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"Sorry Sir, the flight is delayed by two hours." The gate agent answered with an apologetic smile which faltered under the cold glare from the man before her. She momentarily looked down at the computer screen, but then looked up still feeling the glare.
"It is the weather, Sir."
His eyes automatically looked at the clear night sky of Bhopal.
"It is raining heavily in Mumbai. Runway has been shut down."
"What about other airlines?"
"Sir, all the flights going to Mumbai are on ground."
"Check. Again." His face refused to soften, instead she felt that it had gone harder.
"Yes, Sir." She talked with staff of other airlines.
The man waited his eyes strained at the inky black sky. As she talked, she surreptitiously eyed the man. He was dressed in a business suit, laptop bag on one shoulder and blackberry in hand. He looked tired. There weren't many flights at 9 o'clock at night and she had already informed all the flights going to Mumbai were on ground. When she informed him, he didn't utter a word, just turned around. He turned around so fast that his trolley bag couldn't handle the sudden jerk and it fell down. Letting out a low growl he picked up his bag and took a seat in the row next to the counter. His hand rubbed his forehead, as he recalled events of the day. A careless client had turned up late for a meeting which had resulted in him missing his 7:30 flight. His assistant Prasad had booked next available flight at 9 PM and now even that flight was delayed. He pulled out his laptop and starting reworking on the presentation that he needed for tomorrow's meeting; his fingers tapping hard. He was lost in the work and didn't pay any attention to groans of other passengers as they learned about the flight's fate.
"Roko...roko...I need to get in that flight. Roko." Someone rushed towards the gate.
"You are still boarding, right? Here, my boarding pass." The woman was out of breath and clutching side of her stomach. When the gate agent told her that the flight was delayed by two hours, she saw the first dazzling smile in her evening shift.
"Allah miyan, nothing is wrong with you." The girl mumbled looking up at the ceiling. "And, thank you. My flight to Bhopal was delayed then I messed up in reading the gate number. I was so sure that I was going to miss the flight. Oh..thank God, it is delayed. Allah miyan, kya right time pe baarish bheji hain. Thank you." She turned around happily talking.
"Ma'am, your boarding pass."
"Oh...right, thank you." She turned around and her purse strap slipped from her shoulder and got entangled in her bag handle. She pulled the strap and bag fell down. Before she could pick it up, someone helped her. She opened her mouth to say thanks, but it hung open seeing a pair of blazing eyes. Those blazing eyes froze as recognition dawned. Within a moment they registered shock and before his brain could process anything further, a 'thank you' was mumbled and the lady was gone.
She took a seat in the row behind him. After 3 years, she had stepped on Bhopal land. Should it be even called land of the city? It was airport something akin to no men's land. When she couldn't get a direct flight to Mumbai and only available flight from Delhi was via Bhopal, she had got a small smile on her face turning into an indifferent chuckle before she clicked "Book". It was not impossible to not meet him on the airport yet what were the odds? Same day...same flight and had the flight not been delayed, they would already be in their respective seats not knowing each other's existence in the same flight.
His attention was back on the laptop screen, but his fingers weren't moving on keyboard. His eyes hadn't followed her figure walking away. They were glued to the screen. Silence rang in his ears. All kind of emotions engulfed his heart and it beat erratically. With one deep breath, he got hold of himself and read the sentence on the current slide of the presentation. He added an adjective to emphasize the point that he needed to make. There...it read much better now. He took last quick look at the slide ready to move to the next one and his company's logo in the header caught his attention. At first glance it was a pillar, but a knowing eye would identify motif reminiscent of Mughal architecture. The pillar was in earthy colours set against a deep red background; the words 'Dilshaad Constructions' running around it like a vine. They had argued about colours to use in the logo 4 years ago, when he had ordered a revamp of his company's website on her insistence. She had taken charge of designing the new website. He clicked next and he was looking at another slide.
She was bent double in her seat to take a good look at the wheel of her bag that was again wobbling. It had been wobbling as far as she can remember. Every time it gave her a trouble, she decided that as soon as she got home, she would get it repaired. But, that never happened, as once she reached home, she forgot about it and the bag took its usual place in the store room never to be remembered till the next trip.
He had not made any changes on the next slide. All the numbers were right. Sentence structure was perfect. He had already read the last sentence thrice. He shook his head to get back his concentration and caught a glimpse of her from corner of his eyes. "That bag still has wobbly wheel! Really? After all these years?" He had fixed it the first time it caused problem. She was more than capable of fixing it on her own, but she had humoured the manly man in him and allowed him to fix it temporarily. He did not realize that he was no longer looking at her via corner of his eyes. His neck was slightly turned in her direction.
"Not even a 'hi'? No acknowledgment of my presence?" She sat straight after giving a temporary fix to the wheel. Her hand was raised to set her hair which was falling on her face as she was bending down. Then she saw his eyes on her. He immediately looked away. She also looked down for few seconds, but she could not stop herself from taking another glance and she found that he was also looking back. This time he didn't look away and gave a tiny nod. She gave a small smile. He turned around in his seat feeling light. She played with the strap of her purse. It was done. They had acknowledged each other.
He was back to staring at his screen. He had acknowledged her. Manners required that he did. So, what if they were no longer together? So what if once upon a time they were engaged to be married? So what if things had not worked out between them? Considerable about of time had passed. He had moved on and so had she. Not only moved on, but flourished in their new lives. Past had a place in past.
She looked around for a place to eat. She was feeling relaxed. The most awkward step in meeting an ex was done. They were not even acquaintances now. There was no need for any further communication. She was hungry. Delayed flight made sure that by the time she reached Mumbai, hotel room service hours would be over and she wouldn't get any dinner. She needed to eat something on the airport. She got up from her seat and walked towards the area where various eateries were located. Many of her fellow passengers had the same thought. Two hours was a long time. She had ordered a pizza and was now checking the selection of chips. She picked a packet of multigrain chips - something that she had learned to eat in his company and was now her own choice.
"Add this pack of chips and a water bottle to my order." She turned around to tell the person on the counter. She found that he was there checking out available options. He also turned around hearing her voice and both froze second time in less than 20 minutes of time. But, this time the shock didn't last long. Again, he gave a small nod and then placed his order of sandwich. Both waited for their orders to be ready. Both of them checking their cell phones and looking here and there like any two strangers. Suddenly she found him walking towards her. "What is he doing?"
"Errmm...could you please step aside? Water bottle..." He pointed behind her where water bottles were placed.
"Yh...sure." She moved. He grabbed a bottle and went back where he was standing before. Her order was ready. She took her pizza and found a seat on a high stool facing the runway. She had taken the first bite, when she heard another stool being moved. He was seated at a little distance.
"Had he done it purposefully? Or, not. His full attention is on his Blackberry." She thought. He looked up from his phone feeling her gaze and she was proven right. He had not done it purposefully. He just wanted a place for himself for a quiet dinner. They acknowledged each other the third time, this time with almost normal smiles. His eyebrows rose a little, when he saw pizza. Her eyes narrowed a little, when she saw his rising eyebrows. He had no right to tell her anything, so he just shrugged and took a bite of his sandwich. For next few minutes, both of them had their meal and looked into the dark sky which was calm before some time but had turned stormy now. It seemed it was going to rain in Bhopal, too.
"How are you?" She thought she should at least ask how he was.
His mouth was full, so he could not immediately answer and he was glad for it. He needed those few moments to compose himself. "I am good. How about you?" He asked opening his water bottle.
"Me, too. Good."
"Good." She took a large bite of her pizza and some sauce got on her finger and corner of her mouth. She had already used her paper napkin.
"Here you go." He stretched his hand to pass her paper napkins. Cleanliness freak that he was he always grabbed more than required.
"Thank you." She wiped her mouth.
"How is Am...Phuphi and Tamatar?" She asked and hoped that he didn't notice that she was about to call his mother 'Ammi' despite knowing that it was a false hope.
"They both are good."
"Good."
It was raining now. Water droplets were creating pattern on the glass before them. The glass that looked clean on first glance had a very fine layer of dust on it and the rain had started washing it away.
"You are in Bhopal for business? Or visiting someone?" He asked after few moments.
She had another bite in her mouth, so she vigorously nodded her head in denial. A hint of smile graced his lips watching her.
"No...no...," she hastily swallowed. "Bhopal is just a stopover point. I couldn't get a direct Delhi-Mumbai flight."
"So, she lives in Delhi now...," he thought.
"Meeting in Mumbai was finalized in the last two days and I wasn't left with many options of travel." She was talking.
"Company has opened a new branch in Mumbai recently and they have sent few of us to check out how things are going. Aaand...you don't need all those details." She shut up seeing him not paying any attention. He was lost in his thoughts.
"What? Yh...yh..." He just agreed trying to hide that she had lost him for a moment.
She smiled in her pizza slice seeing him like that. In general, he was an attentive person. It was rare for him to become lost during important conversation. She suddenly felt sad that their conversation was not that important to him anymore. He was just being polite, it seemed. She shrugged the next moment shirking of disappointment. It didn't matter anymore. She quietly chewed her Pizza for a while.
"Ammi missed you. Tamatar, too." He said in a soft voice.
She looked at the water droplets running down the glass not knowing how to answer him.
"Wait...what? Ammi missed me? As in past tense? Is she?" She turned to face him with a jerk.
"Huh...yh...she missed you. Wait...she is fine. Very much fine."
"Oh...thank God. For a second you got me thinking..."
"I meant to say that in earlier days...soon after...we..." He didn't complete the sentence as both of them knew the time he was referring to.
"I think they missed you later, too. They just became better in hiding it from me." He was also looking at the glass in from of them.
"Yh..."
"You could have kept in touch with them. Just because we...we...there was no need to cut them off. Tamatar was your friend." His tone had gone accusatory.
Her mouth hung open. He was blaming her. Again. She bristled for a moment and let out a breath.
"It doesn't work that way. A clean break was the need of the hour."
His jaws had gone tight because he knew that she was right. He took a swig of water.
"By the way, congratulations for the Aga Khan Foundation award." She changed topic. She had
read about it in newspaper two years ago and had felt proud of him despite everything.
"Thank you." He was pleasantly surprised to know that she knew and remembered it after two years.
She asked and so he talked about the project which had won him the prestigious award that celebrated achievement in Islamic architecture. He had always liked that she took an interest in his work and not only took an interest; she actually understood what he told her. Her pizza was done. His sandwich was eaten. In between the conversation, she tore the last piece of napkin in two and passed it to him to wipe his hands. She got a call from a colleague whom she informed about delayed flight. During that call he got up from his seat to throw away sandwich wrapper and out of an old habit picked her empty pizza box as well. She was on phone so she didn't pay attention. He didn't realize till he was throwing it in the trash can. What was he doing? Why was he slipping into old habits? He needed to get going. He came back to the place where they were sitting with intent of saying a good bye and leaving. She was done with her phone call. Just then wobbly wheel of her bag gave away and her bag fell. He immediately bent down and checked the wheel. He gave her an exasperated look as he tried to fix it. She looked sheepish.
"All these years? You couldn't get it repaired?"
When she was done feeling sheepish, she just shrugged. He concentrated on the errant wheel shaking his head. She just looked at him. She always found him adorable when he got all annoyed over small matters. There he was in suit and boot working on a tiny wheel of her bag. She got a smile on her face which faltered when she saw a gold band on his ring finger. With a horrible jolt in her stomach she looked away. What was she doing? She gulped down some water.
"Done. At least for now. You really need to get it repaired." He got up and went away to grab few more paper napkins to clean his hands.
He came back loosening his tie. He was relaxing.
He could be married or engaged. She had never done a Google search on him nor was he part of her social network, so she had no way of knowing.
"Tamatar is getting married." He was chatty now.
"Really? Apni tamatar? Wow...Congratulations...," She was genuinely happy for her.
"Date isn't fixed yet. Some day after next Eid." He talked about the boy that Tamatar had found for herself.
"Phuphi must be ecstatic."
"She is. She and Tamatar are busy planning. Ammi wants a grand wedding and then she keeps complaining about how she needs to do everything on her own. How I am a useless fellow when it comes to wedding preparations and how Tamatar being the bride cannot be stressed!" He said with a chuckle.
"So, there is no one else." She thought. "Then the ring?" She again looked at his hand. It was a simple gold band quite similar to what she had put on his finger. "Can it be? Is it? Can it be the same ring?" Their names were inscribed on the inside of the ring, but there was no way to know it without him taking it off, but why hadn't he taken it off? She remembered that he used to wear a ring on another finger. After their engagement, he just wore his engagement ring. Was it out of habit? Or to keep unnecessary attention away? What did it mean? Or, it didn't mean anything. She was reading too much into it. She looked at her own empty ring finger. She had taken off her ring immediately. He had surreptitiously checked her hands as soon as they were in his sight.
She forced herself to concentrate on the news of Tamatar's upcoming wedding. She wanted to know who was the groom, how they met, how her overprotective brother approved and he shared. He easily shared. He had taken off his coat and it was lying on the table. She had pulled her stool closer to his. She made a joke and laughed on her own joke and he joined.
"Shh...I think this announcement is for our flight." He signed her to keep quite by putting a finger on his lips.
The flight was to depart in half an hour. Runway had opened in Mumbai. It was raining steadily in Bhopal.
"Half an hour..." He said.
"Yh..." She said and for a brief moment their eyes locked. He looked away first clearing his throat.
"I think we should get going now." She said getting up from her seat.
"Yh..." He also got up collecting his coat and his bags.
It was raining heavily and it had washed away all the dirt on the glass.
Both of them silently walked towards the gate. They took seats next to each other and waited for boarding to start. They didn't talk any more. Minutes were slipping away. She was feeling thirsty and her water bottle was empty. She got up to get another one.
"Where are you going? Boarding starts soon."
"I will get water."
"Here, have this." He gave her his half-empty bottle.
She hesitated for a moment but then she took it and drank water from it.
"Thank you," She said giving it back to him.
His being a business class ticket, he was called first for boarding.
"Bye." He softly said getting up.
"Bye." She said smiling.
He took a small step towards the gate and then turned around.
"Is your company car coming to pick you up on Mumbai airport? It is going to be past midnight when we reach there."
"No. I will take a cab."
"I can drop you at your hotel. My car will come to pick me up."
"Thanks. But, there is no need. This is not the first time that I will be taking a cab at night."
"But, my car is going to be there."
"Yh...but I do not need it."
"But..."
"No..buts..."
"Bahot ziddi ho..."
"Aur tum kuchh kam ho?"
He smiled. She also smiled. This felt too much like old times. Both of them looked away thinking the same thought.
"I will drop you. That is final." He said before he turned and walked away.
"I said no." She said with flailing hands. He kept walking.
"Argh...infuriating man." But, a part of her liked how protective he was!
When she boarded the plane, she stopped near the business class seat where he was sitting to tell him that she didn't need his car. He just said that she was blocking way of other passengers and she needed to move. And, he was right on this point. She had to move.
He got a call from his mother asking if he had reached Mumbai.
"Ammi, flight delay ho gayi thi. Abhi board kiya hain."
"Cancel nahi, Ammi. It was just delayed."
She got a call from her sister who was frantic as she hadn't reached Mumbai yet. One of her colleague who didn't know about delayed flight had called her home.
"Aapi, maine flight miss nahi ki. Main pahonch gayi thi. Flight was delayed. Delayed. That's it!"
Soon the flight took off.
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Another OS!
Tried something different from the one shots that I have written so far.
This is something that resided in my hard drive for the longest time, half-written. Tonight it started raining heavily and I thought now I need to finish this one. So, here it is!
Edited: There has been a general demand for the next part, but dear readers, I thought of it is a one shot. Yes, it is like a middle of something that has a beginning and an end elsewhere, and yet this one has a beginning, a middle and an end of its own. I just haven't thought the background story nor any future story for this one. This is what it is! And, hope is eternal. I like happy endings and it is already here. To cut the story short, this is it. It is a one shot.
Cricket
Kumkum Bhagya
Tum Se Tum Tak
Sampoorna
Jhanak
