Rewind, Fast Forward

"I don't believe this!"

"Darling, don't grumble now, this is fun!"

"It isn't fun to hand over Rs. 400 for popcorn! Over and above what these tickets cost us!"

Hemlata looked fondly at her husband. She knew he was doing this for her, and he was trying to smile and look like he was enjoying it. She knew that deep down what he would've really liked to do was to wear his old pajamas, curl up on the sofa and read a chapter from 'Carry on Jeeves' to her and laugh at all the jokes together as if it wasn't the fifteenth time he was reading them aloud.

But they had gone for a movie on their first date 39 years ago, and she had wanted to re-live that. They'd shared a popcorn then. She remembered the thrill she had felt when their hands had touched in the dark as they dipped them into the paper bag. They'd planned to do all of it again, exactly the same way. The only change would be the timing, she really couldn't expect him to stay up past his bedtime these days.

Sudarshan dropping his kids off just when they were about to start had meant a quick readjustment. "Sorry, Mom, Sejal is at work and the boss called me for an urgent presentation. Didn't know you and Dad were going out - can you take them with you? Bye then!"

Fortunately, the matinee show wasn't house-full, so they got two extra tickets. The seats weren't together though. Which meant one adult would have to sit with one kid. No romantic hand-clasping possible. And there would have to be four packets of popcorn. The kids wanted a packet each to themselves. As they parted to take their respective pairs of seats, she heard her husband mutter, "Two ruppes I'd spent on popcorn. Now it's four hundred. Four hundred used to be my room-rent for the month!"

In the interval, the kids wanted ice-cream, eliciting more tut-tuts about inflation and how everyone shared in those days.

"Did you enjoy re-living your first date, Grandma, Grandpa?" Tanay asked, in the car on the way back.

"Yes," Hemlata replied. "It was lovely to have the two of you with us."

Her husband grunted something she couldn't understand. She didn't ask him to repeat.

"What did you do after the movie?" Radhika asked.

"We went to my house and had dinner."

"You cooked the dinner, Grandma?"

"No, I was living with my parents then, my Mom had cooked."

This memory made her husband speak up. "Your Ma was a great cook, she was. What a dinner. That's when I decided to propose to you, you know."

"Hey, I have an idea then. You shouldn't have to go home and cook, so Tanay and I will make lunch. We're not allowed to use fire, but we can do salad and sandwiches."

"Salad and sandwiches sound fine!"

The kids were safely ensconced in the kitchen.

The couple sat on the sofa. Hemlata flicked the remote a few times. The movie they had watched 39 years ago came on.

"I'm home to a meal cooked by someone else, and I'm holding hands with you while watching this scene ..." she whispered.

"Yeah, we're re-living that first date after all!" he agreed, squeezing her fingers gently.