I could sense the chill in my spine. I did not expect this. I checked
the RSVP list. Twice. Her name was not there. But there she was right in front
of me. My first crush / infatuation /fling or whatever one can call.
Standing in full, 20 m away. Sipping a cup of tea and chatting with a few
others. Her posture was majestic and she had an aura around her. All those
around her were looking so petty. "Mrs.Ramesh" read her name tag. No
wonder she did not call me to her wedding. We had a messy break up long back.
The nervousness was not because of any latent feeling i harbour but the dread of an awkward rendezvous.
Keeping my face stoic i remained as far away from her as I could and did
not want to give my eclectic band of maverick buddies a chance to
poke fun at me. But still her presence stirred up more than a few memories from
the past. Her presence made me forget that I had brought my wife here for a
couple of minutes. The tenth year reunion of my Alma matter is
not exactly the best place for her to socialise. Still she was doing way better
than I expected. She knew everyone from the gang and they were busy explaining
her, what a wonderful haven this place was. She was one more reason I did keep
my distance from Mrs.Ramesh. Thankfully it looked like she was enjoying her
time. This is our first trip together after our marriage. "Guys lets
go to the cafeteria. It’s been a long time and I have been telling too many
delicious stories about it to Namratha. I am sure she would love the snacks
there. " I smiled at my wife. We are getting to know about each other
better every passing day. The entire gang was ready and the cafeteria used to
be our favourite hangout spot during the college days.
Two rounds of bajis and a glass of fresh juice quenched our appetite for
food and nostalgia. “Hey karthik!! How have you been doing!!? Its been a
long time”. It was Mrs.Ramesh. Bloody
hell, Why this kolaveri di!! “Hey anitha!! Yup its been more than a decade
now. How are you??” “I am a wife, mother and a corporate gal. You are still at
ABC corp?” “Yup, the same place. Sort of used to the comforts there. “ And then she started to greet the rest of the
people. “ Heard you got married. Wont you
introduce me to your wife? “ She asked this with a naughty smile. The very same
awkward moment that I wanted to avoid is now thrust upon me. I smiled at her
and called Namratha. I could hear a few giggles amongst my friends. I somehow
avoided and rather forgot to mention anitha to her till now. “This is Namratha. We got married
last month. And she is working in XYZ corp. “ Before i could introduce Anitha,
she said “I am Anitha!! I was his classmate in college. Hope he mentioned me to
you about me. We were quite an item during our college days.” My heart skipped a
beat. I did not expect this. Why the hell one bring up a forgotten chapter now? “Of course he had told me about you. It’s
nice finally to meet you”. There was a complete silence and I could hear
nothing. The same words kept ringing in my head again and again!! Rest of the
conversation did not register in my head at all. I am just glad that I had this
rendezvous with my companion for life.
