You and I, plus 2 years of marriage!

BREAK THE RULES
{1}

Rutva outstretched her arms and let out a yawn. Once again she took a look at the design and smiled in quiet satisfaction. She rolled up her design sheet and put back her design tools into the bag. She had just completed designing a villa for one of her clients. Making someone’s dream come true was the best part of being an architect. Although she was exhausted, her mind was jumping with excitement of having created a unique design. It was already late in the night and she had to wake up early every morning to reach office on time. Before going to bed, she enabled the internet connection on her smartphone and checked the WhatsApp messages that she had received. One of them caught her attention and she immediately tapped on it.

Partha [23.30]: Let’s meet tomorrow.

She frowned and quickly sent a reply.

Rutva [00.17]: What happened?

There was no reply for a couple of minutes. She was guessing the numerous reasons for the emergency behind his message. The last time they met each other was about four months ago. Her screen lit up indicating the received message.

Partha [00.20]: I thought you had slept. Why are you still awake? Can we meet tomorrow?

She let out a sigh.

What are you up to?!! I am certain you are entangled in some mess.

Rutva [00.22]: Alright. Where?

Partha [00.22]: Toit at 8

Rutva [00.23]: Done. Be at my office by 7.30. Kiran is mine for tomorrow ;)

There was no reply for a few seconds. A mischievous smile played around her lips. She knew that her demand was not easily acceptable for him.

Partha [00.24]: K

Rutva grinned at his reply. No matter how serious the matter at hand was, she was elated to see her demand being fulfilled.

Rutva [00.25]: J J J

There was no reply from him. Her eyebrows once again knotted into a frown. She could easily guess that something was terribly wrong with him.

Rutva [00.27]: What’s wrong Puttu?

Partha [00.28]: Hmmm

That reply of his always irritated her. He said that only when he wanted to avoid speaking about something.

Rutva [00.29]: You better give me a straight answer. I am already sleep-starved!

Partha [00.30]: Nothing Ru. You sleep. We can talk tomorrow.

She let out a tired sigh.

You have given me no choice, buddy. We have to talk tomorrow!

Rutva [00.31]: Okay. Sleep well. Good night and sweet dreams J

Partha [00.31]: Good night.

She disabled the internet connection on her phone and switched off the light in her room. Lying on her bed, she closed her eyes but her thoughts once again went back to Partha. She kept wondering about what might have happened that he wanted to meet her at such a short notice, but gave up soon and fell asleep.

Partha and Rutva had been friends since their childhood. They had been neighbours until both of them turned 15. Later her family had shifted to another part of the city. Despite that, they continued to stay in touch and were best friends forever. Both of them graduated last year and were placed in good companies through campus recruitment. She was an architect and he was a software engineer. Until a couple of years ago they texted almost every other day and consulted each other before making any silly or crucial decision in their life. Although they could not meet often, whenever they saw each other it did not take long for them to pick up from the place where they had left the previous time. It was as if no time had lapsed in between. Yet assignments, exams, work, commitments, love, life – everything had played a vital role in keeping them away from spending time with each other like they used to during their childhood. Instead of cribbing about it, they accepted the reality and moved on in life. Despite all this, they were very well aware of the simple truth that when they needed, their best friend was just a call away…

Rutva quickly completed her work and informed her Manager that she would have to leave early today. She was giving the final touches to her design when Partha called.

‘Hello, where are you?’ she asked picking up her bag.

‘I am outside the gate,’ he replied.

‘I am coming in five minutes,’ she said and disconnected the call. She bade her colleagues goodbye and hurried to the entrance. He was leaning against his bike and looking at his phone. Hearing her footsteps he looked up and gave her a broad smile. She grinned back at him and waved her hand.

‘Hey Puttu!’

She raised her right hand and locked it with his, resembling the posture of arm wrestlers. This was their traditional way of greeting each other.

‘Not bad! You have managed to leave work early,’ he said raising an eyebrow in surprise.

‘I had already informed my Boss about it. He is a really sweet person,’ she said shrugging.

‘Now come on, give me the key,’ she demanded outstretching her hand. Partha looked at his bike in longing and reluctantly gave her the key. She handed him her backpack.

‘I hope you haven’t forgotten to carry your license. Please take care of my Kiran, she means a lot to me.’

Rutva narrowed her eyes at him.

‘I have my license. Moreover, Kiran is mine for the day and I know how to handle him. You stay out of this!’ she said defiantly. He simply shook his head and slipped out of his leather jacket. She wore his jacket and put on the helmet. He slid his arms through the slings of her backpack. They both mounted the bike and she rode the navy blue Pulsar 220cc with ease. Partha was fiercely possessive about his bike but he did not mind sharing it with her. They both had together chosen the bike after much debate and research. As a boy, he was a huge fan of the Shah Rukh Khan song – ‘Tu hai meri Kiran’! So when they decided to name the bike, Kiran was the obvious choice. For him, Kiran was his lady love while she considered Kiran as her sturdy boyfriend. He allowed her to ride his bike only because he knew that she loved it as much as him.

At 8.04 pm, they reached the pub restaurant Toit. It would have been a journey of an hour or more but Partha had guided her through all possible shortcuts to avoid the peak hour traffic. Along the way they had a casual banter about work and friends. They entered the huge restaurant and found themselves a table for two in the corner. There was Jazz music being played in the background but the volume was low. He ordered for a mug of beer as usual. She scanned through the range of mocktails and ordered the one which had a very peculiar name.

‘Tam Brahm, thank you Mam and one chicken pizza,’ she said politely to the waiter. Once the waiter left, Partha let out his suppressed laugh.

‘What on earth have you ordered? It sounds so funny.’

‘I am not afraid to experiment. Let’s see how it tastes,’ she said winking at him. Then she decided to come straight to the issue at hand without beating around the bush.

Rutva: What is the matter?

Partha [looks away]: …

Rutva: Is it something to do with your job?

Partha: ….

Rutva: Your parents?

Partha: …

Rutva: Harini?

Partha: …

Rutva [throwing up her hands]: Then, what is your problem?

Partha [staring into her eyes]: All the three!

She blinked at him in bewilderment.

We are doomed!

                                      To be continued...