Part 2:
Mayank rushed back to his hotel after the conference, hoping and praying there would be a reply from Nupur.
Nupur Bushan. A lethal combination of beauty and brains. But how was he to tell her that he wasn't ready for marriage? That this entire arranged marriage thing was just an awkward setup on his mom's part because she heard of a single girl. I have to do something about that.
Inbox(1) Quickly clicking the message, he began to read.
Wow! That was NOT boring at all. I mean a Ph.D and you're 26?! That's like amazing, and definitely more than I could ever do in a lifetime. And WOWOW. Hawaii! For a conference?
I bet you go on these tours a lot.. Are they all boring or do you like get a chance to chill, sight see, check out the beaches and the beautiful girls? ;-)
Hm. I guess I should tell you more about myself now. Let's see, people say I'm really friendly, and loud. My friends think I never shut up!
I want to go into pediatric oncology in the future. And no, I'm not a depressed person. It's just that I would love to save the lives of little children. Make a difference in the world.
I love Mexican Food, but can't cook! (oops, should I be telling you that, considering you're like a prospective groom and whatnot? My mom would kill me if she found out LOL)
Wait, actually, I think I should even add this before we continue this conversation. I don't know if I should be telling you this, but I'm honestly not too keen on this entire getting married business, especially the arranged way.
I mean I would love for us to be friends and then see where this goes, if that makes sense.
I hope I haven't hurt you in any way. And if this isn't what you want, then I guess we should end this with this message. I'll understand if you stop replying to me.
Hoping to hear from you again,
Nupur Bhushan.
The grin on Mayank's face grew wider and wider as he read through the message. And it was the widest of all at the end of it. Yes! This girl didn't want to get married either. How much more perfect could this possibly get?! And damnn. She read his mind. He too wanted to just begin as friends and then if by chance the friendship developed into something else, well then so be it.
And so he quickly set about writing a response:
Wow, am I glad to hear that! I'm not too keen on the entire arranged marriage idea either. I mean we can't possibly get married without knowing anything about the other person. So I agree. I think we should become friends and remain friends.
Hey! That should be like a +1 for each of us =P.
And now, responding to your actual message. Thanks so much! I really love Biochemistry so it was just something fun for me. Studying is way too much a part of my life.
And Hawaii is awesome, but definitely not awesome for a conference. Girls?! We don't even get to step out of the hotel for more than like 3 hours. And at the end of the day, we're too tired to go and chill on the beaches.
But another time, I'll definitely come down to Hawaii just for the vacation aspect, and maybe that time, you can join me too!
And WOW. I don't thikn you're depressed at all for choosing Pediatric Oncology. It seems so damn fascinating as a profession. And I respect you so much for being able to even deal with kids in such scary situation.
Kudos!
And as for the food, Mexican is awesome! And I love cooking, even though I might not be that great at it. Taco Bell or Chipotle? What's your pick? And only the right answer will get me to respond to your next email 😆
Don't worry about it, I won't hold your cooking skills against you. Nor will I tell your mom that you told me that you can't cook. But that now requires you having to cook for me, at some point 😉
Anyways, go through some of my pictures. I have an album labeled Hawaii and some from my other tours to California, India, and France. You might like them 😃
-Mayank
PS: Would it be too weird if I asked you for your number this soon? I really think I would like talking to you.
*****
Nupur was attempting to study some diseases but her thoughts kept diverting back to Mayank, and whether or not he would respond. It had already been over ten hours since she had messaged him, and he still hadn't responded.
"It's ok Nupur, maybe he's just caught up with some work at the conference, and he was too busy to respond to your message then. But he'll surely respond soon..." she told herself.
Wait! Why do I care so much if he responds or not anyways? Am I...am I LIKING HIM?! Oh god. Oh god no. That would be so weird. And I barely know him for heaven's sake!
But he seems so nice, and he's smart and quite cute. My little Mr. Ph.D. She smiled to herself, completely lost in the thoughts of the man who she had never ever met even once before in her life.
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