First Kisses- Part 2

Guess what? After nine years, Preethi bumped into Nawaz yesterday. Don't you think it's strange that she should, just after I write about her love story a few days back? Well, I think it is.....infact I keep looking down at my hands to see where exactly the magic is hidden.

Anyways, she was walking down precariously, balancing on her high heeled slippers. High heels not only give one the view of a taller person, they also bestow on their owners a sense of zen; the total and complete involvement needed in simply placing one footstep after the other. But ofcourse, some seem as if they were born wearing six inch killers on their heels;maybe there is something zen-like about that too.

Preethi's boyfriend, Mohan was waiting for her in front of the movie hall in Garuda Mall. He had tickets for Mungaaru Male. She was very angry with him, because he hadn't picked her up from work. This time ,atleast, she would make sure she didn't talk to him, even by mistake, until it was the interval. The movie would start in five minutes and the highly polished floor made sure she took her time walking across it. She got off the escalator and saw Mohan standing at the doorway. She conciously looked away when he waved at her. Wondering if she was being sufficently checked out by the hangers-around, she did her ususal scan-across-casually-with intent-look. Much to her annoyment everyone seemed busy in their own worlds.

Suddenly across the floor she saw him. Nawaz stood talking on his cell phone and since he hadn't made the scan-across-casually-with intent-look, to see if he were being checked out, he stood gently stroking his soon to be paunch. Preethi's heart quickened; "Ushu" she thought to herself, maybe she should just pretend she hadn't seen him.She looked back at Mohan who was gesturing wildly about how late is was getting. And immdeiately she turned around and walked towards Nawaz.

"Hi stranger" she said, in a voice that she had cultivated with immense patience, one which she thought combined the right degrees of sexiness and cuteness. He turned his head and his eyebrows shot up after the initial moment of registration. "One minute", he mouthed, sticking up a finger. "Ya ya" she mouthed back animatedly.

O God, she should never have come up to him, she thought. The movie must have started already and Mohan must be getting more bugged than she wanted him to. But this gave her time to look at Nawaz. He seemed too much of a man now. Nothing had changed perceptibly but still it had. "Hmmmm, I think I'll just sign out to him that I'm going off"

Just when she was about to, he hung up and said "HEY How are you?"
"O I'm fine. I'm fine!What a surprise to see you here!"
"Ya I came to book tickets for tomorrow's show"
"O ok!"
"How are you?"
"I'm very fine. How are you?"
"I'm absolutely great!"
"So what are you doing these days?Dad's business only?"
"O you still remember!Ya very well it is going. What are you doing? How is your family?"
"O I'm working in the Human Resources department of this company. Family is good".
"Hmm what a surprise no?"
Both managed to laugh a little, was he already married, she thought to herself.
"So when is your marriage?"
"O mine is in November", he said
She was taken aback, she never expected him to have an answer to the question. She thought he would have laughed it off or said , "Whenever you are ready". Wasn't that the Nawaz she knew?
"What about yours?", he asked
"Huh?"
"When is your wedding?"
"Mine?O........mine... is in October"; she added hurriedly, "Listen Nawaz I have to run, it's getting really late now."
"O ya okay. Nice seeing you here after all these years."
"Ya so surprising!Okay bye ,I'll run now"
"Bye!All the best!!"

She waved quickly and walked towards Mohan. "It's so late already and then you come and waste so much time speaking to some random guys"
"Not some random guy he happened to be completely crazy about me."
"Ya you will surely drive everyone crazy. Can we go in now?"

She hated entering the movie hall late, especially if their seats were not at the corners. After saying the customary excuse-me's, they finally sat down to the show. She sat glumly. The whole world seemed to be moving ahead, leaving her alone in a movie hall, playing a loud, senseless movie, next to a man who.......who....who hadn't picked her up from work! "Uff! Why couldn't she remember that she wasn't supposed to have talked to him until the interval?!"

"Was this the kind of guy she wanted to marry and spend the rest of her life with?", she wondered. "What if he behaved so callously after marriage also?What would she do when she would feel so lonely?When she cried?"

She looked at him "Maybe all that is not important. Atleast he got the movie tickets. And last Sunday had been so much fun. It won't be such a bad idea afterall"
In the interval he walked away to ease himself. She sat alone and wondered when, and if ever, Mohan would ask her to marry him.