Mayra OS : Drunk Meeting

“Excuse me, can I have a Long Island Iced Tea,” Rudra was surprised to hear his words echo in a female voice. He turned to look on his right at a girl, dressed in a black dress, clearly upset. He ignored and looked back at the bartender who started working on the drinks immediately.

It was a Wednesday night and therefore there wasn’t much around. Rudra was here only to get sloshed. Ananya’s words “I am getting married!” and the smile reaching her eyes only made his eyes sting and tears pool in his eyes.

He loved his Anu, his chudail, but could never bring up the courage to tell her his feelings, and he was happy for her, he truly was. But it hurt so much to see her with someone else, when he had spent last two years dreaming of being by her side.

“F*** off Mritunjay! Don’t you ever call me again!” The girl next to him yelled as she threw the phone across the table, startling the bartender and Rudra. The bartender continued as if nothing had happened, but Rudra raised his eyebrows, obviously not used to girls yelling their guts out and chucking phones around.

“I am sorry,” she muttered as she rubbed her face and took a sip of her drink. He nodded as a tear trickled down her cheek. After 2 glasses,Rudra started feeling the alcohol crawl into his system and make his brain fuzzy. Good! Now Anu’s marriage won’t haunt him, at least. He sighed and started playing with the glass. Next to him, the girl had downed three glasses and was mumbling.

“Son of a b****,”

She stood up and immediately leaned forward.

“Woah! Mam, you are drunk, you need to take it slow,”

“I need the loo,” She looked up at him.

Rudra wasn’t sure whether he should help or let her be, but alcohol kicked in again and he followed her to the restroom and waited outside till she stepped out after 5 minutes.

“Has anyone ever cheated on you?”

“Yes, my boss! B****** took credit for the project I had worked my head off for!” He said as he sat on the ground, leaning his head on the wall.

“I meant, by someone you love?”

“No, but the girl I love is getting married next year, and not to me,”

“Why?”

“I never told her how I feel about her, she is my best friend, I didn’t want to lose her,”

“You are the first who didn’t want to step out of friendzone,”

“Ha ha,” He faked a laugh and she chuckled, enjoying her joke.

“You could have tried?”

“I couldn’t bring myself to do so and anymore, she always made it clear that she never loved me,”

“I am sorry,”

He shook his head and she sat opposite him. The two shared a companionable silence for a few minutes as she played with her clutch and he picked at the potted plant next to him.

“I wish I could smack his face! The dog was cheating on me with my best friend, can you believe it?” She said, tears collecting in her eyes again.

“I know it hurts, but you should stop thinking about him,”

“How can I? I was engaged to him,”

“Oh,” was only what Rudra could manage. He stared at her,wondering how could someone cheat on someone like her. For one, she was really pretty, the kind of pretty where you aren’t allowed to touch her, or else she would become dirty and something told her that she was amazing.

“Don’t mind me, but I think I have seen you somewhere,”

“Must be the Economics Times, they had published an article about me last week,”

Of course, the most successful businesswoman in just three years after inheriting the business from her father. Rudra was really impressed by the article and by the lady. Damn his memory! He couldn’t recollect her name.

“I think I should get going,” She interrupted his failed struggles of remembering her name.

“Will you be driving?”

“Nope, calling a cab,” She said as she pulled her phone out of her clutch.

“Shit! My battery is down,”

“Where are you heading to?”

“Juhu,”

“Maybe we could pool, I mean even I am going to Juhu, so,”He left his statement incomplete, not wanting to sound like a creep.

“Um, ok, but if you or the cab driver try to do something, I am wearing hills that could break open your skulls,”

“Warning noted!” He chuckled as he pulled out his phone.Thankfully, the cab was arriving in 5 minutes.

“We shall split,”

“Of course,”

She nodded and stood up. She extended her arm and he took it. She pulled him and both stumbled, making them laugh.

“I can’t even stand straight, how did I get so sloshed!” She giggled.

The two walked out of the bar and waited for the cab. Soon enough, they were on the road.

“Hey look, the moon is following us,” Rudra said to her,pointing to the moon.

“No silly, we are following the moon,”

Rudra eyes went wide, he never thought of it that way. Mind blown!

“Then what about the buildings then?”

“We are leaving them behind,”

“Nice!” He said as he spread out his legs a bit.

“Hey! Don’t try to search for a chance,”

“No, I am not!”

“Yes, you are,” Rudra rolled his eyes and scooted away from her. He didn’t realize when his eyes started becoming heavy and soon enough, he was sleeping.

He felt the car pull over and opened his eyes.

“Bye sleepy head,” she said as stepped out of the car.

“Good night, and you know what, you should smack his head,someday,”

“Nay! I will just find another way to haunt his life,”

“If you need my help, I am Rudra,”

“Maya,”

But Rudra didn’t catch that, because he snuggled into the seat and fell asleep again.

The next day, the two will have blur memory of meeting someone like themselves, someone who was dealing with a heart break and smile. They would wish to meet again and hopefully, tehy would, some day!

Shibani