A Special Evening

5:00 pm

The lights were turned low, curtains drawn and the scent of paneer roses filled the air. She walked slowly to the centre of the room, gingerly carrying a crystal bowl filled with water. She put it down gently on the glass coffee table and mocked herself for not thinking of bringing it empty and then filling it. She had been walking in slow motion for a full 5 minutes. She disappeared in to the dining and re-appeared with a bottle in one hand and a small plastic cover in the other. She bent close and let two drops from the bottle touch the water. It was rose water. Then she dug in to the plastic bag and after much ruffling pulled out her hand clutching a fistful of rose petals. Gently she strew them on the now calm water. A minute later she had lit a white cup candle and let it float amidst the roses and watched the crystal bowl glow.

She had it all planned. Why had it to be the guys always trying to impress the girls with a well planned romantic date. Girls can also do that. That is what she planned. A romantic evening to be with her special one. Breaking out of her reverie she quickly dashed in to her bedroom. She had plenty of time but wanted to get dressed slowly.

The saree was very pretty, she had liked it at first sight and had kept it locked away for some special occasion. Its calling had come. She draped it gently, lost in her thoughts, all the while smiling and blushing, thinking about her guy. Around came the pallu and went over her left shoulder and she silently squealed in joy. It looked gorgeous. She looked gorgeous. She decided to let her hair loose for a change and went for the minimal make-up. It was a special day and she wanted her special shimmering lipstick. With the final touch of the bindi to her forehead, she looked in to the mirror and could only smile shyly. She looked perfect.

Shifting her gaze to the bottom draw of her dressing table she had just pulled open, she smiled yet again. She dug in and retrieved two small boxes. It was going to be special alright.

6:00 pm

The message had been simple. "Come home early".

His other messages asking "why" and "what" were left unanswered. He had no clue what was up but didn't want to disappoint her. He was on time and lost in thought as he was about to ring the bell. The door opened and he stood there caught in mid action with his hand outstretched and eyes wide, staring at this beautiful apparition smiling at him from the doorstep. He recovered quickly and beamed as he watched her smile and draw him inside.

The living room looked different. The lights low, the decorated coffee table, a mild-sweet fragrance and he counted 5 candles placed in different convenient places. Impressed. And then again his eyes were back to her. 

She had gone in to their kitchen and was now returning with two tall glasses of Sherbet. A glass each in hand they settled on the sofa and sat opposite each other. He wanted to appraise her and watched her doing the same. Whatever she had planned, it was working perfectly. The ruby red drink cooled his throat but warmed up his insides. His mind now relaxed and mood romantic.

"What is it?", he asked. "Ssssh, I will tell you later.", she said. "Oh! c'mon tell no!", he pleaded. "Have some patience", she said and stood smiling and slowly moved towards him. He never liked lipstick and she knew that, but this time he did not want to stop her. As her arms went around his neck, he could smell her. She had no perfume on, yet smelled divine. They sat there, snuggling in each others' arms.

A few minutes later, she stood up. "I have something for you". Saying that she walked off in to the bedroom. The moment had finally come, the secret of the evening was to be revealed. He sat back in the sofa and recalled how and when she had planned all this. There had been no signs, she had been her usual groggy self that morning, dressed in her nightie and somberly cooking and packing his lunch. Everything as usual except for that message around noon asking him to be home early.

She had a small fruit basket in her hand. Clueless yet again, he started to rise but she motioned for him to sit. His eyes followed her as she slowly came around to sit next to him. Silently she handed him the basket. She was now doing her eye-talk.

He scanned it, searched for what was special in a fruit basket and that is when he found it. The two small boxes.

With no patience to play guessing games, he opened the first one to his reach. Inside was a small porcelain doll. It was a little baby doll, sleeping in its blue knickers, dreamily smiling and its chubby cheeks blushed pink. The second had another little doll, this had a pink skirt and flower on its headband and just like the other,pink cheeks and a dreamy smile.

Perplexed he looked up at her. All she offered was a smile. But it was different, she was beaming. He too knew the eye-talk by now and tried to ask "what is it?" and he read her eyes to interpret "What do think it is".

He blinked and blinked, pleading for her to say what it was. Finally she pinched his cheeks and whispered "Daddy".

The evening was special indeed.