That's The Way We Met Read online

  ‘Aadi, I have made the decision of telling my Mom about you and about our wish to get engaged,’ she said.

  Goodness gracious! Was she serious?

  ‘Your Mom has a hint about our relation and she knows that you love me. However, my Mom still doesn’t have a clear idea about what we are up to. I will try and convince her to accept our relationship and take it forward with my father,’ Riya said as we headed towards her home, hand in hand.

  ‘Don’t you think it’s too early? I doubt your Mom will accept our relationship so easily,’ I said knowing how strict her family was.

  She assured me that she wouldn’t do anything silly and make her Mom understand. It made me utterly nervous. I was not afraid to face her Mom if the situation demanded it. However, I was afraid of losing my love. We had seen many difficulties in our relationship until now and I wanted a smooth journey ahead. Not everyone is as lucky as Mohit and Sonam. We had tried to and had managed to come so far. We managed to maintain the passion and intensity in our relationship even after so many years. We didn’t let it be monotonous. We kept the spark of love alive.

  They were about to tie the knot after seeking the blessings of their parents. We did not know if the same future lay ahead for us. But life never is so easy and predictable, is it? Will it be a smooth journey ahead or a roller coaster ride?

  We were keeping our fingers crossed!

  When I reached home that night, I logged in to my gmail account to check for unread mails. I saw Riya online, so we started chatting.

  Aadi, I am very nervous. I don’t know what my Mom’s reaction will be. I don’t want to lose you again, popped her message.

  Don’t be nervous. When you will speak with your Mom, be confident else, your nervousness will reflect in your tone. God is with us. Don’t you say this often? I typed.

  But I am still afraid about her reaction. Tell me something to calm me down, she said.

  If I were in your place, I would have held you tight, taken you to my Mom and said, ‘Mom, she is my wife. I hope you don’t mind. Even if you do, she still will be my wife! So the best thing for you will be to accept her with open arms, I punched in.

  Stop it, Aadi! I will kick your…

  Come on, go ahead. Finish your sentence. Kick your what? I said cheekily.

  I will kill you. Bye. I am logging out. I will tell my Mom tomorrow morning when I get up. Love you.

  With that we came to the end of our online chat. All I could do was wait for the next day to know what transpired at Riya’s home.

  The next day, Riya told me about her conversation with her Mom.

  She told me that she had woken up early in the morning, not having had much sleep due to a tense state of mind. She had gone into the kitchen where her Mom was preparing breakfast. She went and stood behind her without speaking a word. Her Mom turned around to find Riya standing right at the entrance of the kitchen. She saw that Riya was nervous and asked if she wanted to speak about something. Riya told her Mom to follow her into the room as she wanted to speak to her on a very important topic.

  They sat on the bed facing each other.

  ‘Mom, I want to speak to you about my future. I know it’s too early and I am not old enough to be speaking on this topic, but I will try and hope that you understand my point of view,’ said Riya.

  ‘What are you talking about, my dear? Is there any problem?’ she enquired.

  ‘No Mom, there is no problem as such. But I… Actually… You know… I want to talk to you about Aditya. We want to be engaged. We won’t marry anytime soon. However, we wanted to get your seal of approval and take our relationship one step ahead.’

  ‘What are you saying? Are you in your right senses? You know what the condition of our family is. Dad is still not over the loss we suffered in our business. We are struggling to make ends meet here. We have the responsibility of your brother’s education as well as running the house with the salary that you get. I think it is too early for you to be thinking about such things,’ she said in a fit of anger.

  She kept quiet for some time after which she told her, ‘I am not asking you to arrange a grand function for our engagement. I am not even asking you to call all our relatives. However, we can manage a small family function and proceed with it.’

  ‘You are being selfish here and thinking of just yourself. Why can you not think of your brother? For once, think about him and his education. Your father is already in a trauma, and if we discuss these things in front of him, then God knows what will happen. Try to understand, dear. I am not against you or your relationship with Aditya. I know that he is a nice guy and will keep you happy. However, I also know that he is not stable financially and will not be able to provide for your well being. Let him get somewhere in life and maybe then we can talk,’ she advised.

  ‘I still don’t understand what problem it will create.

  It’s not like after marriage I will stop thinking about my brother and my family. I obviously care for you and Dad. But I don’t want to lose Aditya. Please try and understand,’ Riya pleaded with her.

  ‘I do understand your feelings. I have told you this before that I am not against you and your relationship. However, this is not the right time to speak about this. You both need time to get settled and have your own identities. You have some responsibilities to fulfil. Once your priorities are done with, we can surely think about Aditya. I hope you won’t talk about this again, especially in front of your Dad. He has too much on his plate already’, she said.

  ‘Forget it. You will never understand me. I have told you so many times that I won’t stop caring for my family. You are my first priority, I very well know that. But there is nothing wrong in taking our relationship one step ahead at this point. So fine, if you don’t want me to talk about this again, I won’t,’ said Riya.

  And that’s how it all ended.

  I told Riya that I wasn’t surprised by the outcome and said that I had expected this to happen.

  ‘Don’t be upset, jaan. Your Mom is not against our relationship. She just doesn’t think it is the right time for us to get engaged. At least she didn’t reject it outright. Please don’t cry. I am not going anywhere, so please smile. You look pathetic when you cry,’ I said trying to make her smile.

  Love is a pain which keeps burning inside you. That burning feeling keeps a person alive. We lived for each other and dreamt a lovely life with each other. Not having my expectations met hurt me. But I kept the hurt within myself and prepared to face another day.

  A Secret Marriage

  Come soon near Inorbit Mall, Malad, Mohit messaged me. I called Riya to tell her that Mohit had asked me to meet him at the mall. She told me that Sonam had sent her the same message. I was near Malad and reached the mall directly. I called Mohit to enquire where he was. He told me that he was waiting at Pizza Hut with Sonam. Riya hadn’t reached yet. She was on her way to Malad.

  ‘What happened? Is it something urgent?’ I asked while sitting on the couch.

  ‘Let Riya come. We will tell you then,’ said Sonam.

  I ordered one spicy veggie pizza for myself. We talked about general stuff until Riya came. She asked the same question that I did.

  ‘I don’t understand why you have both called us at the same time at the same place? What is it guys?’ I asked with curiosity.

  They smiled looking at each other and Mohit gave Sonam the eye nod to reveal the suspense.

  Finally, Sonam said, ‘We have called you here for a special reason. Just this morning, my Dad called to tell me that Mohit’s family and they have decided the engagement date. It has been set for March 3. We have to leave after some days for the preparations.’

  ‘Wow! This is awesome news. Congratulations to both of you. I can’t express my happiness. This calls for a party. I still can’t believe it is happening so fast. I remember the day you both met for the first time, and today your engagement date has been fixed. We are really happy for you guys,’ I congratulated them on behalf of both
Riya and me.

  ‘We are leaving in some days’ time because there are a whole lot of preparations remaining and even the invitations have not been sent out yet,’ said Sonam.

  Mohit was leaving for Gujarat while Sonam was going to Delhi in the coming days. The engagement date was nearing and they had to plan and implement many things. They had booked their tickets and were ready to leave for their respective homes. This was one love story that didn’t have any twists and turns by God’s grace. But I knew such a perfect story is a rare case.

  I suggested that they throw a party just for friends before leaving. But Riya was not particularly excited about it. I suppose I knew the reason. Before I could speak, Mohit asked her why her mood was low.

  She told him about her showdown with her mother regarding the engagement. I felt bad but helpless. I took her in my arms and told her all would be okay. Sonam too got up from her chair and sat on our couch, trying to make Riya understand.

  ‘Riya, you are harbouring a misconception in your mind. Your Mom did say that Aadi is a nice guy and that she would think about it in the near future. So why are you thinking so much about it? You should be happy that she has at least agreed to think over it. If she had any problems regarding you and Aditya, then she would have stopped you from seeing him altogether. She wouldn’t have encouraged your relationship,’ Sonam added.

  I could tell Riya saw light in her argument, but she was still doubtful. ‘You don’t understand, Sonam. No one does. I have felt the pain of losing him before. I can’t afford to lose him. I know that I have to take care of my family, but that should not come in the way of my marriage. I can’t get a guy who will love me so much and accept me as I am. I have seen darker sides of life. It is not easy to be in the world all by yourself,’ said Riya trying to hold back her tears.

  Mohit got out his mobile phone from his jeans and showed a message to Riya. It was the message I had sent him the night before.

  I was so happy today that Riya will be telling her Mom about our relationship. But I think luck will never favour me. Her Mom rejected me as an unsuitable groom owing to the fact that I am just starting out in life and will not be able to support a family economically at this stage. She is not wrong on her part. And I always expected this to happen. I feel bad for Riya. She really cares a lot for me and I know she would be depressed after this incident. I managed to make her understand that we will always be together and that no one can separate us, but it hurts me to see her so upset. I hope she gets over this and moves on. If it was in my hands, I would have married her today itself. She is a sweetheart. Sorry to disturb you, but I wanted to share my feelings with someone.

  I don’t know what overcame Riya at the moment, but she suddenly got up and exclaimed, ‘Let’s get married.’

  ‘Jaan, we are already married. I hope you remember our seven promises,’ I teased her.

  ‘That was unofficial. Let’s make it official. I am serious,’ she said.

  ‘Have you gone nuts? What are you talking about? I was just kidding with you. Is getting married so easy?’ I was not in a mood to joke anymore.

  ‘It is. If you love me, then stop arguing. We won’t tell anyone. We will keep it a secret. Let’s have a court marriage.’

  Everyone was shocked. Mohit stared at me while Sonam gave a hard look to Riya.

  ‘This is not a piece of cake. It’s marriage. Don’t you understand? It’s marriage, for God’s sake!’ chided Sonam.

  A long silence engulfed the room No one spoke. I was speechless. I felt like someone had banged an iron rod on my head. Was it a dream or a nightmare?

  Aditya gets married to Riya officially. A secret marriage. Wake up. This is real life, not reel life!

  ‘Riya, you think it is easy? What if your parents come to know of it later on, maybe one or two years down the line? I know you both love each other and I can understand what you are feeling right now. But that doesn’t mean you will take a bad decision now and regret it for the rest of your life,’ said Sonam.

  Riya was firm with her decision. I knew she could do crazy things, but never thought just how crazy.

  ‘No one will know. We can keep it a secret. And we are eligible for marriage, so what’s the problem here? No one can take legal action against us for getting married. Heck, no one will even know we are married,’ said Riya. I could see how excited she was at the prospect of getting married secretly, making it a big cause of worry for me.

  Mohit, who had remained quiet until then, said, ‘Riya, do you trust Aditya? If you trust him and have faith in him, then stay calm. Your family needs your attention now and if you take such steps, they may lead to several other problems in your life ahead.’

  ‘You may do all the explaining you want, but I stand firm on my decision. At least we can think over it Aadi,’ she pleaded with me. I agreed to give it a thought only so that she could forget talking about it for a while.

  ‘Guys, if you are serious, then let me tell you that we are not here after fifteen days. So be careful. Don’t take unnecessary risks. We are sorry but it’s not possible for us to wait,’ said Sonam.

  We smiled and told them to enjoy. We assured them that we would be careful enough not to hurt anyone’s feelings. This was not so serious since no third party was involved. We both could resolve the issue on our own. We departed for our offices after the brief lunch session.

  That night was again an uneasy one for me. Did Riya really want to get married in secret? I loved her. I loved her beyond imagination. We had overcome many obstacles along the way, and if at this juncture in our relationship she wanted to get married, why was I taking a step back? AND THEN IT STRUCK ME. We can’t keep on waiting for her parent’s approval any further. And what guarantee was there that if I waited for their approval, they wouldn’t attempt to get her married off to someone else? In that split second, I decided to marry Riya. That time officially!

  Suddenly the world seemed to be a perfect place, a place for Riya and me to spend the rest of our lives together in total bliss, without difficult parents by our sides.

  I met Sameer and discussed everything with him. He was shocked to hear about me having a change of heart and deciding to marry. I told him to be the first witness and another office colleague to be the second witness from my side. We had to apply in the registration office first, but I informed Sameer much prior to the date for confirmation. The next day we went to the registration office, applied for marriage, and completed all the necessary documentation work.

  The officer there said, ‘We will put up your names on our notice board around fifteen days from now. Then you will get the date of marriage. If in those fifteen days anyone raises an objection to your marriage, then we can’t proceed with the rest.’

  We agreed and came out of the office. I couldn’t believe that within a month’s time, we would be getting married.

  The fifteen days passed by in a blur. When we saw our names displayed on the notice board, our happiness knew no limits. We had dreamed about it for so long that it took us time to understand the enormity of the situation. We lived each day to be the one for each other. All our memories flashed in front of my eyes when we were staring at each other.

  ‘I still can’t believe that we are getting married. Pinch me. I hope it’s not a dream,’ I said.

  She pinched me and I screamed out aloud, making people on the streets turn their heads to see what was causing so much noise. We went shopping the next weekend in preparation for our court marriage. Riya purchased a gorgeous sari for herself with zardosi work on it. As per my wish, she purchased a Punjabi chuda too. Wearing the bangles is not part of our tradition, but it was always my wish to see her wearing them. She got our name engrained on them as per the custom. Everything was prepared. We bought rings too. The rings that would bind us in responsibilities. They will stand testimony to our promise of standing by each other’s side forever and would make us realize our limitations. But most important of all, they would make us realize our love for each oth
er.

  ‘You look good in your sherwani,’ said Riya when I tried on the outfit for her.

  I didn’t know how I looked. I didn’t care how I looked. What mattered to me was that I was looking good for Riya and that she was happy. We waited for the day to arrive. I was finally going to marry the girl of my dreams!

  Finally, there was just one day left before our wedding. The date of our marriage had been fixed for February 22, just missing Valentine’s Day by a week.

  I called Sameer to remind him to be there as a witness on time. He asked me whether I was nervous or excited. I told him even I didn’t know the answer. It was a feeling of mixed emotions. The night seemed never ending. My heart was pacing so fast, I could count the heartbeats on my fingers. Just when I was thinking what was going on in Riya’s mind, she messaged me,

  Tomorrow night will be our first wedding night. However, we will be away from each other. Love you, my darling!

  A Twist in the Tale

  The day of my wedding finally arrived. I took my new sherwani and went to Mohit’s flat as I couldn’t wear it in my house for fear of arousing suspicion among my parents. Mohit was not in Mumbai but I had keys to his flat. I went there and changed into the sherwani, which was cream in colour and had silver work on it. I looked at myself in the mirror and took a long breath. Probably this was the last time I was looking into the mirror as a bachelor. I smiled. No boundaries could separate us now. The anxiety was finally over. I took a cab to the registration office. I called Riya but she didn’t pick up the call. She must be busy getting ready, I thought to myself and headed out.

  While driving the car on my way to the registration office, I recalled again the day when I saw Riya for the first time. Time brought us together and one fine day, I proposed to her and she accepted my love with grace. Still destiny had something else planned for us. We met again and this time we were very sure that we wanted to be with each other for good. From this day forward, she would not walk alone. My heart will be her shelter and my arms will be her home.