One more guy to see

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I met him at Sea Lounge. He came in a bit late. He had driven straight from Pune. No expressway in those days, so it was a long arduous drive. There was a plaster on one hand which means he drove his fiat car with just one hand. I was already impressed. He looked well traveled. He had not bothered to comb or clean up. His hair was wind ruffled and his eyes were enigmatic. He spoke good English. He knew where my hostel was. He did not ask my hostel timings or if I could sneak out at nights or some dumb questions. He just spoke normal. Was tired but wanted to make it for this meeting. He was older to me and looked it. Most guys I had seen before that looked wet behind their ears and I just could not connect with them. This one had seen the world and knew his way around. In my mind he was dashing. I liked his no nonsense and no pretense spirit.

I was quite thrilled with him. He was from South Mumbai and we could talk common things. He asked me if I had a boyfriend and I remember saying No one of relevance or importance. I could see the satisfied look on his face. Marriage with this guy would be so exciting. He was looking at me as if he owned me. After the meeting, we came to know that he was seeing a girl from the same hostel for a long time but she went back to her parents and our man was heart broken. After long, he had agreed to see a girl in the arranged marriage context.I was okay with his past.My parents for some strange reason were quiet and not pestering me for an answer. We decided to meet him again. The meeting was scheduled and then we realized a some more things. His mother was into black magic. Now that was scary. My folks had the contention that she will not do black magic with her own son or daughter in law. These arguments with Mom and Dad happened outside the hostel gates. They would be in hushed tones but were very traumatic for me. It was this typical stuff that you are the eldest of six kids and if you don't get married, how can we fulfill our responsibility of getting the other five married. It was me who was the barrier to other children s wedding in the family.
I said No to the guy. His sister called on the hostel phone to convince me. My parents had seen me say Yes to a guy for the first time . They were unhappy about these skeletons tumbling out before I was married to the guy.In the mean time,the guy s family had announced to all their relatives that the engagement is fixed. When they saw me slipping off after an almost positive answer, they thought this would be a good way to pressurize me. It was quite a messy situation but I was adamant. My parents had to pacify the middle lady who was a rich relative and someone to be kept in good books with. Those days I could not discuss this with hostel friends or my guy friends. Friends and work were the two saviours which kept me going.

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