Sunday 6 October 2013

The Dinner Date



The wine was humming in her glass, the whiskey in his. The Buddha mural seemed lulled to peace by Louis Armstrong’s voice. The swaying hips of the candle wick were spreading a sexy ecstasy around. The room smelled of lavender, too talc-ish for their taste, but certainly bearable. Why, she had his favourite perfume on, and he hers. The spring blossom on her wrist and the woody spice down his neck were creating magic together, even though apart. Hands were not held yet, but they were getting there. Almost running towards each other in slow motion, across the silken runner, but yet to sense the fingertips of the other. The conversation veered from this to that, but neither cared. It’s just talk, filling in the beautifully silent gaps they had come to enjoy over time. Comfortable gaps, which neither felt under pressure to fill. Oh, but her glass was empty again. 

The waiter walked in to refill. 

He, on the other hand, seemed to be taking it slow today. Perhaps since she was going too fast? It had been an hour since they occupied the corner table they often did in the past. Seemed so many years back, that first date. Her small finger tickled the side of his hand, as Neil Diamond’s voice crooned ‘Play Me’. He coloured. Straightened, expecting more knowing the woman it was coming from. There would be no stopping her, soon. He looked at the chair next to his to see if the tease had been noticed. But it hadn’t been.

The baby was busy playing with his suspenders. 

He had been surprisingly occupied with this new-found fascination for parallel elastics running on his shoulders. Almost strumming them, as if trying to contribute some string music to the ‘Delirious Love’ unfolding before his eyes and now playing in the background too. Baby eyes, which were roving everywhere but where his parents’ hands were trying to meet, and legs. They never need a reason to celebrate, do they? The children of lovers are orphans. He would have thought. 

As the candle wick continued to swing, they wondered how their life would be in the future. She slurred a little he smiled a lot. How would it be when he’s all grown up, no longer strapped in this tiny chair but gone dancing with better company. What they would look like and feel like, together, with peppered hair and perhaps a moon rising in the back of the head, “maybe at forty” she said. 

And a whirlwind struck.

He yanked the baby out of the chair, hurriedly pushed back his and without further thought started walking briskly towards the waiter. His whiskey and a few ice cubes lay crying on the table cloth. The glass had toppled in all the rush. The baby, held below both the armpits and dangling away to go-go-glory thought it was jhoola time and shrieked with anticipation. That agitated the father in him even more. He started repeating “hold on” a 108 times, as if he was telling the beads. He tripped, did a little I’m-falling jig, steadied himself and was soon by the waiter’s side. And like a whiff, he vanished out of sight.

She sat there dumbfounded. She was not drunk, and neither was he. What was this all about? A waiter came to soak up the single malt with a wipe even as the people in the restaurant stopped looking startled and went back to staring at their plates. The candle was out, perhaps with fright! Could he be playing a joke on her? That does not seem like him. More like her, but not him. He’s too dignified to make a fumbling falling fee-fie-fo-fum-ing clown of himself. Where is he? Where’s the boy? She was just removing the serviette lazing on her lap to get up and check, when she spotted the duo behind the wooden tapestry walking back to the table. The baby looked demure, he even more. As he met her eyes and put the baby back to his throne, he shrugged his shoulders and said - “Nothing. False alarm. You have had too much to drink, you naughty girl! Let’s order dinner shall we?

She had said “forty” and he mistook it to be “potty”. Now, who had had too much?

He smiled an embarrassed smile when he sat down and heard “forty” this time, clear and loud. She smiled at that smile, impressed at his fatherly alacrity. They laughed till the baby joined in, not knowing the reason why. But laughing. And this time his finger grazed her hand. The intermission was over. The evening continued. The baby was back to admiring his suspenders. And the Buddha on the wall seemed sleeping in peace, yet again.   

[This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda]

85 comments:

  1. Oh my...oooooooh la la! So sensuous...mazaa aa gaya!

    Get used to this broken record: you have a way with words....you write so well, words flow like poetry. When is that book coming out again? I'd like to pre-order and get it autographed by you :)

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    1. My my. I am flying at great speed to sit on cloud number 9. Thanks a lot, Shachi. Happy you liked it. As for the 'book' - it's a distant dream. For now, enjoying doodling in front of the mirror. :D

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  2. So dining out was a memorable experience....
    Suresh Panje, New Delhi

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    1. Must have been. If I was there I would have known better. :)
      Thanks for stopping by, Suresh!

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  3. Ha! This is more of the sensuous romance and crazy parent kind :D :D me likes woman me likes, perhaps a distant future for me soon :P

    Richa

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    1. Love the 'me likes, woman' love it. Dehradun might change that 'distant' moment into a nearer one. ;) I hope it does, for my own selfish sake. I'm looking for good mommy company! :D

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  4. HAHAHA! Given that my own mind works in deliciously wicked ways, I knew what was about to transpire the moment I read "forty"!
    Crazy good, this was! Especially the first couple of paras...pure word-porn. With hardcore sensuality replacing the word that rhymes with Farex.

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    1. Harey Ram, what a comment, Rickie. Shiva Shiva. A pure romantic dinner and what all words you use? :O
      But, glad you liked it. :D

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  5. Have to completely agree with Rickie here, pure word porn at its best. This was probably the best ever post of yours that I have read in the two odd months since I have started following your blog.

    Amazing take on the prompt, lost for words in coming up with compliments for this post.

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    1. You too? This Rickie will bigaado-fy my readers. 'Best-ever'? Hm. So now I know your taste. :P

      Thanks a lot, Jairam. Always look forward to read your comments. :)

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  6. The first few paragraphs were so beautiful, so sensuous. It was with a sudden jolt that I realised that they weren't lovers navigating the tricky first few dates but parents to a little baby who was happily gurgling beside them.
    Your dinner date was delightful all the way, in spite of the interruption of the potty-that-wasn't.

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    1. Oh Im so happy you got that surprise element. Most of my posts are in 1st person and here I knew I was swimming in strange seas. But if you got that surprise, I'm happy. It's the only thing I had in mind. :)
      Thank you for reading, Cynthia.

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  7. It is a treat to read wonderfully written articles. Beautifully written. I love writings which gives a reader a feel of atmosphere..

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    1. Well, flattered to know this gave you the feel of the scene I was trying to convey, Bhavana. What more can I ask for? :)

      Thanks for being here!

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  8. That was one tempestuous dinner date :)

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    1. Nice word there, Suresh. :D I'm sure it was, although I wouldn't know, would I? :)

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  9. Wonderful wordplay here. Potty! LOL, what a creative take on the prompt. :D

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  10. Potty?? Can one really be so drunk...really nice take :)

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    1. I am wondering too. I really would love to know what really happened that night. ;)

      Thanks for being here, Sugandha. :)

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  11. Sakshi, you make me speechless every time you weave a tale. Such delicious turn of events ha ha.

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    1. Well, 'delicious' is the last word that comes to my mind. :P
      But I like it. So, thanks for using it, Reema. Good to know I spread some 'ha-ha' today! :)

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  12. That was a picturesque humour and an excellent piece.

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    1. Thank you, Uma Shankar. Good to see you around! :)

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  13. I tend to judge people through their writings.... You are intelligent, have a flair for creativity and have a mole in your left arm :/

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    1. A thank you bow for the 1st two, and sorry not true for the third. :D Actually, you just might be mistaken about the 1st 2 too. :D

      Thanks for reading, Ritesh!

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  14. hahaha! :P
    forty and potty!
    well , it was so damn romantic , the words , their flow.. that first time i feel like its worth to go on a date..:P

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    1. Please go on a date. Anshu, this way or that you will have enough to pen down after those few hours. :P And thanks for reading too! :)

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  15. hahaha

    lol that was awesome. :D

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  16. nicely written.

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  17. Nice sensuous story Sakshi, loved it :)

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  18. ha ha...can totally relate to the potty bit!! nice take on the prompt!! :)

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  19. Hahaha. Loved this dinner date. Fab take on the prompt :)

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  29. What a tender build-up to uninhibited laughter!

    Arvind Passey
    www.passey.info

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  30. haha.. First you get temperatures soaring and then suddenly we are rolling over the floor laughing.. amazing take on the prompt.. Simply adorable :* And btw 'The children of lovers are orphans' - Superb..Loved it

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  31. Lovely piece of writing Sakshi!

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  32. Sensuous indeed! Loved your build up with words. And why did I know potty; I guess being a parent one is tuned to those things :). Delicious... left one asking for more! Getting naughty, huh, Sakshi ;-).

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    1. Yes, the parents would have guessed what rhymes with 'forty' the best, and make the dads go on an over-drive, especially if they think the mums are too high. :P No no, Im not getting naughty at all. This is just some random 'She' who told me her story, that's all. :)

      Thanks, Rachna. :)

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    2. Random she -- no way! This has you written all over it :-P! I thoroughly enjoyed the foreplay I must say!

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    3. :D Not me not me. Not all of it, most certainly. Rachna, we need to meet. Come soon will you? :D

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  33. Ha ha! This sure was the best post to pick up to start my day; as always more power to the pen Sakshi! :)

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    1. Thanks for reading me first thing in the day, Seets. :D

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  34. I Woke up in the morning with a headache and just managed to get to my comp, your post was medicinal, I laughed for a good five minutes and no signs of headache anymore. Truly with kids specially babies there is less of romance and more of 123 tension in the air, is it piss, shit or puke is what runs in your mind always. Loved the way he juggled the kid and the kid enjoying jhulla time.

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    1. How wonderful to know I drove the head-ache away. Well, at least made you forget about it in your 5 minutes of laughter, Athena. Yes, romance goes out the window when that unwanted smell or sound from down under reaches the parents' sensory organs. :D
      Thanks for reading! :)

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  35. I loved this article....great piece

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    1. It was all about fun, food and frolic. Thanks for reading! :D

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  36. A lovely read with a right mix of sensuality and surprize end

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  37. Ohh god !! And my imagination was all over thinking how you will end it That surprise in the ens brought me back to earth like a thump !

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    1. :D Thanks for reading, Ruchira. And sorry for the thump. :P

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  38. Lovely poetic date. Even we had similar "forty" and "potty" experience. Few friends visited us and we ordered some food. In the bill somewhere 40 was mentioned and Jia holding the hill said forty and one of my friend was so surprised "how could a 18 months old kid recognize 40?" But immediately we checked and she actually did potty that time :)

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    1. ha ha ha, that is really funny, Jahid. Kids have wonderful ways to conveying their situations to us don't they? :D Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  39. As always, a fantastic post with a fabulous pic, and wat an ending!
    I could only pity on the little boy :)
    Nice reading sakshi.

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    1. Thanks for noticing the picture. I always try to put in snaps taken by my husband or me. For the first time ever, someone mentions it. :)
      The little boy needed to be pitied. After all, he had to forget about his suspenders for a little while. :P
      Thanks a lot for stopping by, Vaishnavi.

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  40. Hi Sakshi,

    Had read this post a couple of days back, but couldn't comment then :)

    Wow...who would think what forty would rhyme with :P And see the dad over-obsessed with potty :)

    Really hilarious :) and yes, so much of sensuality oozing out !!

    Cheers !

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    1. Thanks for coming back to drop your comment, Sreeja. I appreciate that. :) Happy you liked the piece too.

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  41. Indeed! Sensuous and written in a sexy style. Truly, Sakshi Nanda:)

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  42. My comment is missing. I posted two days ago. In fact I loved this piece so much that I came back to read it again.

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    1. Oops. How did that happen? I have no idea. I also get email notification when a comment is dropped. It seems, the "transaction" did not go through. :)
      I love the fact that you came back to read it. Says all I need to know. :)
      Thank you, Alka.

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    2. Even mine... :( anyways... I loved the way you wrote it... waiting for more Sakshi..

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    3. Thanks, TheScribbler. :)

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  43. Bowled over by the nuances. :) Lovely write.

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    1. Thanks, Hiral. Glad you noticed the 'nuances'. :)

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  44. This is such a hilarious post. Made up for an awesome read :D

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