Overtime - Part 5

Maya -
hmm..what after that. Was she still here or had she left?
It was 5. She might have left for all he knew.

Maya - Are you still there?
What would he say next if she confirmed that she was.
Ask her out for coffee? Dinner? What?

Oh boy! He wanted to laugh at himself. He could write all those official business emails, pages of them in like minutes and here he was taking forever trying to compose a one line email. And he was perspiring as well.
This should not be so difficult! But by Lord, it was. Focus now, he chided himself. This will not do, will not do at all. I am not a teenager who does not have a clue how to talk to a lady. He started to type with renewed enthusisasm. The problem was that he was an adult who did not have a clue on how to talk to a lady. He felt pretty lousy.

He tried to recall when the last time was when he had felt like this and the time he zeroed in was way, way back when he was just a kid and he had this huge crush on his elder sister's friend. Whenever he would hear his sister saying that her friend was going to visit, he would be a nervous wreck. He would try to hang around them when she was home but his nerve would fail him. He would find himself running in the opposite direction whenever he would see him. Worse, he realized that she had guessed about his infatuation and would try to talk to him and tease him. He would try his best to appear cool and composed but would come out looking like a complete idiot. She would giggle away and he would vow never to cross her path, until the next time his sister would announce her friends impending arrival. The charade would be repeated again. Even thinking about it made his cheeks burn! He had vowed he would never again be so embarassed in his life and had succeeded in doing so. Maybe it would be best to leave this where it was, instead of finding himself in a situation where he would least want to be in, he thought.

He discarded the unsent email.
This email has not been sent. Are you sure you want to close?
Well, he was sure. Yes, he clicked.
I am much more of an chicken than I thought I was, he told himself as he started to pack. Better to leave than make an even bigger fool of myself to myself he thought. He turned and she was standing right behind him!

"No overtime today?" she asked.
"oh!No . Work accomplished around here. Nothing left.."
"I heard some very good things being said about you!"
"Well! You should not believe everything you hear you know.."
"Yeah but I want to this time around. Anyways I was leaving myself and wanted to say hi! to you." She stood there smiling at him.
Ask her out, you dumb idiot, he almost said out aloud.
"Hi" he said simply. He wondered if there was some way one could strangle oneself!
"Is that all you are going to say?" she laughed.
That did it. He had to say/do something that would not show to her what a chicken he was.
"Is there something else you want me to say?" There! Smooth and Cool!
"well yes!"
"and what would that be?"
"Anything that goes beyond a monsyllable!"
It was his turn to laugh.
"I am sorry. You just caught me by surprise!"
"Well I shall wait for the surprise to wane off then!"
"Well you don't have to any longer. Its already gone!"
"Great!"
"So..you are leaving early too..!"
"Yeah same with me. Nothing much I could accomplish.."
"Any plans for tonight?" His heart was booming so loud as he put out that question, he was surprised she did not seem to hear it.
"No, nothing special"
"Maybe we could get a bite of dinner then..if you don't mind that is". He waited. This was it! He had done it. Now the ball was in her court. Atleast he would not have to berate himself for being a coward and not going beyond a hi with this beautiful woman. Yes, she was beautiful. In an uncharacterisitc way, a very intelligent looking woman and that more than anything else sealed her beauty to him. The long strangd of hair escaping her neatly done pony tail, the aquiline nose that might have prevented some people from terming her gorgeous, the small but expressive eyes, the full mouth and her voice which was clear and authoritative and the grace with which she carried herself. Simple but stunning! She might decline for all he knew, but something told him that she would not. And she did not.

The deed done, he was anxious that everything should go smooth. He had been very surprised to note that she lived a couple of blocks away from his place. He offered to pick her up. She agreed but on one condition. That they walk. She loved to walk she told him. Especially that time of the year when the air was so crisp. There was a slight chill in the air and when the wind blew you could feel the cold. She was right. This is refreshing, he thought as he made his way towards their meeting point. A park which stood midway from both their places. He looked at the watch. He was a few minutes early. She had not arrived. He sat on the bench, thankful for the time where he could catch his breath. He had been on the edge from the time she had accpeted his dinner proposal. He somehow wanted everything to be perfect. The restaurant, the food , the weather, the walk and he himself too!

Ah! There she was walking towards him. She was more formally dressed in a simple short white kurta and a rich red salwar. Her red dupatta flew behind her and he watched mesmerised as it swayed behind her as if providing her with a background score. Her hair was loosely tied and she looked much younger. What a sight! He thought, as he got up to greet her.

That's when he observed her face closely and to his horror discovered that it seemed swollen and red. Like she had been crying for a while. He felt deflated. Just when he had been thinking that everything was going smooth and that he wasn't feeling as nervous, this had to happen. He once again went back to feeling highly uncomfortable. A cheerful woman was so much more easier to handle than a morose one, he sighed to himself. He had not expected this. He had thought that their date would be as breezy and delightful as their meeting a while earlier. So much seems to have changed in a couple of hours. He walked towards her hesistantly, the spring in his step which had been so obvious the past 2 hours clearly missing.

What was with her? One moment she gave you the impression that she was on top of the world and the next you found her at the bottom of a pit!

She saw him and tried to smile. She could not and tears streamed out of her eyes.

Boy! This was worse than he had thought. She had thankfully stopped to cry, the first time when he had met her. Now it seemed like his presence was triggering her tears. He swallowed to get rid of the lump in his throat. He did not like this one bit. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to behave? Suddenly he felt anger towards her. She should not be doing this to him. She did not know him well enough to start bawling at the sight of him. Well, she wan't bawling but she was not giggling with happiness either. She was near him now and he felt very bad about himself. She seemed to be genueinely unhappy over something. Its not like you can control your sadness, he reminded himself. He should be showing more restrain and understanding, he decided. And yes, what he had read about Film Heroines crying a lot in movies because they looked beautifuk doing it must be true. This woman surely did!

"Maya! Whatever happened to you?" he asked.
"Arman..I am so sorry!"
"Don't be. Just tell me what it is that is bothering you so much.."
She kept quiet.
"Come on Maya, you can't be crying in front of me and then ask me to overlook it as if nothing happened.."
He bit his tongue. He hoped he did not make his frustration with her obvious.
She kept looking downwards.
"I am so sorry..!"
"Are you going to say something other than that?" he asked. He knew he was not being very sensitive, but he did not know what else to do. It was not like she was giving him any options. Oh! For Christ sake woman, tell me he wanted to scream, but held back. The poor woman seemed badly shaken. Worse than the first time he had seen her. She was sobbing now and he felt like a neandathreal. He did not know what to say to her. This seemed to be more often the case than not. He waited for her sobs to die down.

He led her to a bench nearby. They sat down. She seemed composed now.
"So are you going to tell me?"
"Yes" she answered, barely audible.

(..to be contd)