Mid-life romance

I was ambling aimlessly at one of the swanky malls when I first spotted her about two years ago. Slim and sleek, dark and dainty, her form and features were enticing, to say the least. My heart skipped a beat. I noticed that others too, mostly males, were eyeing her. I stole a second glance at the pretty thing and moved on. A few weeks later I spotted her in another mall with some others of her ilk. A couple of suave executives were hovering around her. The famous lines of the poet “a thing of beauty is a joy forever” kept ringing in my ears for the next few weeks.

Not that she was beyond my reach. It was a question of choice, how and when as in the first flush of any romance. The days, weeks and even months went by and work pressure took my mind off her. Out of sight and out of mind, as it were. However, subsequently, I did see her at some hotels and high-end boutiques, sparking only more interest in her. Now, I had fallen hook, line and sinker. I eyed her even more closely. Black is indeed beautiful, I agreed with whoever coined that phrase.

Enough of flirting and harbouring this crush, I told myself sternly. It was time to make a decent approach and make her mine. However, I remained cautious and nervous that is so typical of yours truly. To be candid, it was not an easy call. Again, fortunately or unfortunately, work pressures, travel and other routine matters eclipsed her from my mind’s radar for sometime.

Then, curiously enough, a few weeks later I was reading a glossy magazine after a sumptuous Sunday lunch when I spotted her. In a full page spread she looked very attractive. I silently stared at the picture, examining her from all angles till I dropped off on the couch. Funnily enough, in that short nap I had a dream about her and how supremely triumphant I felt owning her. And the fact that I kept humming the tune of the old song ‘she must be mine’ spoke volumes of my latest infatuation.

That very evening I discussed the matter with my good friend. He chided me for dilly-dallying over something that is to literally become my life partner. Just go for her man, he advised plainly but firmly. Bold or curve, you deserve that smart, thing, he added for good measure.

Without further ado, I dashed straight to the mall where I first saw her. I picked her up, paid and merrily walked away. Today, my Blackberry phone and I are inseparable, like two peas in a pod.