“Ma, you know how important this job is for getting us all out of this rut. Please don’t cry. It is just a matter of a few days and then I will be back” Deepa was consoling her mother.  “And Tai (elder sister) is there for you”.

Though she had put a brave face in front of her mother, on her way to the airport, Deepa was worried.  She had never travelled alone and that too to a foreign country.  The cab driver dropped her at the Mumbai International Airport. Her luggage was heavy and she struggled to get her way through the immigration and security counters. Every time she asked someone a query, they gave her a smirking look.

Finally she got seated in the aircraft and dialled her mother. “Ma, I am ready for take-off, will call you once I reach. Take care of yourself and Tai”.  She could feel her mother crying on the other side.

The aircraft was packed with passengers. Thankfully she had a window seat. She was watching the happenings outside.  A man in his mid-thirties was seated next to her.  They looked at each other and he gave her a courteous smile and she reciprocated.  No words were exchanged between them. When the food arrived, while opening the ketchup packet her hand slipped and the ketchup splashed on the man’s shirt. “Oh no….I am terribly sorry,” she said with tears in her eyes.  “It’s perfectly ok, don’t worry, it happens”, he tried to calm her down.

After sometime he broke the silence. “First time abroad?” she nodded in affirmation.  “Which place are you going to?”  Don’t talk to strangers, her mother had warned her.  She thought for a moment and replied in a monosyllable “London” and then started looking outside the window, trying to avoid further conversation.

Dev looked at his watch and then pretended to sleep.  Deepa kept on fidgeting. “It’s OK, even if your mother told you not to speak to strangers, I am a perfect gentleman”, he said with a twinkle in his eye. “Hi, I am Dev,” he gave her a warm handshake.  They chatted for some time and then both fell asleep.

The flight landed at Heathrow Airport and it was time to say good bye.  “It was great meeting you, hope to see you soon. If you need anything in London, do let me know,” Dev said with a warm handshake, and off he went.  It was then that it dawned upon Deepa that he had not told her anything about himself.  He didn’t even leave a number for her.

The apartment was spacious and everything looked perfect. She got reminded of her home in Mumbai which had a small room and an apology for a kitchen.  She called home. “Ma, how I wish you and Tai were here. This place is so big.”

It was a month since she had come to London.  Her first salary had come and she was happy to be able to send a large part of it to her mother. “Tai, don’t forget to pay the loan amount on time. We can’t afford to default” she told her sister over the phone.

Today was the first time she had been delayed at work. She was travelling back in a late night train.  The compartment was almost empty except for a few scattered passengers.  She had heard stories of mugging and was wary of her surroundings.  The train stopped and she was watching the platform when she heard a voice behind her, “Hi, what a pleasant surprise”. She looked up and there stood Dev holding the bar. She shifted and he sat next to her.  “So how has London been treating you? All well?” She just nodded with a smile.  

At the station, when she was about to say goodbye, Dev said, “Coffee? Or better still some light dinner? I am really hungry and you too look famished” She hesitated and then agreed.

The café was beautiful. It had the old world charm with a fire place and a high chimney. Wooden tables made out of logs and the scent of fresh coffee. 

“Where do you work Dev?” she asked him.  His eyes fluttered for a moment and then he said, “I run my own business of packaged foods. I started in London many years ago, now I have moved permanently to India.  I am here to settle my divorce case”.  She felt he was uncomfortable answering her question.  There was a long silence between them. “Come, I’ll walk you home he said”, and she agreed.  They crossed a park. “This place is beautiful; you must come here during the day time”, he said. The orange leaves heralding autumn made the place look beautiful. They reached her apartment. “Coffee?” she asked. “Are you sure? Mom told you not to talk to strangers”, he said with a hearty laugh.

“So that’s my life history”, he paused to take a sip of the coffee. “Thankfully I have no kids; otherwise it would have been very tough on them”.  How someone could be so harsh on a nice person like Dev, she thought.  In her two brief meetings with him she had begun to like him.  It was past midnight when he left her house. 

Deepa had also told him her life story. Her father had fallen in love with another woman and left her mother with two teenage daughters without ever looking back. To top it, he had borrowed large sums of money to start businesses which failed and Deepa and her mother had to pay the loans back. When she was in India, she would work 16 to 18 hours a day to earn money. She had taken up this assignment to help her pay the loans. He didn’t know if it was sympathy or intense liking that he was feeling for her.  But he surely felt he would miss her.

She is a brave girl he thought.  In front of her tribulations, his divorce seemed trivial. I must try and help her, he told himself.

Days were almost flying by. Deepa was working hard to finish her assignment so that she could go home on time. She was missing her folks and the cruel winter had also set in.  It was two weeks since she had met Dev last.  She kept remembering him almost all the time. Especially his hug when she told him her story and how passionately he told her, “You are a brave girl. Don’t worry it’s only going to be better from here on. Let me know if I can do anything for you”.

“Hi Deepa, what are you doing this weekend?” It was Dev. “Nothing” she replied. “Can we meet tomorrow? I want to have a small celebration. May be a movie and dinner? See you at 8 then.” 

There was a knock at the door. It was her boss John. “I was just passing by, thought I’d drop by and say hello,” he said.   She knew he liked her very much, but did not expect him to come home.

“So what are you doing this weekend? Can I show you around?” John asked while sipping his coffee.  Deepa enjoyed the special attention from John and would have liked to go out with him, but politely declined saying, “Sorry, a bit busy this weekend, may be some other time.”

“You know, I turned down my boss’ invite to be with you”, Deepa was saying and laughing at the same time. “Good for you, he would have bored you to death, you have no idea how boring these “goras” are,” both of them were laughing. She looked very happy and relaxed and so did he.  He had got tickets for a new romantic Bollywood movie. She loved it, she smiled and cried. “You girls are so emotional …, arrey this is just a movie”, he said wiping her tears.  

They drove to one of the most expensive hotels in London. “What are we celebrating?” she asked. “My freedom”, he said. I have finally got officially divorced and I am ready to go back to my motherland. “Will you re-marry”, she asked innocently.  Their eyes met for a fleeting moment. He just shrugged his shoulders without saying anything.  

“What about you? What are your plans for marriage?” he asked. “Oh no, I can’t even think of marriage. My mother’s happiness and my elder sister’s marriage are all that I care about.  May be some time later, if I get the right person.  “What kind of a person will you marry?” he asked.  “Ummm…haven’t given it a thought, but may be someone who likes me, is fond of me, rather, who loves me immensely”.  “Like your ‘gora’ boss?” he said teasingly.  They both laughed.

“It’s so lovely in your company. I seem to forget everything” said Dev, “Thank you for being a great..aa.. friend…should I say?”, he gently hugged her.  Deepa realised that till now they had not given a name to their relationship. But yet, it just felt so good to be in each other’s company. “Best friends!” she said, smilingly. They were passing the park Dev had shown her. Fresh leaves had started appearing. Autumn and Winter had both passed and now Spring was coming.  The orange had turned into green.

Two weeks to go back. She was working hard to finish her assignment. It was past office hours. She was working in the Conference room. There was a knock on the door, it was John. “How’s it going?”  “Fine” she said. “I have some good news for you”, he said. We are extending your contract for another three months with an increase of 20% in your remuneration.  “Wow, Thanks…” she said. Little did she realize that John was doing this for his own interest. He had fallen in love with her.

Deepa was standing in the balcony of her apartment, sipping her coffee and looking at the traffic on the busy road.  She was thinking about the happenings of the last few days. She had begun to like Dev a lot. She kept on thinking about him. Waiting for him, feeling the urge to meet him. She knew that Dev would be going back to India soon.  Her phone rang. It was Dev. “Hi”, she said, he could sense she was missing him, just as he was.  “I will be there in an hour,” he said.

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I tried to consciously keep away from you. Tried to give ‘friendship’ a name to our relationship. But Deepa”, he gently pressed her hand, “I know it is love.  Come to think of it, why did we, two strangers, keep on meeting accidentally, in the flight, in the train? Deepa, believe me, this is not an accident, this is destined, we are meant to be together.” Their eyes met and locked. 

“Come to work with me. I will have you close but I promise never to force anything on you”, he said. Deepa knew she felt the same for him.  She looked away.  “I don’t know what to say……..give me some time to think”

“Hi Ma, I am on my way home. Dev is coming for dinner. You please make your special dishes”, there was great excitement in her voice. “Tu aa, (you come) then we will see”. 

It was two years since she had returned from London.  She had come back to India with Dev. Her elder sister was married and their loans were repaid.  She was working in Dev’s company as his assistant.  But true to his word, he never asked her for anything.

“It’s time now you say ‘yes’ to him. He is a gem of a person. You are very lucky”, her mother was telling Deepa.  “Well ma, I wanted to keep it a surprise, but mothers always know everything. Dev is coming to speak to you about our marriage. He has once condition, you will live with us.”

“Maji, you are a wonderful cook, I have to kiss your hands”, Dev kissed Deepa’s mother’s hand and she smiled giving him blessings.  “I will be the son you did not have so far” he said. They all hugged each other.

On their honeymoon flight to Switzerland, when the food arrived, Dev said, “Please spare my shirt this time!” and they both laughed out loud.