The Scent Of Love

The Scent Of Love


The cafeteria was near full with mid-day diners. Bearers were busy taking orders, and serving. The aroma of food pervaded the limited space. A young man and a woman in mid twenties, walked in, and headed to the table by the window that overlooked the lawn to the side of the restaurant. Reni let her gaze lovingly linger over the colorful spring flowers lacing the patch of green. Her eyes took in their sway to a soft breeze. The road beyond was busy with lunchtime traffic.

After ordering, Reni continued with the point she was making while on way to the cafeteria.

“Love is just a temporary scent on the greeting card, Raj. It has no bigger place in life. Nobody is prepared to die like Romeo and Juliet for the sake of love in real life. It's but a temporary attraction between men and women, and once passion is spent, all is over,” Reni flushed with excitement with her words gaining force. Settling into the cushioned high-backed chair, she looked a bit resentfully at Raj, as if blaming the male population for making too much of this emotion. Raj listened, a half smile playing on his face.

They were system analysts at Global Solutions, one of the many cyber cafes that mushroomed all over the town. To Reni, Raj was a friend she could talk to when depressed, or when she couldn’t solve a computer problem. At five feet eight inches, Raj was brown and rugged like the good earth in autumn. Not someone you could call ‘handsome,’ but there was something about him that appealed to people. His eyes were his special feature though, frank and cheerful. His deep voice could command, convince, cajole and control people; a go-getter, so to speak.

After a busy pre-lunch session attending to the needs of local as well as long distance customers, they walked down for a quick meal at the corner pub.

The news of a friend’s wedding triggered off the argument.
“Nicky too made fun of love. He mocked at the foolish idea that it is something special, until he met Anju. So, you just can’t conclude on when or how Cupid’s arrows will hit you,” said Raj, smiling jovially, walking to the counter. Reni followed, muttering “Fiddlesticks.”

They had a new customer that afternoon, who needed some technical help.
“Hi, I am Dev. I need some advice....”
Reni smiled at the fair guy, showing him a seat facing her. He was good looking, and tall, with black hair brushed neatly. Dev was not vocal enough about his requirement, possibly because he wasn’t well-versed with computer terminology, she surmised. She made an appointment to visit him at his place, and investigate his system, after her office hours.

That evening, she missed the exhilarating game of volleyball with her colleagues on the office premises.
She waved to them, revving up her Honda.

Dev, who was waiting on the front porch, received her.
“Hi! Seems you had no trouble finding my house,” said Dev, his expression, amicable.
“We live pretty close to your place. It’s the street on your left as you go straight, the pink house next to big apartment building,” she replied feeling rather happy at her finding.

His eyes appreciatively swept over her. Reni looked cool in a lemon green pantsuit. Her thick auburn hair was caught in a tortoise shell hair clip. A few strands played on her fair forehead. At the admiration in his eyes, her heart beat slightly faster. Warmth crept up her cheeks.

In a short while, she fixed the configuration for safeguarding information. She explained to him how to operate it.

A pleasant house, and whoever is the woman living here is lucky, she thought, as she took in the rich, tasteful decor. Walls were painted in a soothing shade of sea mist, and a single painting of a scene from a Maharaja’s court, adorned the wall in the living room. Lilac white curtains moved in the gentle breeze, fragrance of roses and lilies planted in the front yard, floated in.

“Let’s have some tea,” suggested Dev. She followed him into the small, compact kitchen. She noticed through the tall window in the passage, a full moon rising on the eastern ranges.

Reni wondered if he had a wife tucked away somewhere. She cast a curious eyebrow at the two bedrooms.
"Do you live alone?"

“Yes, except for an occasional visit by my parents.” Unexplainable relief washed over her.
“As a bank manager, I don’t have much time to visit them at the village,” he said, taking out biscuits from the tin. He poured steaming tea into the bonechina, and carried the things on an ornate tray into the drawing room.
“My father is a cultivator. Mom and my younger brother help him manage our two- hundred-acre farm land,” continued Dev.

Reni told him of her family over tea.
“Dad retired last year, helps mom in keeping us all happy. Why don’t you drop in next Sunday, sometime in the evening?”
Dev nodded his consent, handed her fees and thanked her again. After a while, she walked out, with Dev following.

“Thanks for the job done so well,” he said, smiling at her as he took her hand into his. She was assaulted by strange feeling she'd never gone through before. A new awareness of her charm made her shine like the moon above. Might be moonlight magic, and that of Cupid perchance, she mused.

“No problem. See you next Sunday Dev.”

His quiet manner, and the quality of his living style, stayed in her thoughts as she cruised on to her house.

“How did it go, your evening appointment?” asked Raj pleasantly, when he spotted her next day. His broad shoulders were encased in a burgundy striped white t-shirt, that went with the inevitable blue jeans. His aquiline features were clearly defined against wheat complexion.

“Yes. I fixed the programme. It was a nice cozy house Raj. Dev lives by himself. I asked him over to my place come Sunday. Why don’t you join us? We can have a party,” she looked at him hopefully.
“Oh, that’s good. If I don’t have a new engagement, I’ll surely be there,” he sounded happy.

She knew he lived alone, with not a soul he could call his own in this wide world. After the death of his parents in an accident when he was a mere ten-year-old, he was brought up in a foster home. A self-made man, and very positive, Raj was everybody’s favorite.

On Sunday evening, Reni’s house was bright with extra lights. Her parents were happy to meet their daughter’s friends from her office, and her special guest, Dev. Raj was a friend of the family anyway. Dev’s rich agricultural background, and single status, impressed the older couple. As parents, they wanted their daughter to marry a well-to-do bachelor.

“Next time, when your mom and dad visit you, bring them over Dev,” said Reni’s mom refilling his plate with more of the delicacies she made.
“They will be here next month, Ma’am,” said Dev. “ I’m sure they’ll be happy to meet you all.”
Reni listened to them, and guessed her parents’ intentions. That didn’t upset her. After all, she didn’t swear to stay single.

Raj didn’t turn up for work, on the next morning. His phone rang on unanswered. Reni called at his pad on her way back home, that evening.

“Hi Reni! What’s up?” asked Raj getting up from before the desktop. He looked a bit weak.
“Why didn’t you answer the phone?" she said in a complaining tone.
“I must have slept. I’m sorry Reni. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
"You made me nervous Raj," Reni said.

His place looked untidy, with clothes on the sofa, unwashed things in the sink, and the bed unmade. She felt a twinge of guilt, a wave of sympathy for Raj washed over her.
“Raj, why don’t you employ a domestic help?”
“Do you think it is necessary for a place so small?”
Reni remained silent.

He was trying to make some coffee for her in his kitchenette. Her mind went back to a similar scene at Dev’s elegant kitchen, drawing differences.
She took over from him and made coffee for both.
“Sorry, Reni, my stock of snacks had run over.”
“Don’t be silly Raj. Is this the time for formalities?”

Before she left, Reni tried to put some order back by sorting out the clutter. She made a big bowl of soup and a plateful of sandwiches. She put them all on the dining table.
“Thanks for being an angel Reni,” Raj patted her fondly. How lonely he is, she thought as she waved goodbye to him standing on the veranda.

She couldn’t understand why she alone had to visit Raj, while the others at her office did not feel the need. Because I think of him as a special friend and close enough to be concerned, her mind convinced her.

A day later, Dev rang up. Reni was in her office. He’d pick her up from work if it's ok with her, he said. He was waiting for her in the lounge when she came out after work.
They went to the beach, sat in the sand, and watched the waves crashing on the shore, their white foam lacing it.

While sipping iced drinks at the small stall on the beach, he asked, “How would you like to be Mrs. Dev, Reni?”. She was startled at the suddenness of his question.
“Yes, Dev, that would be lovely,” she replied, a slight hesitation on the edge of her voice. Under the starlit sky, he put his arms around her, and kissed her lingeringly.
For some reason, her heart didn’t burst into a happy song, on hearing the proposal her mind wanted.

What could be missing? Why don’t I feel thrilled to pieces? She wondered. Maybe I should have taken time to answer his question, maybe I was too much in a hurry not to let go an opportunity to marry well, she self analyzed later that night, when she faced herself in the solitude of her room.

“Reni darling, Dev just rang up to tell us that his parents would like to meet us this evening. Do come home early dear,” said her mom to before Reni left for work that morning.
“Alright mom. I’ll take permission from the boss.”

She returned an hour earlier than usual to help her mom in her efforts to impress the guests.The guests appreciated the reception, and their son’s choice of Reni as a partner for life.Things took on a natural course after that. Parents on both sides agreed for the match. Within minutes Reni and Dev were engaged. Reni was a little out of depth, but not sad at the prospect of marriage to Dev.

Her colleagues congratulated her on her engagement. Raj joined them wishing the best of life ahead.

News broke out, later that month,  that Raj was leaving the company. Reni was shocked and accosted him at the first opportunity.
“Why are you leaving so suddenly Raj? How would I get on without you?”
Raj turned to her, a smile on his lips, which didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Reni, you are getting married, and you have Dev with you now to sort out any problem. Besides, I am looking forward to live with my uncle who made such an effort to find me.”

The office staff gave a farewell party to Raj, before he left for the new job he found in another software company, in the city where his uncle lived.
Reni felt depressed. Not a single day passed for her, without getting into some argument with Raj. Whom will she ask if she needed advice?
How can I live without him? Her being cried out. Anguish hit her.

Raj was to leave by the early morning train. His friends gathered at the Railway station to see him off. Painful see offs, thought Reni who came along. They chatted of the fun times they had; had tea at the small bar.

Reni’s mind was in a blur. She just couldn’t face the fact that she might not see him again. His cheerful nature, his readiness to help, his way of starting an argument, his mild teasing, clever jokes, and his gentlemanly behavior, came to her in pictures of slow motion.

The train was rolling into the station, scheduled to halt for a few minutes. Like in a dream, Reni observed her colleagues helping Raj put his luggage into the compartment.

Suddenly, her mind cleared. She ran to the booking counter, bought a ticket, and got into the train. The guard blew the whistle, waved the green flag. The train started sliding out into the semi dark dawn.

Their coleagues looked puzzled at Raj and Reni pictured at the entrance of the bogey. She held on to Raj whose arms were around her. He looked as if her presence didn’t surprise him. A shout of cheer escaped from their friends when they opened their eyes to their reality. They waved jubilantly.

The Sun was just breaking out, drenching the east in glorious colors. The day was going to be cool and pleasant on board the Express train. Reni was still ensconced in Raj’s embrace, just coming out of the suddenness of the turn of the events.

After a few kisses and tears later,
“Isn’t the mischievous Cupid, unexpected with his sly arrows darling?” Raj asked, a new tenderness in his deep voice.
“I love you Raj. I would have died without you, my life.” Reni smiled through tears.

That’s what true love does. It makes you choose right.

Word Count: 2288


Featured in the May 5, 2010 Romance/Love Newsletter