Sonali's Suitors: Chapter Ten

“Hey Sonali! Hey there! Hello...”

Gautham proceeded to wave his hand in front of my face.

“Huh?”

I responded as if being awoken from a trance.

“I was saying that I’m glad we could meet today. I appreciate you coming.”

“Uh yeah. Me too.”

“So what would you like to drink?”

“I’ve already had something to drink. Please don’t hesitate to get something for yourself though.”

“Right. I’ll just be a minute.”

I watched as he left the booth and headed towards the counter. His bangs kept falling across his eyes as he took each step. At the counter he ordered a cup of French Vanilla and returned with it in hand.

“So.” He exclaimed.

Biting my lower lip I responded in likeness “So.” He laughed at this.

“There’s no need to be nervous. I’m not as terrible as I may appear.” Was he kidding?

“I’m not.....nervous.”

“Well that’s great. I don’t like needless chitchat, so I guess I’ll get straight to the point. Are you really interested in this alliance?”

“I..I...”

“From the way you’re stuttering I take it you don’t seem too keen on the idea, am I right? Don’t worry I promise I won’t take offense at your possible rejection of this proposal. I just need to hear the words directly from the horse’s mouth. Opps! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling you a horse! Sorry!"

I couldn’t help but laugh at his flustered expression. My bout of laughter caught him off guard at first but allowed him to loosen up.

“I’m so glad you have a sense of humour. I went through hell trying to imagine what type of girl you would be.”

“Is that right sir? So what type of girl did you picture me as?”

“Let’s see. I imagined a girl with hair that reached up to her waist that was neatly braided, donning a dainty salwar kameez and a jacket to ward off the chilly air. That pretty much sums up how I pictured you in my mind.”

“I see. My parents did tell you that I was raised here right? As for the imaginary me, that’s only one dimension though, what about my personality?”

“In my defense I’ve seen countless girls who have supposedly been born here but look as though they’ve just stepped off Indian soil. I didn’t think to consider personality. I’m used to dealing with all types of people in my profession. All I assumed was that you’d be conservative and shy, judging by your mother.

“I can’t say I imagined you to be any better, so I guess that makes us even.”

“That’s intriguing. Now you have me curious. How did you picture me?”

“Even better! I have a visual of how I imagined you to be. Turn around and look to the high stools that are facing the windows. Do you see the man in the suit sipping coffee and reading the newspaper?”

Gautham looked in the direction I pointed out but shook his head to indicate he still couldn’t see who I was talking about.

“Look at the brown guy with the potbelly.”

“Do you mean the guy twirling his phone in his hand?”

“Bingo!

“What! Seriously! You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I honestly thought he was you when you called to say you were coming.”

He kept shaking his head in disbelief while laughing loudly and raking he fingers through his hair in bewilderment. I joined in his laughter.

“That does not make us even by any means.”

“I fail to see your argument. Anyways, back to business. What did you ask me? Uh right. You asked if I was interested in the alliance. Well, no.”

“Ouch.”

“I thought you said you wouldn’t take offense.”

“I haven’t. I just enjoy putting on an act. To be perfectly honest, you’ve saved me the hassle of broaching the matter once again. I’m not interested in marriage at all at this point in my life. That is to say, even if it were any other girl in your position I would still show disinterest in marriage. So what I’m trying to say Sonali is that you seem like a nice girl, and if I wanted to get married, you might be the type of girl I’d approach, but right now, it’s just not a possibility.”

“Honestly sir, you don’t need to feel so guilty. We both agree marriage is not for us, at least at the moment. There’s so much in life left to enjoy right?”

“First of all, enough with this ‘sir’, call me Gautham please, I beg of you. You make me sound like an old geezer. Secondly, you don’t think you can enjoy life after marriage? Quite interesting!”

“I didn’t mean that to sound the way it came out. Some people may very well be able to enjoy themselves after wedlock but I prefer my freedom. ”

Gautham laughed brightly.

“Relax Sonali. I was just teasing. I completely understand why you’d think that way. Besides, now that we’ve reached an understanding and we’re practically friends, I need to ask you a huge favour.”

“Depends on what the favour is sir. Opps, I mean Gautham! Oh and I wouldn’t say we’re friends just yet.”

“We’re not? Why not? I thought we were getting along quite well a minute ago. As for the favour, I need you to consent to this marriage.”

“Woah! Woah! Woah! What’s this all about Gautham. I thought I was off the hook?”

“I know I may be confusing you a bit. Technically you are, but I need some help making this whole wedding talk nonsense disappear for good. I think you’d benefit too. If I say no to this alliance my mom will just actively stay on the lookout for more alliances. If you say no to your mother she’ll probably do the same but at a faster rate. The only way we can both stall their search is to agree to the alliance but push for a long engagement.”

“I don’t know about this...”

“Oh come on, we both need the time.”

“I need time to think.”

“Ok! Take all the time you need in order to give me a response in exactly 48 hours.”

I frowned at that but couldn’t help but smile right after. We both got up to leave and say our goodbyes at the door.

Imprint

Publication Date: 11-05-2011

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To all friends who aspire to be authors...