One of those days

“Guess what??!”.... She screamed into the phone.
He had to keep the cellphone half a meter away from his ears to prevent the possibility of going deaf. He was irritated in no small amounts. It seemed like one of those Sunday mornings when nothing seemed to be going well. Here he was, with a throbbing head ache, an empty coffee pot and at a loss for ideas while preparing for his consulting pitch. And she had to do this!
She always did that. She would land up unexpectedly when he was in the middle of some serious guy-talk with his friends or, when he was having an argument with his folks. Either ways it was bad timing. It was surprising that they didn’t seem to mind the intrusion.

“Now what?”... He wondered aloud.
“You know what? I finalized the list of my requirements and made a decision” He could almost see her beaming. He loved the warmth in her voice, but therein lurked the danger.
“Requirements? What are you talking about? If it is one of those your stupid shopping trips, don’t even start, I am not coming anywhere” he was getting angrier. She had done that before and he was not going to get inside those hideous malls where people shopped like there was no tomorrow.
“No, silly! Not that. Remember our last week’s conversation? No? I bet you don’t remember. You are always like this. You never listen to my plans. So much so for being a friend...” she would have gone on but he cut in urgently, for he knew he would never hear the end of it.
“Listen, I have a bad headache and I am in no mood for this ok? I have a presentation tomorrow which I have no clue about so, just back off baby!”

She had giggled. So typical of her, he thought rather tiredly. He wanted some peace, but it looked like this was going to be a long conversation. He knew she knew how irritated he was, and he knew she would not let go of him now, just to tease him. Knowing each other for the last seven years and staying great friends was a disadvantage in such times. Anyways, he would have been doing the same had the roles been reversed so, he did not have much to complain about.
The thought made him smile. Yes, they had had pretty good time together in those last seven years. In fact, very good. They had supported each other during the ugly storms of failed relationships ravaging their lives, rejoiced other’s victories, and had put up with personal prejudices and idiosyncrasies without much whimpering.

He braced himself to hear about her office saga, the Coffee Day time with her girlfriends, her investment plans, questions on what he thought of the new laptop that she planned to buy, her upcoming trip to china…..
“…So, I realized that there is one person who fits in well!” she had been saying something about those requirements again. Damn, he had not heard clearly. Before he could collect himself, she was off to anther planet with another interesting topic.

There were times when he dearly wished to get away from all this chatter and live like a monk. She was fun but then she was also opinionated, trusted others easily and could be a pest when it came to his personal relationships. But he knew he would never take such a step. He felt peaceful, comforted in her presence. He could be himself, with no effort required to maintain the image that he so often struggled to keep with the outside world.

“… married to me? ... Hello? Are you asleep?” she chimed into the phone.
“No”
“Then why didn’t you answer my question?”
“What question?”
“I wanted to know if it is fine with you to get married to me.”
Jesus! he could have been dreaming.
All his irritation and the headache left him at that instant.