Usha was a young divorcee.
Her marriage, a short-lived one, was a failure. It was her mistake to fall
headlong in love with a stranger and hurry into a marriage without verifying
his antecedents. It soon came out that the man had a criminal past of various
misdeeds, financial and moral and had cases against him. The wise thing she did
was to obtain a divorce promptly. She had no parents except a brother living
abroad, with practically no contact except an occasional email. But she had a
very good friend in her college mate Ranjitha, who was happily married to a
nice husband with two kids. She was Usha’s friend, philosopher and guide and
whose advice the latter took on all important matters.
Ranjitha has been pressing
her friend to move on with life by getting married to a suitable person. Once
bitten, Usha was doubly cautious and was putting off the talk of marriage. She
would not just listen. Two years had passed since she got separated. She was
already 29. The previous Sunday, when she had gone to Ranjitha’s house for
lunch, both her friend and her husband persuaded her successfully in her
agreeing to marry if the right person came along
It was a month or two
later that Ranjitha had telephoned on a Sunday to say that she would be sending
her brother’s friend at 4 pm to her house. She would discuss details later.
Meanwhile, she could just meet him and size him up. If her first impression of
him was favourable, they could proceed further in the matter. It was not a date
but just an occasion to meet and get to know each other. She also added that he
did not want to meet her at a restaurant and was particular about the homely
atmosphere. Usha was not very enthusiastic, but dressed herself well in a good
salwar suit.
. It was nearing 4.30 pm,
and the man had not shown up. Fastidious about punctuality, she was put out at
the delay. It was then she heard the loud knock on the door by a stick instead
of the bell. Annoyed a bit, she opened the door to find a tall man with dark
glasses holding a white stick.
For a moment, she assumed
he had the wrong address.
“Is this Miss Usha’s
residence?” he asked gently, his gaze unfocused.
“Yes.”
“I’m Vinod, a friend of
Ranjitha and her brother.”
She wondered how Ranjitha
could send a blind man to her. Surely, there must be some mistake somewhere,
she thought, but decided to let him in. She held his hand when he tapped the
ground with his cane and led him to a sofa in the drawing hall.
Once seated, he kept the
cane slowly by his side and asked, “Did not Ranjitha tell you about me? Are you
shocked?”
“Not like that, she had spoken
about you and your friendship with her brother, but had not referred to your disability.
Pray, do not worry about that. My dad went blind due to glaucoma in his sixties.
What would you like to have?” she asked.
Seeing him up close, he
looked charming, dusky, with strong sinews and broad shoulders. But for the
dark glasses and the stick, he would have been an attractive proposition, she
thought.
Her thoughts were broken when he said, “I
would like a cup of strong coffee if it is not inconvenient.”
Before stepping away, she
switched on soft flute music, thinking it might be more pleasant for him than
silence. In the kitchen, however, irritation bubbled up. Ranjitha had put her
in an awkward position; this was not what she had expected. As she was making
coffee, she was very upset with Ranjitha for embarrassing her by sending a
blind man as a prospective match. She wanted to give her a bit of her mind
after this man left.
When she returned with
coffee and biscuits, he was facing the wall, still and quiet. She guided his
hand to the cup, but he fumbled, tipping it and spilling hot coffee onto his
clothes. Usha hurriedly brought a towel and wiped his hands and the dress. She
felt pity for him. She said, “I am sorry. I should have been careful and given
you a mug.”
He smiled, almost
teasingly. “On the contrary, I quite enjoy being fussed over.”
Despite herself, she
smiled back. They spoke for a while. He told her he was a musician, adept at
playing several musical instruments, part of a well-known troupe, financially
secure, and living in a spacious apartment in a posh locality.
Vinod finally asked her,
“Did you know the purpose of my visit?”
“Yes,” she said. “Ranjitha
thought we could meet and see if… things go further.”
She thought he might not
probe further. But he persisted with a question, ““And what do you think?” he
pressed gently. “I have no idea what you look like, though I’m told you’re
charming. I’m not very optimistic, and I doubt if I’ve made a good impression. I
might even be a burden. “
She replied, “Please do
not talk on those lines. I need time to think and cannot tell you anything
now.” He replied, “I understand and can wait.”
As he rose to leave, she
held his hand and led him carefully to the gate. Just as they reached it, he stopped
abruptly and burst into laughter.
In one swift motion, he
removed his glasses, tossed aside the cane, and turned to face her directly.
Usha stared in utter
bewilderment.
“You passed,” Vinod said,
eyes twinkling. “I wanted to see how you’d treat someone you thought was
disabled. You were kind, patient, and never once let your irritation show, even
when I was watching you very closely.”
“You, what?” she managed.
“I like you,” he
continued, “Very much. And for the record, music is just a hobby. I’m a Senior
Vice President at an international finance firm. I hope you won’t hold the
little drama against me.”
“I am glad to hear you are a senior professional. As for your test, it was quite a performance. For a moment, I wondered if
you were an intruder. But I also knew Ranjitha wouldn’t do something like this…
which made it even more confusing.”
Vinod grinned. “So… can we
start again without the props? And perhaps with another cup of coffee, you owe
me?”
She held his gaze for a
moment and then let a smile spread across her face, giving him a subtle hint of
her falling for him. As she led him into the drawing hall, she quipped,” I am glad I passed your test. Make
no hurried assumptions. We have just begun to get to know each other. After all, I
might have to run a few tests on you as well.”
