Sunday Story "Swiping for Shaadi" Episode 5 - The first meet-cute?

 “Okay, you said okay. Just like that.” Sid gulped his coffee, gazing at Anjali in disbelief.

“I will go and check the guy. I am not gonna marry him, don’t worry. Hey, you were the one who convinced me days back to check out for guys.” Anjali took a sip of her black coffee and answered him intently.

“Yup. I told you. But what will you do then…meet the guy…Are you excited? Are you nervous?’ He winked, and she sought the whole idea. He would keep pulling her leg every moment then. 👦

“I don’t have any emotions. I’m respecting my father’s decision and will meet the guy with due respect.” She pursed her lips, not knowing her appropriate answer to his list of questions.

“Good luck, buddy!” (Another old-fashioned youngster’s greeting)

                                                                                                                   -x-

Anjali checked the pocket mirror she had purchased on her solo Jaipur backpacking trip for the umpteenth time and exclaimed to herself, “Unbelievable! I have not groomed even for Varun before.”

She wasn’t excited to meet the first proposal but was surely nervous. It seemed like a modern blind date, but her father was on the call, so it couldn’t be counted as something adventurous.

“Beta, check his accent. Premji mentioned that his family is from Agra, but we need to confirm his roots. Also, ask him passively about his salary package and the perks his corporate office provides. It should be definitely more than yours.”

“Papa, shall I have you on the video call? You can talk to him directly about his salary, property, job position, and perks.” She tried to be sarcastic over her father’s instructions, but he flatly ignored them.

“Let me know how it goes.” He mumbled sternly, giving Anjali the lead.

Her first would-be guy, Shiven, 👩‍💻appeared out of nowhere and slumped on the chair in front of her at the Hotel Paradise Inn, Bandra.

“Sorry, I hope you weren’t waiting for long. I was stuck in the traffic; you know about Mumbai traffic na.” He cracked a common joke, to which Anjali nodded with a broad grin on her face. Though she had no intention of getting married to him or anytime sooner to any guy, she showed no disrespect towards him. She listened to his talks with great interest and even explained to him about her likes and job profile.

“So, you love to travel and do photography? Even though I love it, I hardly have time to go after my dreams. Do you want to continue after your marriage?” He asked her easily. So, it was not ‘our marriage’ but ‘your marriage.’ It delivered a soothing message to Anjali that she didn’t have to worry about him anymore. He wasn’t quite interested in her marriage proposal, and for him, that evening seemed like a harmless blind date with a girl in Mumbai.

“Of course, I will continue it as long as I enjoy doing it. There is no specific time-bound goal, you know,” she responded without any concerns.

They loved talking to each other but didn’t fall for each other at all. Wow! That was not stressful at all for her, she thought to herself. I am okay with such blind dates in the future, just to get to know new people and how they had been doing in their lives.

When she returned home, her father immediately called her up and asked, “So, how did it go?”

She answered with a toothy smile. It wasn’t visible to her father, but he figured out effortlessly that Anjali was in a good mood after meeting the guy.

“Yeah, Papa. It was good. I mean, he is a good guy.” She said, shutting her bedroom door of the shared flat.

“So, shall I inform them that we are ‘okay’ with the proposal? Baat pakki kar du, beta?” He asked excitedly.

“No, Papa. The boy is good, but I don’t think he can be my life partner.”

“But you said the boy is good, and then why not marry a good boy? That’s what we look for in a boy while tying the knot. I know, beta; this is your first proposal, and you must be shy but don’t worry. He is a good guy, and you can tell me your man ki baat.”

Well, she really found the boy good and had nothing wrong with him, but he had become only her man ki baat, and she had no dil ki baat to share with him. ❤️

Reluctantly, she agreed to consider the proposal. “Was there anything in the guy which you didn’t like? If something is there, then let me know. You can be frank with me, beta. I have always been like a friend to you.”

That was a revolver shot for Anjali. Friend? Papa? 🤷

“Papa, let me think over it for some time. I will let you know.” She said, recollecting what her company’s HR managers said to the prospective job candidates after the interview.

“Beta, you can think as much as you want. I won’t inform them anything about your decision now. But beta, be quick. We don’t know when we will find the next good boy. Okay?”

The mobile conversation seemed to be perfect on Father’s side, but Anjali stayed awake, thinking about why she should accept Shiven’s proposal. Because he had a good job in a corporate, had booked a 1BHK flat in Mumbai, had ancestral property, and belonged to a well-to-do family!

Naah! Ghanti to nahi baji! She dozed off and dreamed of Prem Uncle 👺 visiting her flat and convincing her to get married to Shiven.

                                                                                                               -x-

The next day, when she woke up and was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, she overheard a man’s familiar voice and cringed at it.

It was Manish, Reena’s husband. The couple shared a love-hate relationship, and their marriage was on the edge. At that moment, Anjali wanted to run to her bedroom desperately and avoid the PDA of the couple, but she couldn’t.

The couple bid goodbye to each other, and Reena entered the kitchen, flaunting her renewed love for her so-called dotting husband.

“Sorry, Anjali. I didn’t inform you anything about Manish’s arrival, but he wanted to surprise me at 2 am.” Reena said, smiling sheepishly.

Here it begins! The not-so-interesting patch-up story of Manish and Reena, she said to herself.