Wednesday, September 01, 2010

It must've been love...

He chatted away, nineteen to the dozen. She listened patiently as always, sometimes distracted by the odd pang of hunger, as she waited for their food to arrive.

"...They loved my idea," she suddenly heard him say.

"Lovely, darling. I'm sure they're proud of you," she said, slightly stunned at how automatically the response was out of her, before she could even gather what he was talking about.

Pay attention. It's his big day. Don't spoil it for him.

"...And yeah. They want me to be in charge of the entire project. It's really something I've been waiting for, for so long. It's finally happening!" he was now saying. 

"I'm so happy for you!" she responded, a little more cheerfully than she felt. 

The waiter brought in the food. As usual, he joked with the waiter. The latter guffawed and went off to jot down the order at the next table.

Everyone loves him, she thought. 

Everyone? 

Her train of thought was distracted with the sound of spoons against the plate. He'd begun eating, while her plate was still empty. 

"I had a good day at work," she said, grabbing a butter naan. "Wasn't hectic enough to induce a headache, but wasn't boring enough to keep playing Solitaire, either."

"Hmm," he said, checking mail on his phone. "Why isn't he mailing, yaar?"

"Who?" 

"My boss. He's supposed to forward an important mail. If it doesn't come tonight, tomorrow's con call will be a waste of time!"

"Hmm. Yeah so as I was saying...My day was prett---"

"Hang on. I need to call my boss," he interrupted. 

He rattled off 5 minutes of jargon, most of which she'd heard at least three times through the day. 

"Oh good. He's e-mailing me right away," he said, absently. "What were you saying?"

"Nothing, really," she said, picking at her food. 

"Hmm. I seriously am so excited about this!" he said, full of good cheer.

"Yep, I know," she said, silently.

Roxette's 'Must have been love' began playing from the speakers. He looked up from his phone and looked at her.

"I love this song! Been ages since I heard it last," he said, getting up to go wash his hands. "I'll be right back."

"Uh huh," she said.

It must have been love, but it's over now
It must have been good, but I lost it somehow
It must have been love, but it's over now
From the moment we touched till the time had run out

"It must've been love, alright," she thought, as a silent tear escaped her eye.