The next day at the office her boss
called her in and offered her an assignment overseas. Excited and nervous of the opportunity she
promised to let him know of her decision soon.
Convincing herself to move so far away from her childhood home and her
family would be the first step, harder would be to take her parents’
permission.
At dinner that evening, the
discussion became heated. While they
were trying very hard to tie her down to a home with a family of her own, she
was proposing the complete opposite. Her
biological clock was ticking, they reminded her and she will be lonely and
vulnerable without a man by her side.
She listened to their reason and offered a few of her own. She had no desire to “settle down” and did
not need to be married to find happiness or fulfillment or to live even.
With much tears and scowls, her
family bid her goodbye as she relocated to start her new life away from
them. She woke in her new home, far away
to the overwhelming sound of silence.
The absence of the chimes of temple bells and call for prayers in the early
mornings sank her heart. She grabbed a
bite to eat every evening surrounded by empty chairs in her studio apartment
and as the weeks turned to months, she abandoned the idea of dining at home. Every evening after a long and fulfilling day
at work, she took herself to a cozy café close to her home. There she enjoyed a meal surrounded by
ambient sounds of fellow patrons, the lull of quiet conversations in different
booths, the cling of silverware, the shouts of orders from servers to the
kitchen. Gradually, she began to feel
less homesick and looked forward to her evenings, eager to observe yet another
scene unfolding at a table or overhear a conversation at a booth close to hers.
One day she discovered that she was
the object of observation. A young man
sat at a table not far from her designated booth, his eyes half on the
newspaper he held and half on her. When
his coffee came, he picked it up and sauntered to her table. With a smile he asked if can join her. Mesmerized by his sparkling eyes, she nodded
and he slipped into the seat across from her.
Apparently, he had started to come to the café regularly a few weeks ago
during his visit to the city on business, which had become weekly trips. He had begun to notice her come in every
evening, sit in the same booth and what caught his attention was the loneliness
in her eyes. He had been trying to
muster enough courage to come to her for several days, give her company, and
perhaps share a meal. He understood how
she felt, he came from a large family and meal times were special together.
Sheela found a friend in the big
city to dine with everyday who over time became more. His assignment became longer and trips to the
city more frequent until, eventually he was permanently transferred to the
city. Soon they began to eat together at
home, taking turns to host and friendship evolved into love. Time came for Sheela to return home to her
parents for a visit, and with much anxiety she flew back alone. She knew the pressure was coming and they had
a binder full of men for her to peruse.
Hardly having arrived home from the
airport, her mother started the age old topic.
Sheela rolled her eyes as if she were a teenager again, hurt that no one
seemed interested in her success at work, her new lifestyle in the new land,
friendships she had formed. Frustrated
and perhaps her heart coaxed her also, she informed them of her special
friend. Immediately, details were
demanded, background needed to be checked, his family needed to be met, and
before Sheela saw a wave gushing towards her, she was riding it, and surfing it
even with an acrobatic standard balancing act.
The engagement party was grand and groom-less. Family members strutted about with smiles that
extended ear to ear. She played the role
of blushing bride-to-be and returned to her city complete.
THE END
