Whatever

It was well past midnight, and he was falling asleep. Lying on his stomach with his right arm dangling and touching the floor, hair falling on his eyes and the crumpled white bedsheet covering his bare bum and legs, he looked every bit the cute boy you'd want to cuddle up with on a cold sunday afternoon in December.

The Bob Dylan cd was on loop and playing for the endless time that evening. He didn't mind it though. The volume was very low, and the songs were all his favorite anyway.. the kind that lull you into peaceful sleep in no time.

He was tired of waiting. They'd done it twice over and he was hoping he'd be ready for a third time soon. If only she would finish her shower soon. He frowned. Women were beyond him; why they needed to shower at 12.30 in the night, he could just didn't get. But then they smelled so good. He smiled and decided it was worth the wait; what choice did he have anyway? He felt hungry too. The pasta had been great but not enough. He'd had to share it with her, though he didn't mind that. Who would, when it yielded such rich rewards?

He could hear the sound of water and see little steamy wisps escaping from under the door. He imagined her in there, wrapped in a cloud of steam and bubbles and fragrances. He let his mind wander.

The sound of water stopped. She'd finished her shower. He opened his eyes and raised them towards the bathroom door, anticipating.

A clicking sound of the door opening.

A beep of his cell-phone, announcing a text message.

She opened the bathroom door and stood there with a thousand droplets on her body and a sultry smile on her lips. She saw the phone in his hands and rolled her eyes. He looked at her and shrugged as he raised himself and sat kneeling on the bed.

"Just landed..." the text began. There was more but he had no time to read it. She'd walked upto him, and taken the phone from him and tossed it aside. She looked like she meant business, and he willingly gave in. She was the boss after all. At work and in their dirty little games. The exhaustion was gone, the sleep had vanished. It was time for a third time, he was ready.

* * *

Fog had delayed all flights, and hers was late by 2 hrs. It was nearly 1 in the night by the time she finally landed and got to the baggage claim. She cursed herself for having checked in the bag, because it was now going to take so long to arrive.

She was tired. It had been a long day. She'd gone to work in the morning, taken the sick aunt to the hospital in the afternoon and then gone shopping for some books and music that she'd been planning to buy for a while. And after that she'd gone back to the apartment, tidied up things and cooked. She was sad she'd to leave without seeing him another time, but then she knew couldn't have waited till he returned from work. He was really busy these days, but it was only a matter of a few more months. He had to just make his mark in his new job, and for that he had to slog it out for some more time. Already his boss was very impressed with him and had indicated that he was going to go places. Yes it meant a lot of long hours, but he had to do that. Soon he'd get his promotion and raise, and probably a deputation abroad. They'd get married and start their lives together.

Someone bumped into her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She realized she'd been smiling away, and became conscious of a few people looking at her strangely. She felt stupid, but happy still. I'm the luckiest girl alive, she thought, and they can see my happiness.

Must talk to Mom and ask her if all arrangements can be done in three months. It would be the wedding season, and there was going to a mad rush for everything - the venues, the caterers, the flower guys... everything. She just had to have the most perfect wedding. They'd waited for years after all.

Her bag arrived. She picked it up from the conveyer belt and put it on the cart. Another 20 minutes and she was in the cab, speeding towards home that was at least 45 minutes away.

The thoughts came back. Actually they seemed to have taken over her mind completely for the last few weeks. Ever since he'd mentioned to her that he was thinking seriously about life and love and her role in his life. And that he wanted to change the nature of their relationship. She grinned.

She remembered she'd switched on her mobile soon after landing. She fished in her bag and took it out now, and clicked on 'write message', and typed:

"Just landed... got delayed. Hope u liked t Bob Dylan cd & yr fav penne arabiata i made 4 u & left in t micro. Last night was fantastic. same magic as we had 5 yrs ago. Love you so much, u're da best."

And she thanked the angels for letting her find true love, and said a silent prayer for a lifetime of happiness with him.