Male
Member Since Feb 26 2003
Wait.....
Rahul normally visited 24 hour fitness in the early morning to get it out of the way and be done with it. But the onset of winter had made it difficult for him to get up in the morning and drive to the gym. He decided winter was the right time to change the timings to evening and work out after his office hours. He parked his car and walked in to the gym. It was crowded and that was one of the reasons he liked to workout in the morning. He looked around and saw people of all sizes and shapes pushing themselves on the various instruments laying abundantly all around the gym.
He stood at the entrance and looked around transfixed not knowing where and how to go about accomplishing his routine. He walked gingerly to the front and picked up dumbbells. He decided to ignore the crowd and concentrate. He looked at the mirror and was focusing on his routine when he saw her. He was surprised to see a desi girl or woman depending how politically correct you want to be pushing herself on walker. He looked at the mirror was hypnotized by her sweating rhythmic body moving back and forth on the exercise machine with such force. He could not see her face and the view from back so far was good enough to keep him interested. He smiled at his thoughts when she saw him. He tried quickly to cover his tracks but did a bad job. She looked at him and he saw her face in the mirror.
Interesting face he thought with an exaggerated disinterest. He ran in to her several times after that day. Every time he saw her she worked out with lot of vigor and seemed to be pushing hard. Rahul thought that she might be in her late twenties but looked much younger than that. She was always alone and after her routines were done would walk out and drive away hurriedly. Whenever their paths crossed she would give him a smile of recognition.
Rahul was regular at the gym and now he tried to match his timings close to hers. She was a stickler about her timing and the duration spent at the gym. Then one day late November as he walked out of the gym he heard some one say “hi”. He turned to his left and saw it was her.
He smiled and acknowledged the greetings.
“Vidya” she said.
Rahul learned that she lived very close to the gym and that she worked in downtown Dallas at the headquarters of a multinational. She had been living in US and Dallas for 10 years. That put her in early thirties he thought doing the mental calculation. She was older than him by a few years but he did not think much about it. After that day he would linger or she would wait till he was done with the gym to walk out together. During their subsequent chats he learned they had other common interest like reading and visiting book shops. She had heard and read lot of novels he did.
Rahul ran in to her at lot of other places like the Indian shop, mall and book shops. She was alone at all these places. They would talk and he looked forward to seeing her. He enjoyed her companionship however fleeting it may be. Rahul spend hours thinking about her and ways he could broach the topic of asking her out. He had known her for six months but was not sure of her feelings for him. He did not know anything about her.
Early spring that year he was in Dallas downtown for an interview and called her after he was done with it. He asked her if she could meet him for lunch. She was surprised to receive his call but could not make the time at such a short notice. That evening after the gym as they walked out she asked if his offer for lunch was still open. They went to a fast food place and it was awkward to begin with. Slowly they opened up and Rahul learned a lot about Vidya Ayer that day.
She was recently divorced and her husband had the custody of their only child. Her ex-husband was her cousin and it was an arranged marriage. It was a marriage her family was eager to agree to. He after all worked in the USA and the family was related to hers from the maternal side. He was software professional while she had done her masters in Finance from IIM. She was not very keen but succumbed to the family pressure like a good Indian girl. The marriage was in doldrums with a few months and birth of a child complicated the matters further. Then one summer couple of years ago her husband went to India on vacation with the child and never came back. He instead sent her the divorce papers. She later discovered that the scheming bastard had been planning for quite awhile. He had transferred his job to India for a much senior position and had liquidated their investments. She was angry and upset. Her own family was not willing to hear her out. It took her a couple of years to recover from the tragic event. She said she was over it but missed her daughter. She apologized for dumping on him her sob story.
Rahul spoke about his family. He was the only child and his parents were both doctors. It was his desire to study further that brought him to US. They walked out of the eatery to their cars and they held hands as they walked out. He reminisced later and was not sure who made the first move to hold hands. He felt a sheer delight move through his body thinking of her. Her sad smile and the feel of her hands kept him awake that night.
It was whirlwind romance. They went to eat out, see movies and long drives. They would call each other and talk late into night. She called him over one weekend for dinner. He dressed up and arrived at her door with flowers. She opened the door and they hugged as the door closed behind them. The dinner never happened that night as they discovered and explored each other. He felt the soft texture of her body with his hand and mouth. They made love in to early hours.
After that night they would spend weekends together and many a days too. He spoke about her to his parents and after lot of hesitation they gave him their blessing. Rahul expressed his desire to marry her and she agreed. She wanted to go to India before they got married. That summer Rahul saw her off at the airport.
He waited with anticipation for her arrival. He made plans lots of them. Then the time for her arrival came and went. He called her office and her apartment. He sent her emails and waited for her to sign on to online messengers. He did not have a number for her in India or an address. He did not think about asking her Indian address as he was certain they would object to the alliance. He went over every second of his time with her and could not recolect of her sharing any specific about her background. He like a true romantic did not pry.
With each passing weeks and months he grew desperate and desolate. All he could do was wait and he did…..
© Thomas Cherian., all rights reserved.
In case you missed...
Some other recent posts by Thomas Cherian
© 1998-2008 Copyright Sulekha.com Connecting Indians Worldwide, All Rights Reserved.
Recommend
votes