A lot that happened over Coffee !

Gurgaon has been treating me all well ever since the D-day that I came here to join my summer internship in Bharti Airtel. The commercial city is bombastic and keeps on introducing me to different kinds of experiences that I could ever expect ! I am happy experiencing this phase of life in one hand and the other hand keeps itself busy in judging what is right and what not and what should be how. So that leaves my job all easy.

My weekends are mostly free and usually I step outside for lunch as my paying guest apartment doesn't provide with that facility. So on a pleasant saturday afternoon today, I hired a rickshaw and reached my nearest favourite destination "Sahara Mall" on the MG Road and thought of going for a coffee ride coupled with a sizzling chocolate brownie topped with a scoop of yummy vanilla Icecream. I spotted a nice table for myself, second from the first and placed the order while making an effort to get my things tidily assembled on the table. I spotted a "cafe chronicle" and went through flipping its pages while waiting for my order to arrive. "I should read newspapers more often" I thought and looked up, when I suddenly met eyes with a small girl, in a pretty white kurta and cute pink sandals beneath the faded blue denims. Her hair were roughly tied by her mom in a pony tail and her long fringes were neatly done to one side with the help of a cute baby clip. I went noticing that cute little girl when my order had just arrived !! :) Sizzling brownie and an Ice cold Cafe Frappe. My mouth watered and I started enjoying my feast.

After a 3-4 bites of the sizzling brownie I got interrupted with a sudden noise from the table adjacent to mine. My whole attention drove there while I pretended to be lost in the delicious coffee. A hefty lady around 28 years old sat on the couch while trying to make her point to her husband who sat on the opposite couch in a navy blue t-shirt paired with a mustard 3/4ths. They seemed to me the parents of that cute child I was noticing earlier. The kid resembled quite much like her mom, with the same round face and beautiful eyes.

"Is it that only you have a right to question? Don't I have any right to question you? Tell me Bobby, where did I go wrong yesterday ??" The lady was trying to be as humble as possible while in an urge to clarify some issue with her husband.

I could hear the man talking to the lady in super angry tone. The tones went higher and turned into a fight. Slowly I reduced my speed of taking the meal to the minimal; as I became even more interested to know as to what all was actually going on over their coffee.

The man was scolding her wife for spending too much money which was why his savings were not successful "But I spend wisely. Only when it is required" She said. "Is it that I am even not allowed to spend the money for a bottle of water when I am thirsty ? My basic needs ? I never knew post marriage you would become so money minded God Dammit" She continued.
"What the hell are you talking money minded. What do you mean. I give you everything but you happen to care to the nill" The man blasted. His voice raised enough to startle the whole cafeteria.

The lady kept on and so did their fight. And there came a point, when she was almost ready to burst to tears, all helpless; just the fact that she was trying to control herself.
The man gave no pity to her innocent face, that showed the most saddened smilie ever. And instead he seemed in no mood to compromise from his blasting statements which made no sense to the lady. They kept on and on while I went thinking about them !

The couple seemingly had forgotten about their little daughter who was poking her mom for a soap to clean her messed up hands. I noticed a half eaten and a half spilled sandwich on her ketchup laden white plate as she finished declaring that she was done. The little girl was subconciously offered with a tissue paper by the lady, while the lady still kept busy in solving out for with her husband. Both of them were so lost in that fight that they had no clue of their daughter who had almost stuffed the whole of the tissue paper inside her mouth, post cleaning her hands with it! In no time she went chewing it too ! I looked at her mom ... she had no clue about what her little princess was doing !! I almost got up from my chair to protect the girl when I suddenly took back my seat as the girl showed me her tongue in an atempt to pass an offending gesture.

That nasty expression of hers had almost crushed my cuddly feelings for her but that apart.. ThankGod she had spat that tissue out in an attempt to show me a big tongue. I saw her nasty look towards me but I smiled at her and nodded her a negative head to indicate her not to do like that. Surprisingly she became normal, smiled, shyed away and then in sometime, started waving at me to come by her side. I smiled back and sat still. "That's the wonder of a smile" I thought and looked at her parents who were all worried about their finances and its savings.

Their seemed no end to their fight while I heard that lady "Let's do one thing, we will move from here, farther from all the others and then we could save better and as far my expenses you will also come to know how much do I really spend." I couldn't hear properly as to what did the man reply harshly at this response but now I just kept wondering about the little girl who was jumping all over the caffeteria and her parents did not bother a second about that ! "Wow?? I thought ! The life as they say in a Metro ? Is it !?"

I lost my interest from their converstaion while I got occupied by my thoughts about them and that was the time when the waiter arrived at their table to collect the sandwich laden plates and emptied large sized coffee mugs. They asked for a bill when I wondered why did they choose to have a branded coffee with branded sandwiches for all three of 'em when finances were what they were concerned about all through the time that they had checked in the place !

I wondered and in my thoughts, cleared my bill and left the caffeteria. I imagined if marriage could bring such complications too that one start doubting about another person's expenditure. I compared this situation with that of my home where my dad never kept such tracks. He gives genuine freedom to his loving kids and to his beloved wife while saying that it's us that he is concerned for and it's all for us, that he earns. That is what is called Trust.. Care.. Love and all together which gives happiness. Happiness that money can never buy. I felt proud of my family and proud to be his beloved daughter. He, the most respected, who taught me the best values in this world and always gave me the best. The best he could afford and more than better that I may have ever desereved. In an emotional state of mind, I got reminded of that little girl.. the innocent little one, who I thought will demand of more variety of baby clips, kurtas, sandals and denims from her parents who kept on fighting for "Finances".

I mentioned to myself how much do I adore my father and how much do I love my family. I thanked the Almighty for everything as I moved out of the "Sahara Mall" and hired a rickshaw for back home. "A lot can really happen over coffee" I thought.

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