R: "im fine..as ever...how are u pri?" she asked as we hugged each other...
I was meeting up with R after almost 7 months now...except for the few ocassional phonecalls we were almost totally out of touch when she moved to another town after her marriage..i missed meeting up with her as she rarely visited her mom's place...and whenever we spoke on phone it was hardly for 5 minutes...It is a lil different after marriage they say...thts when u dont have as much time for friends and always have someone else on ur mind leaving ur best friends sulking with a "uve forgotten us now":-/...i used to never forget to pull R's leg with tht sulk everytime we called...:D
ME: "im good too...u dont know how happy i am to see u...uve put on soo much weight moti!"
and the conversation continues as we place our order...R tells me about her daily gym routine these days...and how its keeping her soo busy...we talk about job prospects, silly rumours, the latest sales in town and wch stores give the most discounts...having not met up with her for almost 6-7 months now, we have a lot to catch up on...but the smile on her face tells me everythings goin perfect...untill...
her cell starts singing the famous but boring nokia ringtone from inside her handpurse...me is fiddling with my cold coffee as she answers the call which lasts for about 10 minutes...she appears a bit tense
R: "heyy pri..i gotta rush off..its urgent..."
ME: "huh?? well we juss got here...atleast lets finish off with this coffee...whats the hurry?"
R: "its my lawyer pri...i have to go"
ME: "lawyer?? everythin okay?"
R: "been meaning to tell u...actually things havent been good...tarun dint turn out to be the guy i thought he was...ive been through a very bad marriage pri" and she breaks down as i look at her wide eyed...tarun was the guy R was in love with for the past 5 years ...i even remember the time she had introduced us to him before her marriage early this year...and the chap had managed to impress all--- her family and friends and convince us tht he would always keep R happy ...i couldent believe my ears when she told me tht this same guy tarun had turned into a jobless wifebashing bastard who had now moved in with another woman,leaving R with no choice but to leave him
ME: "R, why dint u tell me before?? all this while we were speaking on useless stuff...and ...and i asked u how u were doing ..to wch.......... " me blurted out accusingly,feeling a lil guilty for selfishly filling her up with details of unnecessary stuff when there was obviously so much she wanted to talk about.
There was a long pause making me feel further guilty about all those times i had pulled her leg expecting everything between her and tarun to be going juss great...we were both silent for a while...after which R decided to break the ice
R:"dont we all say tht pri? dont we" she smiled
I knew she was right...how many of us actually go about telling people no matter how close, whats really happening even when nothings going right...everything is always fine...thts how it should be.cos thts the expected reply to a "hows u?" isnt it??...i smiled back realising what she said was absolutely true...
ME:"you did the right thing R" i couldent say anything more
We paid the guy at the counte and hurried off...on the way back,she told me everything...and it only convinced me all the more that she had taken the right decision and while awing at her tolerance threshhold, i wanted to tell her that it would have been a lot wiser to walk off a long time back...but i know how these things go...matters of the heart take over leaving u numb n hoping for miracles...so i decided on saying nothing...and sometimes all u need is someone to listen...and probably thts what R needed right now...
On reaching home, i was thinking about R...how i dint have the slightest clue of what was goin on behind those smiling eyes till that phonecall...
I couldent help but curse the wifebashing freak she had fallen for...a fine example of how "mr right" could become "mr dangerously wrong"...and jus then i was snapped out of my trance by my cell screeching...(i wouldent say ringing thanks to the really weird ring tone selected by one of my close friends...hmpf!)
It was sims on the other line...
ME: "heyy sims...whassup?? hows u?"
SIMS: "not good pri...veryyy BAD!! nothing is goin right...absolutely NOTHING"
ME: "huh?? what happ? anything wrong?" still quite upset over the prev conversation at the coffee shop
SIMS: "everything!"
ME: "want to speak about it??i dunno if i can help..but would try..."
SIMS: "yaa thts the reason i called...im feeling soo upset pri...and i really needed to speak to u to feel better..." by now she was almost in tears or so she sounded
ME: "sure sims,u can count on me...im all ears...shoot! me a lil worried but anyways trying to sound cheerful lest i upset her all the more...
SIMS: not ur ears pri..i dont want tht...all i want is ...all i want is...your PINK LIPSTICK..."
ME: "whaattttt?????!!!"
SIMS: "yaa..." she continued to wail..."ive got a date in an hours time and i cant find ittt...i cant understand why this happens to me all the time...my luck ditches me at the last minute...ive got ALL the other shades right infront of me...but tht blasted PINK shade...i cant find it...n now i have nothin to go with the lovely dress ive bought especially for this date she continued describing the outfit after wch she got back to cribbing ..sigh!...im doomed pri..cursed ...thts what i am...god juss dosent want it to work out for me!" me about to faint now
ME: "heyy sims ...chill chill...u r being hysterical now!!
listen u can borrow mine anytime u want...no problem at all me rolling my eyes and counting 1 to 10"
SIMS: "thanksssssss pri..ur a lifesaver...muaaaahhh!!what would i do without friends like u?? am reaching ur place in 5 minutes...seeyaaaa"
and life seemed rosy to her once again!:-/
I sighed as i couldent help but compare the two sitations i had witnessed...the one in wch R was "fine as ever" or so she said knowing noone could do anything about it and this one in which sims life seemed to her a total disaster and all she needed was a pink lipstick to take care of it...or maybe again thats what it seemed like??...
I wished R's situation was as easy to sort out as the one sims was apparently goin though...5 minutes and everythin fine..how wonderful would that be..but then life isnt that easy and no matter what we wish for, "madame luck" keep throwing surprises at us...
Quickly disposing off the thought i searched my purse for the lipshade...
As i waited for sims,i penned down a few words in my diary---"28th october 2007: 8.15pm:A beautiful evening...a long awaited meetup...smiling faces...conversation over coffee...and life proves to me tht the world might be a little less happier and far more complex than what it shows it is..."
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