Those fifteen minutes

"Dei machan, I want to see her right now da" he said after 7 rounds of scotch on the rocks. "Enna da, loosa nee??, its 2:30AM and not American time, Indian!". It was three days since he was engaged, and he was not yet prepared to going back to a frustrated long distance phone relationship."Dei, if I miss this then thats it. No other opportunity until the wedding. She will leave, then I have to leave. Apram kalla thoni than ore option". "Seri da, you plan and we will take you".

Her outdated Nokia 3315 vibrated."Are you awake princess? I want to see you so badly, and I am a street away from your house." She felt her pheromones piping, and her drunken fiance was so much more romantic than the usual one, she assumed. The big question now, how to get him in. Thanks to the sweltering Madras heat, her parents usually turned on the air conditioning even in December. So if she did close the bedroom door behind her slowly and met him in the living room, the only risk will be her parents waking up for water or to use the restroom. "I am up, and I cannot wait to see you either. But how can you get in? What if my parents wake up?" she texted back. 5 long minutes of waiting. She definitely cant sleep now without seeing him now. "Ok I will come down and you come to your balcony."

Ayyoo, ithu seriana loosu. He came till here why cant he just come upstairs. "Just come upstairs, I'll open the door for you". Hah! A sober me is a better risk taker than even drunken him. She tiptoed from the room, closed the door behind her, with absolutely no noise and waited. This was the craziest thing she had ever done and she was quite excited. What was the worst that could happen? He is after all her fiance she convinced herself.

She could smell the fresh margazhi air as she slowly turned the knob, noiselessly. The door creaked, her mother coughed and she faintly heard the singing of a distant bajana goshti. He tiptoed in. "Is it possible one of your cousins or family could be with that goshti?. I bet some of them looked familiar", he mocked in a whisper. A boyish grin. He had had an overdose of her family for sure but when she saw the alcohol twinkling his eyes making him look so cute, she decided to let it go. Whoever said alcohol was a bad thing and specially for someone who hardly ever drank. "Ok we have fifteen minutes. Thats the window of time I can risk. My parents may wake up. I will leave the door open so that you can slip out anytime. I hope this is safe". "You mean sex before marriage? It sure is. I have a condom". One long hard stare. Why did I ever say yes to this mokka mohan she thought happily. She heard a small cough and shuffling in the next room. There was so much fun in this, like the thiruttu mangai rolled over in a dupatta and broken over the wall always tastes better.

They sat there for fifteen minutes with the coldest madras air in their face and emotions they would remember for a life time. "I love you" seemed like a trivial thing to say at that moment. He felt exhilarated, she slept feeling secured and loved. She woke up to hear his U.S admit, and his mother saying, "ellam Nichyathartha muhurtham than". Life just rolled by on a red carpet after that but the memory of that night was more intense than any other that came by.