The
three of them waited patiently on the sofa as the ring sounded out of the
contraption. A look passed between the older couple, and a smile glinted on
Karan’s father’s face. As the rings increased, Karan’s heartbeat rose manifold;
his stomach curled; and his mouth went dry. Breathing out heavily, he looked at
his parents who had made him make this call. Calling Niki’s father to fix an
official meeting was not an easy task, but he would have to do it.
As
the ring halted, a voice replied and Karan’s body tightened.
“Hello,
this is Ramesh speaking.”
“Hello
sir. This is Karan Sampat. I’m Niki’s colleague at office.”
“Oh.
So you are Karan. I have heard a lot about you young man.”
Shocked,
Karan kept quiet, unable to say a single word.
“Well,
Niki is out of town and will be back in some days. Maybe you could contact her
on her cell phone.”
Getting
back his voice, Karan said, “Sir, I wanted to talk with you.”
“Yes
tell me.”
“Sir,
I like your daughter, and uhmm…”
“Is
this some sort of prank? Do you know what you are speaking? I shall call the
police!”
“Sir
please hear me out. I love your daughter since the day I met her, and she loves
me too. She may not have told you about it, but we have been best friends and
lovers for the last 5 years.”
“Go
on. And be quick about it.”
“I
would like to marry your daughter, sir.”
“Do
you know what you are saying young man? Are you sober? I had known that you
both are the best of friends, and that too from quite a long time, but I had
not thought about this.”
“Sir,
it’s true. I’m not lying. Sir, could I come with my parents to see you
tomorrow? We would like to meet you and talk it out.”
“I
deny! Give me a damn good reason to believe you!”
“Sir,
please. I could have run away with your daughter, but I know that my parents
and you would not like it as well. This is why I want to meet you tomorrow.
Just give us an hour sir.”
“I’ll
have my secretary check my schedule and give you a call soon.”
“Thank
you so much sir.”
As
Karan got ready to cut the phone, he was startled by the chortles emanating
from both sides of the telephone. As he turned, he saw his mother smiling, and
his father holding his stomach, trying to control his laughter.
“Ramesh,
from when did you get a secretary?”
“I
got it right now Gopal.”
“Well,
that was too much exaggeration.”
“I
was just following your words.”
Karan
just sat there, unable to grasp what was happening before him.
“Ramesh,
is 10 fine?”
“Sure
sir, anytime is fine. Your visit is just a matter of formality anyways.”
“Don’t
leak our secrets in public.”
“Haha,
is Karan still listening?”
“He’s
too shocked to understand. I’ll call you back in sometime, let me bring him
back.”
“Sure
sure. Take your time. I wonder what will be Niki’s reaction when she comes to
know.”
“We’ll
see. I’ll call you back sir. And see you at 4 any ways.”
“I
remember Gopal. Chill.”
As
the beep informed the trio of the end of the phone call, Karan looked intently
at his parents. As the two of them started to narrate the whole story of how
Ramesh and Gopal had met, and how the parents had decided that their children
were right for each other. As it all unfolded, Karan regained his composure and
slowly started breathing normally. He was still shocked, and just managed to
ask, “Why didn’t you both tell me this before?”
His
parents just laughed.
That was kind of Fun read..Waiting for the next part.. :D
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