Men will be men - a short story

Men will be men


Today as always Kushal came to office and started his work. He had moved from Chicago to Bentonville just a couple of days back. He was getting to know the place and new colleagues. He was well aware of the huge amount of work that was going to be there in the project.
Like most of the times, even today he had a tiny tiff with his wife Jui. Though a little tense after reaching office, he emerged himself in his work and thought of trying to forget home issues till evening.

After lunch while he was sitting by his desk, he heard a familiar and very peculiar laughter from a distance. At first he ignored, but when again he heard it, he casually got up and started looking around trying to find from which side the laugh was coming. He walked a bit further and there were two women sitting. The one with the peculiar laughter sat with his back towards him. But she suddenly turned around.

Kushal could not believe his eyes. It was...it was Shonali!
“Yes, it is Shonali”, he thought excitingly.

“Hey Kushal!” said a equally surprised Shonali.

“H..Hi Shonali!” stammered Kushal. Words were not coming from his mouth. But he tried to speak. It was the same Shonali he had a crush on when they worked together back in India. Oh, those were the days. But he just couldn’t talk to her then and now too. How he wished he was bold enough to ask her out some day!

“How have you been?” asked Shonali.

“I’m good,” he replied. “In fact better...after seeing you”, he thought.

“When did you come here?”

“I just moved for Chicago last week.”

“Oh thats why I’d never seen you around.”

“How about you?”

“Well, I’ve been here for the past 3 years.”

“Now its my chance to say wow”.

Both laugh and so does the lady standing next to Shonali.

There is an awkward silence for a few seconds.

“Its been a long time since we met,” Shonali started the conversation again. “After I quit Infotek, I joined Digital Informations in Bangalore and they sent me here on a project.”

“Thats good. I’m still working for Infotek.”

“Kushal...can you tell me where’s your desk? I just have to take some backup and I’ll be out and running.”

“Oh sure, of course. Thats my cubicle there,” said Kushal pointing towards his desk. “Do stop by.”

“I’ll be there in sometime.”

“Okay” said Kushal and started walking to his desk. “Be sure to stop by,” he said turning around.

Shonali showed him a thumbs up.

As Kushal walked towards his desk, emotions, memories poured in his head.
He thought, “Shonali is here! I can’t believe it!! I was so much in love with her back then. She’s still the same beautiful, simple lady. Now after so many years she and I will be in the same office. Yippee!!” He starts dancing in his thoughts. As he thinks, animated clouds of various thoughts form in his mind. He stares at his computer screen.
“I will not let her out of my life now. Its destined that we come back together. Did she have a mangalsutra in her neck? I didn’t notice anything in her neck. Maybe she’s still single. Should I tell her I’m married? Yes, I will tell her. No, no orelse she will distance me from her. But if she has the same feelings like I do, I will tell Jui I no longer want to stay with her.” In his thoughts, Jui breaks his head with a rolling pin. Kushal shudders. “Whatever may come. I will be with Shonali. Yes this is destiny. God knew my love for Shonali was true, so he sent me here. I will marry her and make my life happy.” The thought clouds floated in his mind, Shonali coming running in his arms, he putting a wedding garland around her neck. He smiled at the thought.

Just then Shonali tapped on his shoulder and Kushal came back to his senses. He first viewed her neck. “Yes!! no mangalsutra, no thaali! She’s not yet married,” he thought happily.
He smiled at her. A sense of victory smile.

“How long have you been in US?” Shonali asked.

“Its more than a year now. You know Infotek. They really make us desperate to seek an onsite project.”

“Yes. That was one of the reasons why I quit.”

“Good move.”

“You know what, I have to leave now.”

“Oh, so soon?”

“Yes. We are meeting late actually.”

There was a question mark on Kushal’s face.

“I quit my job and am out of this project now. Todays my last day at work.”

The happy thought cloud burst in pieces in Kushals mind. His smile vanished.

“Really?” he asked unbelievingly.

“Hmm. I’m moving to Tampa tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

“Mind if you walk me to the door?”

“Sure,” replied Kushal, not being so sure.

“I was quite bored with this project and was looking for a change, when Suraj searched this new project for me.”

“S-Suraj?”

“My fiance`. I just forgot to tell you about him! I’m getting married next month in India.”

“Co-Congratulations.” The next marriage thought cloud popped in his mind and then he noticed the engagement ring in her finger.

“Thank you.”

Shonali opened the door with her badge. “There he is!” she said pointing out at the blue car that was waiting for her. “He’s from Mumbai and now settled in Tampa. We met online through a friend. I’m so happy to be with him. Yay!”

“Wow. Thats nice,” said Kushal with a slight smile.

“It was nice catching up with you again. I’ll be touch with you. I’ll get your email id from my friend and send you the wedding invitation.”

“Sure... sure thing.”

“See you then. Take care,” said Shonali, as she shook her hand with Kushal.
He half-heartedly shook her hand. She then sat in the car next to Suraj and they both waved at him and drove into the sunset.

Kushal looked as their car went and from his thought cloud he got another bang on his head by Jui. “Come home for garam rotis and sabji,” Jui said in his mind. He came back to his senses and smiled back into the office, imagining all his thought clouds vanishing in thin air.

THE END.