"And then I thought of letting it go. It doesn't matters much in my life now", she continued.
"Hmm,..",he nodded.
After silence of a minute or two, he parked the car under tree shade along the roadside. It was 3:18 pm and everything was quiet lousy and sunny there on the road.In sometime she would be leaving for her home.
"Errr.....",he looked at her, then at the gear stick.
With a bit lost expressions, he projected as if thinking of something very deep.
This sudden stoppage was confusing for her. She had just ended up with some complaints regarding some senior back at college when he decided to pull up the car by the roadside.
"Emm........I...... want.... to do something",he finally spoke.
Now these were quiet alarming words for her !
Do something! In the middle of the road!
At this point of hour! Really? What?
What could he be up-to? Is he insane or what!
What could that something be! What?
And what should be her reaction to that?
Numerous thoughts crowded her mind at once.
Unable to speak, she just smiled, out of confusion, fear and a variety of mixed feelings.
She just didn't know what to say!
"Emm....what? What...is it that you want to do?", she said, trying to read his face.
"Emm.....It's just something....Emm...That I want to do. Emmm...I hope you won't get angry or slap me or something!", he was stumbling at every word. Eyes traveling between the gear stick and the stereo system. He looked Cute !
Now the whole thing was getting more mysterious.
"What is it!", she wanted to yell, but words just wont come out!
"Emmm...I hope you will like it. You just wait here in the car. I will come in a few minutes.", he finally looked up and said.
"You want to go! Leaving me behind in the middle of the road, alone in the car! No ways", she said to him in her mind.
"Hmm..Okay, but where are you going? What is it? You can tell me na.",the hesitation to let him go could clearly be seen out in her voice.
"Just five minutes work it is, you just don't get angry or slap for what I am going to do", he said.
"Why would I do that? Now you are making me more angry by saying all this again and again.", she replied.
"Okay, slap me then", and he presented his cheek to her!
"Arre, I am not going to slap you",she laughed," Go and come fast".
He immediately got out of the car.
Earlier that day, they had gone to see RA.One. Neither a hit nor a flop but watching Shah Rukh Khan on that big screen was in itself a big treat for the two of them, both being SRK's fans! He just looked too cute every-time when his robot version would smile that crooked smile to Kareena, do silly action sequences, dance to the beats of Akon's Chamak Challo song, walk in attitude in that song or quoet quotes in his totally enticing voice!, at-least for her. Shah Rukh is simply the best! It was his birthday today! After the movie they also had a delicious lunch at Sagar Ratna, one of the best vegetarian food chain of restaurants.
Day has been so good for her so far, and everything that they had planned for the day had been executed successfully, hence she was unable to understand what could be left now for him to go like this.
With increasing heartbeats per second, she watched as he left. But surprisingly, she saw him struggling inside the back of the car for something, in the side mirror.
What could he be possibly doing in that? She could hear some plastic bags moving, but he had already presented her a biggg Birthday greeting card and had also given her a gift, so now what was left!
"Should I get out and see what he's up-to? Or let him return and do whatever he had planned", she thought and turned to look back while being seated in the front of the car.
But she remained seated. Nervous, tensed, happy, curious, to know what it could be!
He came, after some 5 minutes, holding a big square box in his hand. Coming on-to her side of the car,he opened the door,"Happy Birthday", he said smiling and handed over the box to her.
A Birthday cake, it was !
Chocolate cake,her favorite.
"Where do you wanna cut, inside or outside the car?",he smiled and asked.
She was in a state of shock.Hence came no answer. This was the least she had expected today! He got inside the car, opened the box and took out a lighter he had brought only for lighting a candle on the cake. It was all like a dream going on for her. She just sat there, watching things happening, supervising the opening of the box, placing the candle on the cake and administrating the careful lighting of the candle by him. Poor girl was too shocked to enjoy the awesomeness of that beautiful moment!
"I don't smoke okay, I just had this lighter from one of my friend",he joked lighting the candle.
Handing her the knife, he then said,"Come-on, now put off the candlelight's and cut the cake".
"But this is so not done", stupid she, other than cutting the beautiful surprise she was still in the shock of the appearance of the cake like this.
"Oh come-on, cut the cake", he said.
"Happy Birthday to You...Happy Birthday to You....Happy Birthday to Dear....", and he sang the whole song for her while she cut down a piece of cake for him.
A piece for him and then a piece for her was cut from the cake.
"But when did you bring the cake? You were with me only",she asked having the cake.
"Err.., remember, today morning when I left you at that point outside that society, asking you to wait there as I had to go one of my uncle's home to collect something...err..I actually had gone to buy this cake and not to collect something from someone", he answered, smilingly.
She was about to leave for home after few minutes,before coming to this roadside point, and during the whole drive from the restaurant to this point all that was going inside her was, "Why do I have such time constraints on me", and now after all this, she simply didn't want to leave. But then she had to leave and he dropped her at the bus stand. She left in all that confusing, shocked and sad state that the thing she had got for him, she placed it on the dashboard rather than giving it to him herself. Neither did she look at him once. She got onto the bus to her home and during the whole journey, all she was thinking of, was about that beautiful lie!
