"U There?!"
"Give me one reason to marry you?" Vikas stared right through Suma. A light green short Kurta contrasted the dark blue denims that outlined her well toned figure. Vikas wasn't sure he was staring at her intentionally to give her the jitters or he couldn't get his eyes off her. After just 10 minutes of meeting, Vicky, as he was known at home, shot her the question that most couples who meet in search of a prospective life partner avoid the most. This trick had worked every time. The girl always got nervous and excused herself on some pretext or the other and Vicky would get a fair bit of idea of how things would proceed from here. But Suma was unfazed. She shot back his stare and asked- "I can't think of any, maybe you can enlighten me".
Vicky wasn't expecting this. So he was a bit taken aback. All these years of handling girls or running his business hadn't prepared him for a rhetorical question like this. In the 5 years of his business he had come across perhaps half a million people and yet no one had really questioned his authority to actually make him straighten up in reply to his own questions. But years of client communication had thought him to hide his actual emotions very well. He appeared quite casual at this. He simply continued to stare . Suma wasn't the one who would give up that easily either. She persisted.
"You should not ask questions, which you can't answer yourself". - Suma
This time he smiled. It had struck him that he was dealing here with someone who could match his wit/sarcasm. Not to be outdone Vicky told Suma " Marry me and you'll get the answer". This in itself was a foot forward in the right direction. Suma couldn't help but blush. Vicky was known to be hard if not rude with the girls he met and she wasn't sure why she had even agreed to meet him in the first place. But he was quite different from what she had always heard about him.
The striped shirt and the cargos was hardly able to keep his lean muscular frame a secret. His pair of suede leather shoes were much like the ones US marines wore. Though he sported a stubble, he kind of looked appealing. His body language oozed confidence and the gadgets decorating his body was evidence enough of his tough businessman reputation that proceeded him on most occasions. He had come across as a gentleman despite his initial non nonchalant attitude about I-give-a-damn. The ice had been broken and they got around to opening up to each other. Suma displayed a rare tact for business which Vicky so commonly found missing in the girls that he had met. They were either ill informed or to naive for his taste. Whatever it was none of them had been able to hold on to the conversation for more than a couple of minutes. And here he was being lured into a conversation of what entrepreneurship is all about. As knowledgeable as she was she still appeared modest about herself. Vicky was finding himself drawn towards her more and more with the passing time. Neither of them had envisaged that their first arranged date would last more than half an hour and had scheduled other work around the time.
They conversed for another 20 odd minutes before she had to leave to meet a client. She wanted to cancel the meeting and extend the time with Vicky but this client was very important for her business. This new association could cover her team for the next 14 months. Vicky was surprised with himself when he offered to drive her to the meeting despite his own busy schedule and he wasn't exactly known to be a gentleman on his first meet. Of course she rejected since she had come in her own car. Vicky still walked her to the car and behaved pretty much the gentleman. It wasn't yet the end of his surprises when they arrived at her car. She unlocked an SUV and hopped in. He kept on looking as the Pajero raced down the short dirt road which joined the main road leaving behind a cloud of smoke. He went back to his own SUV truck that had been his companion for the past couple of years over terrains and highways alike.
As the day passed, Vicky forgot all about his "arranged date". Bala uncle's visit to the site had him quite occupied. Being in the construction business was more of a chance then a conscious effort. Business for Vicky had just happened. Coming from a middle class family of intellectuals no one ever envisaged his inclination towards being a business. Everyone had believed he would follow in his parent's footsteps and enroll in the engineering sector. However, his +2 boards debacle came as a shocker to most in the immediate vicinity. No one expected anything short of top grades let alone marks in the passing division. However, as luck would have it he qualified for architecture with brilliant marks in the entrance and came at the top of his class. His artistic side had been hidden for most part of his life while his brilliance at academics had overshadowed his other abilities. As he assisted his uncle in projects post architecture, he got so involved in the business that he climbed the hierarchy within a short span. Of course being under Bala uncle's wings had brought its fair share of advantages. But then uncle had no children of his own and had taken to Vicky like his own. After the early death of his wife he had immersed himself in work and never got back to looking at a personal life again. Once Vicky had taken over the business completely, he bowed out gracefully out of work and was content visiting the occasional site. The day had been tiring and the humidity did not help the cause.
Vicky stepped out of his cargos and switched on the shower. Anyone who saw his shower room couldn't stop praising it. Bang in the middle of his extended bedroom lay "the tube" - a vertical tube rising to the glass roof. The walls of the tube were Lead crystal glass. It was smoked to a semi opaque level. One could only see the shadow of the person having bath inside leaving the rest to one's own imagination. Being an architect had allowed Vicky to design the room to his taste. As he entered the tube, the auto alert system let loose a blast of hot steam to create a brief sauna effect followed by the warm rivulets of the shower hit his skin. His body relaxed. As was his daily habit he went through his daily activities to plan for the events of the next day when he suddenly remembered Suma. He smiled. Only few things had made him smile lately. As soon as he got out the shower and had done his prayers, he fiddled with his phone thinking which would be appropriate - a call or a message would suffice his anxiety. He checked the time, it was 9 o'clock, still not very late for professionals. As he scrolled to S, he realized he did not have her contact details. It had never occurred to them to exchange their numbers.
There was only one way to find out. He quickly looked for the FB app on his phone and logged in. IT had been ages since his last visit and the friend updates flooded is screen. He navigated to the search option and looked up her details. His first search yielded negative. But as he went to the 2nd page of the search, there she was. He added her immediately. Her profile was a heady mix of content. The typical girl fundas were spelled big, but so was her high intelligent quotient visible through her about myself section. Her status said "Single". :)
He heard mom's voice calling for dinner. As he changed out of his bath robe into a pair of shorts and gym vest and strolled downstairs. His creativity reflected through every other room and interior of his home. Even though he saw this everyday and every new comer appreciated it, he never gave a second look. But today he did and felt proud of himself. Pa was already joined the dining table and so had bala uncle settled into his favorite chair, even though all the chairs were the same, he found the one in his position the most comfortable. It is best not to argue over such things with children or oldies. Vicky joined everyone with a smiling face. Everyone looked at Vicky as he chattered away animatedly about nothing in particular. It was one of the odd days. He even complimented his mom about the yummy baked fish. Everyone finished their dinner and settled into the drawing room for the family time together. Even though Vicky had his personal plasma in his room, he spent some time after dinner watching some old movies or listening to the 60s classic with his parents and uncle. They enjoyed the time he spent with them. His labs were not far behind as they lay at his feet.
His phone beeped and he looked at the screen, it was still showing FB. A chat balloon popped up --" U there?!".
Continued Here
Vicky wasn't expecting this. So he was a bit taken aback. All these years of handling girls or running his business hadn't prepared him for a rhetorical question like this. In the 5 years of his business he had come across perhaps half a million people and yet no one had really questioned his authority to actually make him straighten up in reply to his own questions. But years of client communication had thought him to hide his actual emotions very well. He appeared quite casual at this. He simply continued to stare . Suma wasn't the one who would give up that easily either. She persisted.
"You should not ask questions, which you can't answer yourself". - Suma
This time he smiled. It had struck him that he was dealing here with someone who could match his wit/sarcasm. Not to be outdone Vicky told Suma " Marry me and you'll get the answer". This in itself was a foot forward in the right direction. Suma couldn't help but blush. Vicky was known to be hard if not rude with the girls he met and she wasn't sure why she had even agreed to meet him in the first place. But he was quite different from what she had always heard about him.
The striped shirt and the cargos was hardly able to keep his lean muscular frame a secret. His pair of suede leather shoes were much like the ones US marines wore. Though he sported a stubble, he kind of looked appealing. His body language oozed confidence and the gadgets decorating his body was evidence enough of his tough businessman reputation that proceeded him on most occasions. He had come across as a gentleman despite his initial non nonchalant attitude about I-give-a-damn. The ice had been broken and they got around to opening up to each other. Suma displayed a rare tact for business which Vicky so commonly found missing in the girls that he had met. They were either ill informed or to naive for his taste. Whatever it was none of them had been able to hold on to the conversation for more than a couple of minutes. And here he was being lured into a conversation of what entrepreneurship is all about. As knowledgeable as she was she still appeared modest about herself. Vicky was finding himself drawn towards her more and more with the passing time. Neither of them had envisaged that their first arranged date would last more than half an hour and had scheduled other work around the time.
They conversed for another 20 odd minutes before she had to leave to meet a client. She wanted to cancel the meeting and extend the time with Vicky but this client was very important for her business. This new association could cover her team for the next 14 months. Vicky was surprised with himself when he offered to drive her to the meeting despite his own busy schedule and he wasn't exactly known to be a gentleman on his first meet. Of course she rejected since she had come in her own car. Vicky still walked her to the car and behaved pretty much the gentleman. It wasn't yet the end of his surprises when they arrived at her car. She unlocked an SUV and hopped in. He kept on looking as the Pajero raced down the short dirt road which joined the main road leaving behind a cloud of smoke. He went back to his own SUV truck that had been his companion for the past couple of years over terrains and highways alike.
As the day passed, Vicky forgot all about his "arranged date". Bala uncle's visit to the site had him quite occupied. Being in the construction business was more of a chance then a conscious effort. Business for Vicky had just happened. Coming from a middle class family of intellectuals no one ever envisaged his inclination towards being a business. Everyone had believed he would follow in his parent's footsteps and enroll in the engineering sector. However, his +2 boards debacle came as a shocker to most in the immediate vicinity. No one expected anything short of top grades let alone marks in the passing division. However, as luck would have it he qualified for architecture with brilliant marks in the entrance and came at the top of his class. His artistic side had been hidden for most part of his life while his brilliance at academics had overshadowed his other abilities. As he assisted his uncle in projects post architecture, he got so involved in the business that he climbed the hierarchy within a short span. Of course being under Bala uncle's wings had brought its fair share of advantages. But then uncle had no children of his own and had taken to Vicky like his own. After the early death of his wife he had immersed himself in work and never got back to looking at a personal life again. Once Vicky had taken over the business completely, he bowed out gracefully out of work and was content visiting the occasional site. The day had been tiring and the humidity did not help the cause.
Vicky stepped out of his cargos and switched on the shower. Anyone who saw his shower room couldn't stop praising it. Bang in the middle of his extended bedroom lay "the tube" - a vertical tube rising to the glass roof. The walls of the tube were Lead crystal glass. It was smoked to a semi opaque level. One could only see the shadow of the person having bath inside leaving the rest to one's own imagination. Being an architect had allowed Vicky to design the room to his taste. As he entered the tube, the auto alert system let loose a blast of hot steam to create a brief sauna effect followed by the warm rivulets of the shower hit his skin. His body relaxed. As was his daily habit he went through his daily activities to plan for the events of the next day when he suddenly remembered Suma. He smiled. Only few things had made him smile lately. As soon as he got out the shower and had done his prayers, he fiddled with his phone thinking which would be appropriate - a call or a message would suffice his anxiety. He checked the time, it was 9 o'clock, still not very late for professionals. As he scrolled to S, he realized he did not have her contact details. It had never occurred to them to exchange their numbers.
There was only one way to find out. He quickly looked for the FB app on his phone and logged in. IT had been ages since his last visit and the friend updates flooded is screen. He navigated to the search option and looked up her details. His first search yielded negative. But as he went to the 2nd page of the search, there she was. He added her immediately. Her profile was a heady mix of content. The typical girl fundas were spelled big, but so was her high intelligent quotient visible through her about myself section. Her status said "Single". :)
He heard mom's voice calling for dinner. As he changed out of his bath robe into a pair of shorts and gym vest and strolled downstairs. His creativity reflected through every other room and interior of his home. Even though he saw this everyday and every new comer appreciated it, he never gave a second look. But today he did and felt proud of himself. Pa was already joined the dining table and so had bala uncle settled into his favorite chair, even though all the chairs were the same, he found the one in his position the most comfortable. It is best not to argue over such things with children or oldies. Vicky joined everyone with a smiling face. Everyone looked at Vicky as he chattered away animatedly about nothing in particular. It was one of the odd days. He even complimented his mom about the yummy baked fish. Everyone finished their dinner and settled into the drawing room for the family time together. Even though Vicky had his personal plasma in his room, he spent some time after dinner watching some old movies or listening to the 60s classic with his parents and uncle. They enjoyed the time he spent with them. His labs were not far behind as they lay at his feet.
His phone beeped and he looked at the screen, it was still showing FB. A chat balloon popped up --" U there?!".
Continued Here
I really liked the way the plot ends.
ReplyDeleteWell written... Next awaited!
-Arpita
Very practically written :).. nice
ReplyDeleteWaiting to know more about Suma..