It was supposed to be just another trip to His cousins’ place in the Big Apple Suburbia. A weekend party, hitting Times Square later, much later at night, shooting a few hoops, (though his basketball skills were always in question ).. it was supposed to be like any other fun filled trip. He landed an hr late, thanks to nothing in particular. As He came outside the terminal, He saw His cousin waving frantically from the car, asking Him to get inside quickly.
The usual pleasantries followed, with Metallica blaring in the speakers, along with a discussion of how good they had it, growing up in the 90s, arguably the best decade for music lovers. In the midst of all the banter, the cousin suddenly lowered the volume, and said, “Oh.. about the party tonight, I think you will find that apart from our family, a lot of my teammates from work are coming too.” To which, He replied “Well you had better not leave me all alone to go chat with u’r teammates man. I don’t quite fancy our aunts coming over to me while I’m alone and asking me questions about when I’m going to get married and all that jazz!!” His cousin laughed and said “Wellll.. about the being alone part, I’m not so sure man ! I think you know one of my teammates. Atleast, from what SHE told me, she knows you quite well !”. Hearing this, His mind started going into overdrive. He thought “This guy works with someone whom I know? and that someone is a girl?? Who do I know who works in the same company as he does??” He was just about to voice His thoughts when His cousin flipped the seek button and they were listening to “Mysterious Girl” by Peter Andre. “Cheesy man !!! verrryyy Cheesy!!” He said, playfully jabbing his cousin in the ribs. And so they drove home, with Him still not quite figuring out who it was He was going to meet in the party later that evening.
The hour soon approached, and after helping out His cousin and everyone else with the necessary decorations and arrangements, He took a quick shower and wore a black sports blazer over a white T-shirt and a pair of light blue faded jeans. He wasnt really keen about the Blazer, but had been asked to wear it so as to look the part of a host, which He was, along with His cousin. Slowly, the guests started showing up, and before long, there was a constant buzz, the sound of polite chatter, in the foyer and in the living room. The food and drinks had been arranged by the pool, and with the weather being perfect, there really was no debate about the location. He had gone over to the pool, where He saw His cousin greeting a group of people, and from the talk that followed, he figured that they were his teammates. His cousin looked over at Him, waved for Him to come join them, and once He had joined them, the necessary introductions were made. His searching eyes gave him away, and His cousin said “She’s by the punch bowl, go meet her”. He walked across the pool, heading over to the table where the punch bowl had been kept. Sure enough, as he approached the bowl, he saw her, but with her back towards him. As he came closer, his curiousity slowly gave way to a rising sense of apprehension, and His mind started telling him to turn back, but try as he may, he just could not stop going towards her, while all the time, He was saying to himself.. “No wayy.. No wayy!!.. thr’s no way this is Her !! Oh my God, turn back man, turn back! “. He smelt the same seductive, yet subtle scent… A scent he hadn’t smelt in over 7 years, on anyone else. This was her signature. Her very own statement of non conforming individuality. Memories of a life 7 years past came flooding back to him. He fought with his inner emotions, telling himself to get a grip, and be as stoic as possible. He was now right behind her. With a steady, yet unsure voice, he said “You still smell like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon”.
She turned around slowly. In all her life, among all the people she met, there was only one person who could say something so randomly, and yet make sense to her. She looked at him, and said “And you still haven’t gotten over Nebuchadnezzar and The Matrix”. They just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, when He said “Small world huh?”. She replied “I know that my teammate is your cousin. He told me. He somehow figured out we both studied together, and asked me about you. I didnt want to tell him I knew you… considerably well. I only told him you were an acquaintance.” His face suddenly took a pained expression and he said “You still haven’t forgotten, let alone forgive? Jesus @#$!~*(%, its been 7 years !”. She smiled and said “Its good to see you too, %^&$%&*$#(“, and started to walk away. A familiarity which was bred 7 years ago, prompted him to grab her hand as she walked away, and he said “No.. wait!”. She turned and looked at her hand, and then at him. He let go immediately, and said “I’m sorry.. But please. Don’t walk away…. Not again.” She stood her ground, and He said “Lets just sit by the poolside and we can talk. Please.” she followed him to the lounge chairs by the poolside, and as they sat down, He grabbed a couple of soda glasses, and handed one to her.
He: “Umm.. How have you been?”
Her: “I’ve been good, and you?”
He: “I’ve been ok. So where are you working now?”
Her: “Ask your cousin”.
He: “Oh shit.. sorry.. 
umm.. smalltalk can be such a pain right?”
Her: “Yeah.. you were never really good at it”
He: “So are you married now?”
Her: “No.”
He: “Are you seeing someone?”
Her (with an amused expression on her face ):”No. So.. I know you arent married. Your cousin told me that much. Are YOU seeing someone?”
He: “Aww Hell NO !”
Her: “Aww Hell NO? I didnt think I had asked if u had been convicted for first degree murder !”
He: “Err.. No.. wht I meant to say was.. No.. I’m not seeing anyone.”
Her: “Hmmm.. strange. I was always under the impression that you’d be surrounded by a bevy of..”
He: “Wait Wait wait wait..hold up ! for starters, I am NOT Don Juan DeMarco.. contrary to what everyone else seems to think .. and YOU of all people should no better!”
Her: “Do I?”
He paused a moment… looking at his now empty soda glass and then looked up at her…
“All these years, I had always hoped that I would see you someday, somewhere and I always played out the scenario in my mind, thinking of all the right things to say, to tell you that I am sorry, that it was my fault that the whole situation got so bad. I was immature, for chrissakes I was only 21!! But yeah, I know I should have handled it better, and I didnt”. “In all this time, I did meet others, but I never met someone like you again. “With time i began to realise what a stupid jackass I had been for having let go of the one thing that mattered the most to me.” “I mean.. its not that I let go per se, but yeah, I could’ve handled the circumstances better, and I didnt”. “I always kept replaying the scenario whr we’d meet, over and over again, and at that time, I’d always think of something really smart to say to you, a funny joke, a wisecrack maybe, and I’d imagine that the ice would be broken, and that we’d pick up from where we left off, or atleast make a fresh start”. “But now, I really can’t think of the right words to say ! Even in my wildest scenario replays, and beleive me.. they were pretty wild, I hadn’t expected something like this. Over time, I began to think that I had lost you for good! I couldn’t get a hold of you through anyone that we both knew, ‘coz frankly, I lost touch with them too. And from what I saw, you were making a superhuman effort to try and stay as far away from me as possible.. you had totally blocked all my email addresses, so i didnt think that you would unblock them or something. And now, I see you here!! I hadn’t the slightest clue that it was you my cousin was referring about!”. ” I dunno @#$% (and at this, he felt a sudden rush or affection for her, as he was addressing her by a name which only he had used, to call her before. It was something which only the two of them shared. He saw that her eyes widened in response to hearing him address her that way, and a slight wry smile formed on her lips), I really am at a loss for words.. I don’t quite know what to say.”
“You’re at a loss for words.. you don’t quite know what to say”..”Do you still keep feeding people the same old crap about your not talking all that much ??” she asked, smiling broadly now. “But I really don’t talk all that much, do I?” he said. “Yeah well, I bet Shakespeare kept telling people he could’nt write for nuts. Speaking of which, you wanna grab something to eat? I’m starving! “. she said. They both laughed, and stood up to walk over to the food section. “Remind me to thank my cousin for this”, he said. She just smiled and as they walked, their hands slightly touched each other…. but neither of them pulled away.
He looked at her, and an overwhelming sense of relief mingled with happiness washed over him. He savored the moment; knowing that here , in this very place and time, he was doing the one thing he had really wanted to do in all these years. He never quite understood the circumstances that had led them to be so far out of touch with each other over the years, and he hadn’t quite made it up to her yet.. but this was as good a start as any. And as before, he knew that the possibilities, both for good and for bad, were endless. But unlike before, He knew.. somehow he just knew, that this time, he would not walk away.. he would not let go.
