what to wear. I didn’t want to rely on Rishi for this important decision, so invited my mother to help me. She continuously asked me about the specialness of the occasion but I kept it a secret, although she got a hint from my anxiety to look great that day. Whether or not you tell her, she’s your mother and she knows everything about you!

  After a 2 hour discussion and trying almost every piece of clothing I had, we finalized the best one. My mom wanted to stay longer with me to dig out my secrets but somehow I managed to send her out of my room. She was really happy for me. Before going out, she said, “Khali haath na jaana, do buy some gift for her.”

  When she left, I looked at Rishi in amazement. How did she know? We were silent for a while and then Rishi decided to break the silence.

  “So...... A gift.”

  It was the first time ever that I had entered any gift shop. People very correctly say that love makes you do things, you’ve never done before. I was in love and I was loving it.

  The shop was pretty small but had a pretty large variety of gifts in it. It seemed to be impossible to take a look at each article inside. Rishi felt amused to see toys and fell in love with a teddy bear of his own size. I decided to buy it for him. But what was I to buy for Myra? I had no idea! I took 3 rounds of the shop to choose the best gift for the occasion before my eyes fell on it. Yes, that would be perfect.

  Maya was astonished to see my new avatar. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw me like that.

  “You look so handsome today, Puneet. If you don’t mind, can I propose to you dear?” She gave a sheepish smile and patted my shoulder before going to another customer. I took my favorite seat and stared on the glass to see my reflection. I literally blushed. My concentration was disturbed when I saw my future child sitting on the next table and his smile was knocking on my sixth sense, telling me that he was reading my thoughts. Nothing could be more cruel than a child who could read your mind and that too if that child were your own son.

  I gave him the fatherly angry looks for doing that and he signaled in assurance that he would not do it again. I took another glance at my watch. There were still 15 minutes to go. Maya sensed something and came to my table.

  “You are on a date, right?” She asked.

  “Maybe or maybe not.” I said with a tremble in my voice.

  “You ditched our singleness. How cruel are you?” I said nothing, so she continued, “What’s her name? Is she pretty?”

  “Her name is Myra and you have already met her. I had met her for the first time here itself.” I was still blushing. God! I am loving this feeling.

  “Okay, that bitch.... She...” I cut her short.

  “MAYA.... Please...” I didn’t like her calling Myra that.

  “Okay.... So you love her. I was just checking on you. Hope she deserves you.” She stood up and was about to leave but before that she said, “I am very happy for you, darling. Everyone needs a partner; this life is too long to spend alone.” Her eyes said everything her words couldn’t. She had meant what she said. Maya always smiled through her miseries. She was not the lady she tried to show herself to be.

  I was totally lost in my thoughts when I felt a sudden pleasant breeze hitting me. I felt that the breeze had been blown just for me by God so as to let me know that this time was not to sit and cry over the past but to welcome the pleasant present standing at the door of the café.

  That must have been the brightest evening I had seen so far. Behind her head, the sun was ready to set for the day. The surroundings seemed to be quieter than before, my heart beats seemed to be faster and louder than before. For the first time, I sensed that time had stopped. The clock was ready to grant me few more seconds to cherish the moment. It was all divine.

  She took her first step towards me; I stood up from my chair in order to greet her but hit the corner of the table and hurt myself. She took her second step; I struggled with the adjacent chair. She took another step; I threw the spoon in the air with which I was previously trying to kill time. She was just a few steps away from me when I decided to say something but words escaped me. My eyes fell on Rishi and I saw him beating his hand over his forehead. I am a fucking idiot!

  “Good morning.” I said to her and instantly she smiled.

  “Well in my country it’s evening right now.” She said sarcastically. Another one!

  This time I had nothing to cover my flaw so automatically my eyes started searching Rishi, the savior.

  “You look so charming that I got confused. You have entered as morning in my life. You are my sun and I don’t want my sun to set; so no good evening, there will be only morning from now in my life.” I repeated as Rishi said. I had no idea what I was saying; I just behaved like a puppet. I was blindly following him today because I had no other option. I was just hoping that Rishi understood the seriousness of the day’s occasion and wouldn’t let me mess up as I had before.

  “Wow! You are such a flirt.” She was amused to hear my words. “Tell me one thing, does this flirting come to you naturally or have you taken some classes for it. Tell me your secret.”

  “If I tell you my secret, you’ll never believe me. So for now you can assume that I am receiving tuitions for it.” I smiled. That was the only thing that came naturally to me.

  Just then Maya came to take our order. She behaved very sweetly and while the taking the order she also signaled to me that she liked Myra too. I blushed.

  I was wondering what to talk to her the moment Maya left our table but thankfully Myra herself initiated the topic.

  “You know I have heard or maybe read somewhere that boys think that flirting with girls seems to be cool and girls like that but frankly speaking most girls don’t like this flirty nature of boys.” I instantly felt that she had stabbed me directly in my heart. “But you don’t worry because I said ‘most girls’, not ‘every girl’; I like flirting. It makes me feel special........ ” and then she continued with her everlasting talks over various topics which I couldn’t even imagine having with any girl in my life. Rishi felt relaxed and bored because he had nothing to contribute as my role was to just listen and I was loving it.

  I loved her voice. I thanked my ears for making me able to hear her. I loved her sweet face. I thanked my eyes for making me able to see her. I loved her habit of touching my hand every time she had something interesting to say. I loved her perfume, I loved her dress, I loved her lips, I loved her eyes, I loved everything about her. While watching her, a sudden urge to touch her, was building up within me. I could feel the erection under my pants. This felt disgusting.

  “Now would you please stop staring at me? Itni bhi sunder nahi hoon main.” She mimicked Kareena Kapoor from ‘Jab We Met’. She laughed her heart out at her own joke. Everyone in the cafe started to stare a
t her but nothing could stop her. She sensed the uneasiness within me. I was feeling a bit awkward in that situation. She stopped laughing and leaned a bit on the table to come closer to me. I too leaned forward.

  “Don’t be afraid of them. They are just a part of the robotic generation. Don’t follow the crowd, follow your heart because the crowd may lead you to your destination but your heart will surely lead you to happiness.”

  I could feel her breath and she could feel mine. Everything around us was now making no sense to me; there was nothing in this world except her eyes. Something was sparkling in the depths of her eyes. We were both diving deeper into each other’s eyes. I could sense her lips shivering; her pink lips were waiting to be explored by me. I tried to lean further; she too responded in the same manner and just then Maya arrived with the coffee and we were forced to return to reality.

  We silently sipped our coffee. I was feeling aroused at that moment and was cursing myself and she too was somehow trying to change the topic.

  “So is this for me?” She said while pointing towards the gift lying on the table.

  “Yes, this is for you. I totally forgot to give it to you.”

  “Can I open it right now?”

  “As you wish!” She took the gift in her hand and with a curious air, she started to unwrap it.

  “You know what, I love gifts. All my friends know that I love gifts so they keep on....... ” She continued while tearing open the gift wrap.

  “What’s this? A doll?” She said smiling.

  “Actually it’s a ‘Laughing Buddha’.”

  She looked at me with an expression that clearly said ‘I-Have- No-Idea-What-You-Are-Trying-To-Say’.

  “You seriously don’t know anything about ‘Laughing Buddhas’?” She rounded her lips and mimed a ‘No’. “Laughing Buddha is a Feng Shui article. It’s the indicator of good luck or good charm. And there’s a saying that, if you wish for something while touching the stomach of this idol, your wish will get fulfilled soon.” I touched the idol and secretly made a wish.

  “What did you wish for just now?” She instantly caught me.

  “Nothing.” I lied.

  “No.... no, no, no, you are lying. I saw you murmur something while touching the idol. Tell me, tell me na please.” She pleaded like a child. Even Rishi didn’t do these kinds of things.

  “Okay wait. Let’s make a deal. I’ll tell you about it the day it will get fulfilled; okay, deal?”

  “Deal.” She paused and continued, “By the way, thanks for this lovely gift and sorry.”

  “Sorry?”

  “I forgot to bring you a gift!” She rolled her upper lip to touch the tip of her nose.

  “Now, you are lying. See there’s my gift.” I pointed at the window next to us. She could see her reflection on it. She blushed.

  “Good job dad!” Rishi said from behind.

  “I think I should leave now.” She said while looking at her watch. I too looked at my wrist watch; it showed 6:30.

  She got up and started to leave. Rishi and I followed her. We exchanged our mobile numbers and then she noticed something.

  “Why aren’t you wearing your new wrist watch? This one looks old. Next time wear the new one.” And then she left.

  Rishi gave her an angry look that seemed pretty serious. There was something wrong with him.

  Chapter 10

  I feel that angelic touch often around

  Like a magician leaving the milieu spell bound.

  I feel her presence not too far.

  Yet she is unreachable like a shimmering star.

  24 hours. I had never thought that a single day consisted of 24 hours to live, to breathe and to remember. Well, of course I had read about the concept of 24 hours in my preliminary classes but learning is one thing and believing is another. I was in love and I was purely loving this feeling of loving someone. I was now enjoying my life more. My life had meaning now and that meaning was Myra. Myra was everywhere in my life. All the hours of my days were now categorized according to her.

  I woke up early in the morning looking at her sweet name on my phone. Her morning message was a delight for my eyes. Each day I first fell in love with her name, then with her habit of using an extra smiley at the start of the message and a compulsory heart at the end of it and finally with the people who were behind the invention of these beautiful things called ‘WhatsApp’, ‘Facebook’, etc. They made the world look more lovable. Well, earlier these things had made me sick, I was slow to pick up the trend of these crazy sounding things but people say that ‘Love changes everything’ and I was letting myself change for her. I accepted the change within me with open arms and frankly speaking, I loved the changes too. It was better to change than to remain stubborn and stale.

  Extensive messaging was a kind of a daily routine for us. My fingers could type words in a stimuli action. Every time my phone beeped, I felt a strange energy filling up within me. I forgot everything: my life, my bank, my carrier, my future, everything just vanished as if they had never been important to me; the only thing that happened was a quick, instant reaction of my hand to grab the phone and send a response to her message.

  Everything started bringing a smile to my face. It was as if the smile had gotten attached to my face permanently. I believed that, no matter what happened to me; as long as she remained by my side, my happiness and this smile couldn’t possibly fade. She was my strength. My soul was dancing and she was my song. Myra, my lovely Myra.

  As the afternoon approached, my eyes and ears got pinned to the clock in my cabin at the bank. 1:25 pm...... Tick Tock, Tick Tock,.... My heart would start beating in the same rhythm. It continued for another 5 minutes and then my phone would ring. Coincidently her lunch time and my lunch time coincided. Maybe God was in our favor too. Her voice was magical.

  “Hey.... How’s the day going?” I had so much to talk to her but decided to start formally.

  “It’s going fabulous, you tell..... ” She said and I got lost in her voice. I forgot everything. My mind stopped working and my heart stopped to relish the moment. This happened every single day. And yet I was still to get used to it.

  Evenings were a bit boring and lengthy too. We mutually decided to give our evening time to our families. Actually the decision was not purely mutual, it was her idea. She loved her family and didn’t want to neglect that relationship to start a new one. She was caring and I loved her more for that. I didn’t know why but whenever I thought of her kindness and caring nature, my eyes would moisten with happiness.

  I decided to dedicate my evenings to my mom. I started loving her more. She could see the change in me and tried to dig out everything out of me but I kept it a secret from her. I told her that I would tell her everything when the time was right.

  Evenings ended in nights; and at night the time was purely ours. After reaching our respective beds, we picked up our phones and talked to each other through the night. Ever since I had met Myra, my nights were no longer dark; they were filled with color, the color of love. Before falling in love I had always wondered, what were the topics that lovers could talk about for so long at all odd hours of the day but now I realized that the topics didn’t matter, what mattered was the feeling that on the other side of your phone, there lay someone who was dying to stay with you; who was missing you terribly, just to get a glimpse of you, to touch you and feel the happiness of heaven, to realize that love is truly beautiful.

  Days went on like this without many happenings. Myra’s shyness was slowly fading, my eagerness to know her better and keep her happy was increasing, the urge to express my feelings to her was getting on my nerves, and everything was new around me and was pleasant except one thing. Rishi didn’t seem to be happy. He was lost somewhere since the day of our first date. There was something cooking in his mind but before sorting things out with Rishi, I had to express myself to Myra. I needed Rishi’s help but he refused. He said he had some other matters to solve first. I didn’t know what his
problem was; he had started behaving in a completely different manner. I kept his thoughts aside. Myra should be the concern of the moment for me.

  I noticed the smoke coming out of my mouth; it floated up to kiss the sky but disappeared in the path itself. I exhaled once again, and a similar thing happened, the smoke disappeared just like it had never existed. I did it again, the smoke started to rise up but this time it didn’t disappear; my pupils dilated. The smoke took the shape of the ‘same’girl and started to stare at me. My body straightened automatically. The shape started to come down. My body froze. The girl shaped smoke ’ was now in front of my eyes; that ‘girl’ smiled and then vanished into thin air.

  Chapter 11

  She wears a fragrance so unearthly.

  Mesmerizing the ambience spontaneously.

  I could smell her and every bit of air enslaves me.

  I am following her like a pole star ahead of sea.

  “I am sorry but I love you and if you feel the same then let’s get married.” I practiced saying this line the whole week. That weekend I decided to express my love to her at any cost. I called her to the restaurant that weekend and before she could just sit and relax on her chair I blurted out my love in a single breath. She looked expressionless for a while; just stared at me for a couple of minutes. I was getting restless; I was shaking in fear and was sweating heavily.

  “A proposal with an apology.” She said and this time I just couldn’t look into her eyes, my stare was fixed on the floor. “This is the worst proposal I have ever heard in my life but I think it’s the truest one so far.” She smiled but I was still shaking. She took my hand in hers and said, “I love you too, Puneet.” I started shedding tears from my eyes. I was crying like a baby, she stood up from her chair and took me in her arms. That was a lovely feeling. Finally I had my love with me.

  That day was the longest and the most beautiful day of my life. I remember each detail of the day; I remember each and every word we said to each other. I remember that we mutually agreed not to fight over stupid things like other couples and within few minutes we ended up fighting with each other over the same topic. We laughed, we cried, we loved, we lived......... my life got transformed from ‘I’ to ‘we’.