Dinner for Two

June 2 - H's birthday. Brings back fond memories of the first of his birthdays since we got together. His birthday came early in our "face to face" relationship. And I was all set to grab my chance to get things moving. This one is for posterity... and for the English alphabet.

1. G for Generous
I call him up at 12 midnight. Was way too sleepy to wish him properly, but soon learn that Pooja, the *&%#^&*, had called him up at 11 already. Because she's at home (in Barhampur, Orissa - go ahead, look it up), and wont be able to get at the phone at midnight, she went ahead and called him up an hour early. That takes very good care of the surprise element. He knew beforehand that I would call, so didn’t bother to go to sleep...!!! How G!

2. T for Thoughtful
I send him flowers. Or rather, had MC send him flowers (Am yet to pay MC for it. My IOUs to MC calls for a separate post).Was I expecting too much when I thought he'd call up to say thanks ?? Anyway, he sends me an email to say thanks. How T! And so I call him up anyway - to wish him properly, in my full hosh-o-hawaas.

3. R for Romantic
I ask him for a birthday treat, and he says his friends are busy. How R! I insist on a dinner for just the two of us, telling him I will be way too embarrassed if his friends show up. So he gracefully agrees on dinner for two. It was a Friday and I was on production support that day, so I was back home by 5.30 pm. Some hurried priming and preening later, I wait and wait for his call, which finally comes at 9.30 pm. And you know the rest.. there was this problem in office... no-one knows how to solve it...blah blah blah. Its a good thing that he remembered to call me up then. Little did I know that this was just a precursor to the rest of my life with him. Cant say I was not warned.

4. U for Understanding
He says we will make it Saturday night, but also lets slip that his friends will not make it as they are going to watch Fanaa. Whatever happened to "dinner for two"?? Understanding wife-to-be that I am, I ask him to go ahead and watch Fanaa. After all, what’s in a dinner ??? How U!

5. S for Sweet
At long last we meet up on Sunday, at Eden, Besant Nagar, which is the best vegetarian restaurant in Chennai. (According to him. What do I know about vegetarian restaurants ??)Just before I crossed the road to Eden, all the butterflies in Chennai made a beeline for my tummy. And for once I wished I had not asked for a "dinner for two". I just was not ready to meet him alone - I mean, its one thing to write unending mails to a faceless entity half way across the world and another to make coherent conversation across a table while a pair of eyes bore into yours. I was so flustered, my hands were shivering. And I ordered fresh lime juice instead of the sweet lime I wanted..!! In a hurry to get it over with, I give him the shirt I got for him, and Calvin n Hobbes 10th anniversary edition. He loves Calvin n Hobbes. And he likes the shirt too, says blue is his favourite colour. He looks perfectly at ease, as cool as a cucumber, and puts me completely at ease. How S! Teri har gunah maaf!

6. L for Lucky
And then, just when I had clawed my way back into normalcy, lady luck frowns on me, and my hair clip broke, bringing down a cascade of freshly shampooed hair right into the soup (I must mention here that my hair clips have a habit of breaking into two, all by themselves and in order not to let them get the better of me, I carry spare hairclips in my handbag. I am resourceful, are'nt I? ). So I dig into my (universally famous) handbag to get the spare one, which as is wont, broke even before I could clasp it on. So there I sat, my hair falling loose all over while I plough my way through dinner and dessert. At last he gets up to wash his hands (before they could bring on the finger bowls), and I get to plait my hair. I am so darn L!

Phew. So much for "dinner for two"...!!!