This is where it all began & This is where it all ended!

Coffee shops too often have great tag lines, I never knew I would see something so close!

“Ah! You’re late again.”the girl sighed as soon as she saw her guy approach the table. The guy had a sorry look on his face but it was too late, the girl had already given him the welcome shot! “I’m sorry.”he tried to cajole her but alas, it was a non-retractable missile! “One cappuccino & One Assam Tea please. .”the girl shot the order to the waiter. She seemed to know even the guys preference of drink.

“Didn’t you say that too often, Ajay?” she continued.

“I know sweetheart but honestly I don’t know how come it just happens, the traffic, whenever I come to meet you. Trust me Arundhati!”

“Oh just let it be! By the way I hope you remember that we are here for a serious discussion or has that gone in the traffic?” The guys face went from worried to damn worried! “Yeah I do remember”, he replied.

“And still you managed to come late?” Arundhati queried. Ajay just let it be. The silence filled in their minds felt as if their world was indeed coming to an end.

That silence was broken by some laughter immediately, at the adjacent table! There were a group of four friends who were enjoying a cup of coffee; 3 guys and a girl. “ Salle tu toh chuppa rustum nikla! But how did it all happen? where did you guys go? Who was the one who took the initiative? Was Aman too romantic?” the guy asked in just one breath!

“Viraat, hold on. I shall tell you everything. Every little detail that is within permissible limits. Look at Dev he looks to be just lost in his world or do you too have questions running in your head Dev? Malini just look at their faces!”the guy said. “Malini why don’t you start? I shall pitch in. In that ways you could also be a part of our conversation or else this would turn to be only a guy-guy conversation.”and the others smiled in agreement.

So there went Malini, to my amazement it was just the previous day that they had got into a relationship! It was fresh! It was freshest! The smile on my face just couldn’t hide itself as I muttered, as always, “God Bless you guys!”

Meanwhile at the other table Arundhatis’ voice began to choke,“Dad wants me to zero down to a guy within a couple of days. He said that now that I have met the 3 of them I have to select as he feels one of them definitely would be good for me, besides the kundali matches too! I really am not sure of what to do!” Ajay too wasn’t sure from his looks.

“Arundhati, I feel you should tell your parents about us. It is my responsibility to convince people at my place. I guess we could atleast get engaged and that could make our relationship more secure. Trust me as soon as this slow down ends I am sure I would get a better job and nothing would stop us from realising our dreams! Remember how you had agreed to grow old with me?”

“But you aren’t even earning so well that I could introduce you at my place. What would you tell my parents when you meet them and ask for me as your companion? Do you think my father would agree to you when he thinks about my future? Think practically Ajay! It would be a flat no!” Arundhati shot back to Ajay’s amusement!

I was a bit upset but thinking practically the girl did make sense. No father would have given his girl to a guy whose future wasn’t secure. No father would gamble with his daughters future, even if they don’t meet eye-to-eye.

Laughter was indeed the taste of the season on the adjoining table. Malini had just opened her mouth and she couldn’t stop blushing! “ Oh ho! Look at her!”, said Viraat. “Oh Viraat! Come on! I am a girl and you should not be surprised with my reaction at such moments! Ok so if you really want to hear the story you need to first promise that you wouldn’t pull my leg!” Too eager to hear the story Viraat just pushed the promise without another word!

“There isn’t actually a story, we just liked each other and just hit it off!” Malini said to Viraat’s amazement! “Then why did you ask me to promise?” Viraat shot immediately.

“Viraat, I just wanted to ensure I was safe for future. Or else you would keep pulling my leg in future and I just wanted to be an opportunist!” Malini said. Aman too agreed with Malini and told Viraat that there wasn’t really a formal dating before they hitched. It was a story which thousands of Mumbaikars would have encountered; a girl and a boy, travelling together and suddenly realise after the college ends that their company was indeed special and confess their liking to each other! I would say, there isn’t something wrong in that as long as people are faithful to what they say. Malini continued with the usual traits which she loved about Aman and the story continued.

Ajay, meanwhile was having difficulty in adjusting not only with the questions but also in stirring the Assam Tea, his hands were shivering and his eyes were moist. He looked at Arundhati and I guess he knew what was running in her mind. That was the moment I guess he couldn’t control his emotion and a drop of tear just rolled off his cheeks! “Come on Ajay now please don’t make it difficult for both of us.” Arundhati said. “We have to be strong and move on with life. Just making life difficult and unpredictable with each day, doesn’t make sense for both of us.” Ajay just looked at her. Probably he was recounting the number of times, during the Happy-Happy Days they would have repeated of standing by each other during good & bad times! That’s what atleast it looked with the stare on his face and pain in his eyes! The looks were just too evident!

He stared to no where! She moved her hand to hold his but stopped midway! Confusion? Na! The decision had been made in her head it looked! I said a small prayer for them because that wasn’t an entirely “non-connecting” scene for me! Pain just freezes you for that moment! Thoughts dry up! Time just shoots at a rocket speed and all that was just yesterday seems to have been long gone by, including the love!

Ajay just had the cup of tea in one go!

Malini looked at Aman and rested her head on his shoulder with a smile. “Why don’t we go and meet Shilpa and Sanjana? We could call them at Cypress and give them this news aswell”, Aman said in a celebration mood. They asked for the bill and laughed within their conversation! As they moved out, I could see their palms touching each other and Aman immediately slipped his finger through Arundhati’s. A mark of togetherness came as they held each others hands and walked into the crowd.

As I shifted my attention to the love torn table the bill was paid and silently the message conveyed. Ajay looked at Arundhati, but this time his eyes were dazy! It looked as if he had just got some kind of a shock! He just looked at her and wanted everything to stop at that very moment. With the message conveyed there wouldn’t really be another time when he would see her! That face which he had held in his palms innumerable number of times. That face which he desired to wake up and see every morning! They walked out of the coffee shop and I looked at their hands brushing each others but this time only to separate and loose in the crowd.

I looked at my watch, it was two and a half hours since I had sat in the coffee shop and the date too wasn’t entirely a bad one, it was 13th of February, the day before Valentine, I saw the birth of a relationship. But alas it was Friday the 13th of February 2009 which saw the death of another!

Indeed a lot can happen over a cup of coffee, after all this is where it all began and this is where it all ended!