Waiting for You!

Every walking minute that we are in the presence of someone, we come up with a constant streams of predictions and inferences about what the other person is thinking and feeling
- From the book 'Blink'

But sitting in the car ,with her boss Preetham in the drivers seat, Manya was doing something different. She was not attempting to mind-read her boss. She knew that all he wanted now is to be at Wife's place on time and enjoy the friday evening. Rather she was trying to get a vision of how Preetham's wife Seema was missing her husband.

And somewhere far away from that location, resting with her baby girl, Seema was looking from her bedside window of how the heavenly cushions were changing the covers. The sky had darkened immediately and it looked like twilight. This prompted her to hum a popular song, "It seems like that It would rain now........It seems like my heart has a song now....All I want from you is to sit in my heart....And listen to my song......." Seema's mother walked into the room and teased her daughter
“Like the earth outside that is anxiously waiting for the drops of water to fall upon it from the heavens above, So is my daughter waiting for the arrival of her husband…”
Seema smiled and then looked her at her smiling new born baby and complained, “Your father told me he would be here by five…. Its already five. I hope he will be here before the rains pour down…”
Mother continued teasing her daughter with some more nice romantic lines , “With you nearby, Years roll like minutes. Without you, even a second is like a year….”

Manya opened her eyes unable to get a picture of Seema's plight. The Rains had distracted her concentration. The sudden rains had brought the traffic to a standstill. Manya knew how eager was her boss Preetham to see his baby and she calmed her boss, "Have some Patience boss! The traffic will clear in five minutes."
Preetham cried out to his lord, “Oh God! In Dwapar, you cleared the way for Vasudev to take his kid Lord Krishna and drop him at Gokula. Some centuries back, you cleared the way for Moses to carry those TEN Commandments. Do it now also na with this traffic so that I can reach my wife’s place at the earliest”
Manya prayed a bit differently, "Oh God! Give my boss some patience..." and she waited for a moment and then exclaimed, "and give it now!"*
Manya couldn’t believe it when she saw the traffic getting cleared slowly, “Seems the overall traffic controller heard your prayers.”

Manya then started thinking whether the wife would also be praying like this.
But Seema was singing rather than praying to the Rains which had turned from a trickle to a downpour, “Oh Rains! Don’t fall so incessantly making it hard for my husband to come home. Once he reaches here, rain relentlessly giving him no opportunity to leave this place…***”
Like a host from a radio request show, the Rain God obliged and all of a sudden reduced its show of might.
Mother who was playing with the young one smiled at her daughter’s song, “You lovers are so selfish! Always thinking of yourself…..”
Seema defended herself, "I was only asking for the bad weather to clear...I am not that selfish..."
The mother answered, "There is no such thing as bad weather. We have only different kinds of good weather. Sunshine is delicious and rains are refreshing**"

When the rains had slowed down and the traffic started moving faster, Manya guessed as to what was happening in Seema's mind and made a profound statement which didn't make any sense to Preetham, "Though not in person, I feel you two are together now at this moment in the thoughts...'". Preetham was concentrating more on the road and hitting on the gas. Now it was Manya's turn to pray, "Oh Boss! Slow down... There is a whole weekend ahead...". She never believed her boss would listen to her. But Preetham not only slowed down but also brought the car to a sudden halt.
Her boss smiled as he got down the car, “How can I go empty handed to my wife.” And then instructed Manya, “Wait here! I will go to that market and be back in five minutes.”
Within five minutes Preetham was back with plastic bags in both hands. Manya tried to get a peep into the plastic bags. Preetham announced, “Only Fruits and flowers in the bag…..” Manya completed the sentence, “And lots of love in the heart. Nice combination”

Finally the destination was reached…. There was perfect synchrony between the opening of the car door by Preetham and opening of the front door by Seema. Preetham completely forgot that gentlemen open the car door for ladies. He was already at the door steps to hug his wife and child. But Manya didn't mind that her boss had forgotten his manners and enjoyed everything from the comfort of her seat without getting down. She felt as if she was in a drive in theater enjoying a romantic movie. There were times when real life imitates the movies. This was one such feel-good movie moment. But a question was erupting in Manya's mind, “How did the love of the couple grew double fold after the child arrived? Did this child bring additional love with her when she was born?


*** Lines from a Kannada song.
** John Ruskin
* Anonymous