Just two weeks back I stepped into my thirty sixth year. Celebrations were low. Over the years I have started enjoying quiet birthdays. If four glasses of Chantilli white is "celebration" with Knopfler, Led Zepp & Floyd on the play list, then surely it was a good one.
Seriously I do not have a plan A or a plan B. Just go with the flow. This is so me. And when life throws lemons at me I rush to get the tequila bottle as fast as I can! Not that I enjoy drowning myself or get wasted but I definitely like to make best use of the lemons that are in question!
And then something interesting happened during the last two days. I would be lying if I say I was not expecting it but yes I was not expecting it to be so fulfilling, beautiful and never thought it would bring so much of contentment and happiness... I am still grinning ...
The chance meeting at last saw the broad day light on a Sunday evening when I decided to meet the Scorpion. And it took quite a while to let the feeling sink in. I had to keep re-assuring myself that this was real!
I bumped upon the Scorpio... hey let me get the facts straight and clear...
Okay... so it was him, the Scorpion who bumped into me thinking me to be someone he knew from his school days. And like a twisted story I was not the one he thought me to be. My name-sake he was in search for is but by the way related to me! Interesting things happen to interesting people. Though the Scorpion got the wrong lady in question, it did not matter much I believe when I look back and recollect our conversations. We instantly got along well and that's how our friendship developed.
All the chit-chats we have had over the years - either exchanging messages or texts or speaking on the phone or via Skype, I realized we are two very different people but there definitely was some mysterious sort of similarities as well which made our friendship so interesting.
And on Sunday we were finally meeting in person for the first time.
He called me to say that I should keep my eyes open looking out for a white Zen as I was waiting for him, and when he finally arrived a few minutes later and asked me to get inside, well honestly I don't recall what was going on in my mind. I mean I could not waste time and allow cars to honk mercilessly.
And then like I said earlier, we still didn't have a plan A or plan B what to do next or where to go!
So we took one of those roads with lesser traffic and started our conversation from where we left last.... I did not feel like I was meeting the Scorpion in person for the first time. I know this sounds too cliched' but still I must say, it felt as if we had met a thousand and one times prior to this rendezvous of ours. So driving along the Express way we talked like excited kids who had so much to tell ... you know clearing a huge back log! We stopped by a small tea stall. Sipped tea inside the car and kept updating each other about our lives with every minute detail possible. And then it was time to get back to reality. He dropped me home and I knew I just had one more chance of meeting him again and I did not want to the let that slip. So I asked him to have dinner with me the next day.
But the day started off on a bad note. I seriously did not wanted to screw up anything. But then there are moments when you don't have much to choose and you have no one to blame. First hiccup came in the form of all shops closed to my utter dismay. So the chicken I thought I'd cook got deleted from the list. Second was the caramel. I may sound as if I am bragging but I know I make good caramel custards. So confident I was that when I set it on the oven, electricity went off and I could feel the uneasiness on my nerves and pulse. I thought I was on my way to disaster.
But nothing went wrong. The caramel turned out the way I wanted it. Rest of the food I cooked was a simple dinner - rice, some dal, tomatoes & potatoes mashed and fried and some egg curry. And yes... there was a salad too but I happily forgot about it...
He arrived on time as he said. We decided to sit by the balcony and spent the entire evening there only... talking, talking & talking more. We laughed, we gossiped too and we discussed the other important issues of life, marriage & kids.
He is married for the last fifteen years (okay... I guessed that. I don't recall how long he has been married) with two grown up daughters. And I have been married for a decade now with a four year old daughter too.
We had an early dinner and after a cigarette each by that same balcony again, he took leave.
And till now I am grinning thinking about our chance meeting.
I have met so many men in my life, have dated when I was seventeen or eighteen years old and if my meeting the Scorpion could be termed as a "date" ... even if its an iota... let me tell you, its has been definitely the best date ever. It relaxed me. Both the evenings were so very beautiful. It was fun and yes it was just the right thing that happened to me... to break my otherwise so very mundane life.
As I woke up today morning, I had a smile on my face... I definitely thought it's going to be a good day today, everything looks bright and beautiful. This is usually not me when I wake up.
I don't know if a Thank You would be enough to let him know how much this means to me. I hope he does, I hope he's seen the woman in me ... the way I am and I would look forward to meet him again if luck be our side.
Here I am - a plain Jane... on the wrong side of thirty and the weighing machine too & there he was - tall, dark and handsome - you know the ones you usually read in Mills & Boon novels... :)
yes, when I told a friend about all this, he said I sounded like a little girl just back from her first date!
But then yes, this have been my bestest date .... so what if it took thirty six years, being married for a decade and with a four year old child in hand....
Good things happen when you expect the least...!
