Single & Ready to Mingle- Part 1

Dedicated to all the girls looking for love...And to all the not-so-right boys.

In a mind that is as dilapidated as a cement covered building of our rural landscape, sits a dust covered table, full of mismatched ideas, unreasoned lust and unfulfilled dreams. From the to-do list which has now extended to the foot of the table, lies a pumping desire to find true love with some sense and a trust fund.

And as time approached her, this desire took her mind and her mouth.



Wherever she went, whenever she spoke, she spoke of the upcoming attraction of the week. Trained in cooking, china patterns and threading, she was all set to tread the following path carefully.The path that intersected with her parent's desires and society's conventions...She decided to go for an arranged meeting set up with a boy she hadn't heard of.



When her friends ask her his name, she said she didn't bother to ask. She always had a habit of judging too quickly....After a nasty betrayal by the boy she had loved for six years, she had survived-brutally battered with a medical condition lasting a lifetime, she survived. Thankful to her carefully knit circle of friends and work, she managed to keep herself busy.



After two years, she had decided to meet a boy set up by an aunt. After a week of re-scheduling, they meet in Hyatt Hotel, a location decided by the potential boy-to-be. As she is carefully guided by friends and parents who know her too well to just give this boy a chance. So she dresses casually yet carefully nudging her mind to stay in it's dusty dilapidated state.



Far from a gush of an adrenaline running through her veins, a bunch of butterflies take over her stomach, she can't help herself in thinking how this might be interesting guy...Sensible yet sensitive, practical yet emotional, a decent personality and a bank balance minus any qualms about his golden status.



Calm...confident...Definately suave...



She pauses on her daydream as a balding man who looks like he is almost thirty wearing a suit made of velvet and an open buttoned shirt approaching her table.

'Oh god, there must be a mistake' she thinks to herself. But as God suddenly got back his sense of humour, he is the guy she is here to meet.



She is barely able to re-group as she fake smiles her way through and pretends to look for blends of coffee. As there is definite screaming in her head, he breaks the silence by asking her if she's ever been to Hyatt. When she says only twice, he takes an opportunity to rub in how cool he is about coming to a posh five star restaurant twice a week. From how many times she has gone "abroad" to how he thinks gold is the new platinum.



As she subtly puts the idea of the right guy back on the torn sheet of paper, the one cup of cafe latte' doesn't seem to finish and neither does he...From telling her how rich people go to the UK for post graduation to subtly asking how much she makes a month...Thoughts like sexy, suave and subtle make her kick the coffee table.



Ending his monologue with another fake smile, he waves at the waiter asking for the bill certifying money well wasted. Despite his exaggerated excerpts about his import-export business, she decides to pay for her half finished coffee and his much needed cup of green tea.

"Oh no no how can I let you pay" he says..."It's really all right"- she replies. Reeking of put on humility, he decides to dutch.



Letting her pay a few hundreds, he decides to ask her for his half.



Real subtle.



As she drags her bottom and steps into her car, she is thankful for the not-so-happy ending, breathless at the long journey that was coming her way.