Rendezvous

Kiran's WhatsApp notification flashed with a message from Sudeep. She shivered from top to toe in anticipation.

"Meet me for coffee at seven today. Same place."

Kiran re-read the message even as a frown creased her face.

How typical of Sudeep to order her around as per his convenience? How was she going to manage the dinner at home, her daughter's music lessons, the playdate of her son with the dinner date? What excuse will she give her mother-in-law to step out of her home at such short notice? She started to type a No, then changed her mind and instead replied, "See you there."

Sudeep had breathed fresh air in her moribund life.

Kiran had been married for fifteen years. She lived in a joint family with her in-laws, husband and two children.

An ambitious career woman before her wedding, she had transitioned to full-time homemaker after the birth of her second child. Her better half was the Marketing Head of an Automobile company and spent half of the month in travel. The evenings of the other half of the month were spent comforting the parents or pandering to the kids. They had no time for each other at home.

These meetings on the sly were a great source of excitement in her mundane life. When Sudeep had initially asked her out, she was first flabbergasted, then resistant, before succumbing to his charms. Now with time, she was hooked to the routine. The challenge of producing novel excuses, rescheduling household chores and ensuring that no one at home finds out about her rendezvous stimulated her.

Kiran's heart whistled and sang the entire day. She cooked lunch and dinner in one course, requested a neighbour to pick up her daughter from her music class and persuaded her son to postpone his playdate plan. With all done, she informed her mother-in-law about visiting an Art of Living workshop organized in the other part of the town.

She took a luxurious bath and spent half an hour rejecting a dozen items from her wardrobe before feeling satisfied with her choice. Then she deftly applied the foundation, kajal and lipstick. The face from the other side of the mirror made her giggle like a teenager.

Her mother-in-law scowled with suspicion, noticing her bahu hurry out of the house, decked up for a spiritual workshop, and resolved to have a word with her son that night.

Kiran took an auto to a destination that was ten minutes away. The café was a quaint little spot that served mouth-watering delicacies with an assortment of non-alcoholic beverages. The place afforded them much-desired privacy.

She got off outside the entrance of the eatery. The guard recognized one of the regular patrons and tipped his hat before letting her in.

Kiran walked gingerly through the narrow, dark corridor, her eyes searching for him. She located Sudeep at the far end, sitting by himself. Her heartbeats raced.

Sudeep's eyes lit up when Kiran came into sight. He always found her beautiful and radiant.

Kiran's husband of fifteen years got up, smiled and pulled the chair for his wife.

They both gazed into each other's eyes. Even after all these years, it was like love at first sight.