Time and Tide waits for none!!!!! (Part 1)

It was the month of January. Busy traffic was seen on the roads at 6PM as people was happily returning home thinking of the long weekend that followed.

A cool breeze was brushing aside the people sitting on the shore of Marina Beach, Chennai.

Having bought an apartment in Santhome, Rahul had the pleasure to take a walk along the sea shore every evening after working in his NGO. 

He spotted his usual bench being occupied by a young couple. After giving a thought, he decided to occupy one corner of the bench. The young couple were discussing about their work and friends. Listening to their conversation, he realised that they are good friends and not lovers.

Rahul was busy working in his office, when a chat screen popped on the window – “Hey you”.

A broad smile filled his face and instantly he replied, “இன்னைக்கும் நீ லேட்டா, அந்த ஆளு உன்ன கத்த போறான்" 

 “இதெல்லாம் நமக்கு சகஜமப்பா, Bfast வறியா", she replied

Rahul replied, “எத்தன தடவ உனக்கு சொல்றது, காலேல Bfast சாப்பிடனும்னு. மணி 12 ஆகுது....இது தான் Bfast சாபிடற நேரமா? As every other tech geek would do, he sent an angry smiley along with the message and typed, “Meet me outside”

Rahul immediately got up from his cube and walked towards the exit, where she was already waiting for him and the lift. One of the issues of working in a multi-storeyed building is that the lift stops at each floor before reaching their office at 22^nd  floor.

Reaching the food court, Rahul got mini-tiffin for her and a cup of coffee for himself. “ரெண்டு வருஷத்துக்கு முன்னாடி தெரியாம உன்ன பாத்துட்டேன். அன்னைக்கு சிக்கினது தான், இன்னும் உன் Friendshipa கட் பண்ண முடியலையே",started Rahul with a smile and told her, I still remember the client’s question in my first interview, “What is J Unit?”

“இப்படியே சொல்லு, ஒரு நாளைக்கு உன்னால என்ன பாக்க முடியாம போய்டும்" , she replied with a jerk.

“அப்படிலாம் கனவுல கூட நடக்காது", "சரி சொல்லு, கல்யாண date பிக்ஸ் பணிட்டாங்க போல!!!!!!",asked Rahul

“ஆமாம் பா, சொல்லவே மறந்துட்டேன். Its on 22^nd of Feb”, she replied.

“எல்லா newsum  வந்திரிச்சு....இதெல்லாம் நாங்களா கேட்டு தெரிஞ்சுக்க வேண்டியதா இருக்கு....நிலம அந்த அளவுக்கு ஆச்சு....இரு, Raghu கிட்ட நான் கம்ப்ளைன்ட் பண்றேன், உங்க wife இப்பயே ப்ரிண்ட மறந்டுட்டானு", replied Rahul.

“Raghu தான, பாக்கறேன் யாரு பேச்சை அவன் கேக்கறான்னு", she replied 

The conversation went on, before we realized that she was sitting with an empty plate and me with an empty cup. As always, we didn’t realized that we had chatted for nearly an hour and started moving towards office.

Days rolled on and Rahul was engrossed with his work after being promoted as a Project Lead.

15^th Feb was a Monday and Rahul was as usual immersed in his work, when suddenly he got a call from Ajay (onsite manager) in the mid of the day. Nearly two hours of discussion made things clear for Rahul. A new, tough client requirement has to be submitted by 27^th and this is the gateway pass for his onsite opportunity.

The project estimate bemused Rahul, as he realized that he has to spend atleast 10 hours of his daily life in office till the completion of this project. Even a small deviation of work on any single day would cancel his onsite opportunity, his long awaited dream.

Also, Rahul worked on his personal time estimate side by side, on the amount of efforts to be put in, if he has to still make it to his best friend’s marriage on 22^nd . 

According to his estimate, he has to spend atleast 14hours in office for a vacation on 21^st & 22^nd.  She has already gone for her marriage vacation starting from 13^th. Rahul spoke to her explaining the situation and assured that he would make it to her marriage at any cost. 
She felt really happy looking at the care and efforts being shown by Rahul to attend her marriage. 

Due to the increased demand in work, Rahul was not even able to attend her calls and even if he attended, he was not able to dedicate more than 5minutes for her. Finally on 20^th (Saturday), around 11PM in office, Rahul got a chance to talk to her.


After a heavy bashing, she replied, “Enough of all these non-sense. No more phone calls. Come and meet me in the marriage hall tomorrow”.


What happened exactly on the day of marriage???????


To know the story, Read Part-2