Sonali’s Suitors:

Chapter Twelve

I could hear an incessant ringing noise as I tossed and turned in bed. My hand shot out of its own accord to tackle the alarm clock, but the noise ensued. I wasn’t a morning person so I gritted my teeth while attempting to open my eyes to find the source of the non-stop ringing. I was surprised when I discovered that it was not my alarm but my phone that had been ringing. It read 2 missed calls. Who would call me so early in the morning? The phone came to life in my hands. I answered the call.

“Hello,” I muttered quite annoyed at the caller.

“Good morning!”

I groaned into the receiver. I heard light laughter in the background.

“I take it you’re not an early riser?”

“Morning Gautham. I can’t say I am, no. How can I help you at....(glancing at my alarm clock)5:00 a.m.”

“I called to see if you had made your decision yet regarding our engagement.”

“Uhm.... I’m not quite sure yet Gautham. It’s not an easy decision.”

“Look it isn’t as hard as it seems. We both want to stop our parents making marriage plans for us. All we have to do is delay those plans until we’re really ready.”

“It sounds pleasant in theory but I don’t know that it will work out. We could really hurt our parents in the process. I don’t know if I can do that to them.”

“Sonali, all this will be is a little white lie. We’re actually doing this to spare their feelings.”

“Ok. Say I agree to this engagement plan, what next? How will we manage to end the arrangement? What happens when we’re knees deep in this ploy and then can’t free ourselves?”

“Sonali, I promise you that nothing of that sort will happen. Both our families will walk away from this as friends. You’ll just have to trust me on this. What do you say?”

“Ok I’m in.”

“Thank you! I appreciate your help in this. Is it possible for us to meet at Timothy’s near your house this evening?”

“Sure, what time?”

“Is 6:30 alright?”

“Yeah fine by me.”

Ending the call, I sighed. Talk about intense. What had I got myself into? Should I have just listened to Neelu and told my parents the truth? Gautham seemed like a confident guy though. He was a lawyer too. He could get us out of a pickle, if one were to magically appear right?
With countless questions wracking my mind I dozed off.
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As I made my way to Timothy’s I called Neelu to update him on my decision regarding the engagement. He didn’t sound too pleased with my acceptance of this false arrangement but informed me that he’d still be around to pick up the broken pieces when I came to the realization that my plan was faulty. That only made me more uneasy. Damn that Neelu. Couldn’t he at least manage to scrounge up some encouragement, even if he didn’t even believe it himself?
As I turned the corner I glanced into the coffee shop to see Gautham already seated at the back of the shop, immersed in his laptop. The guy gave me the impression that he did nothing but work all the time. I hated workaholics.

As I edged closer,his eyes still clung to the screen of the laptop, so I walked around to stand just a tiny distance behind him to see what he was up to. Big mistake! I stared into the eyes of a complete stranger, staring back at me, without even blinking, through the laptop screen. Opps! It appeared Gautham had not been working but rather skyping with someone...a friend maybe. My train of thought dissipated when the face on the screen cleared his throat. He looked kind of annoyed at the intrusion.

“Hey you’ve got some girl standing behind you. Someone you know?” he asked Gautham.

Gautham turned to glance in my direction. I turned beet red with embarrassment. At least as red as a brown person could get.

“Uhm sorry,” I winced.

“Hey Sonali! Great, you’re here! You sounded so uneasy with this whole ordeal, I was scared you might back out on me. Thanks for coming!”

“Not a problem. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude or interrupt. I had no clue you were talking to someone.”

“Oh that’s alright! I’m sure my friend doesn’t mind a bit. Isn’t that right Vijay?”

Both our gazes shifted to Vijay. He simply shrugged his shoulders in reply. Then he spoke.

“I have to get going anyways Guatham. I will text you later tonight. Oh and by the way Ms....?” he paused.

“Sonali,” I supplied.

“Yes well, keep in mind that it’s rude to stare.”

I felt as if someone had slapped me in the face. I hadn’t expected him to speak so bluntly. I hadn’t even noticed that I had been staring at him. It was apparent that he had taken an immediate disliking to me, for whatever reason. Yet regardless of his rude comment, I had to pry my gaze away from his with great difficulty. His eyes held a person captive. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and come to the present. I could faintly hear Gautham and his friend saying their goodbyes. Closing the browser, Gautham turned to me.

“Sorry to keep you waiting Sonali. I apologize on Vijay’s behalf. He speaks his mind most of the time, and then ends up repenting for it later.”

“No offence taken.”

I tried to smile but it appeared shaky, even to me. Gautham continued to speak but all I could understand were bits and pieces. I made up a cheesy excuse about having a mild headache and rushed home. I assured him we could meet sometime in the week to get the details of the engagement sorted out.

Imprint

Publication Date: 11-07-2011

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