They kiss, briefly

*Wrote it a while back. Too cheesy, too sweet. And of course, badly written.


The sun had just set, it was drizzling and they were about 30 meters far, but I could distinctly catch the outlines. The boy is scrawny and the girl obese. Twenty year olds I bet. A couple, like we once were. I turned left and looked at my wife... she was watching them too.

Lata and I drive to Barahkhumba metro station daily and park our Maruti 800 right by the Statesman building entrance to  pick our granddaughter up from her evening classes. It is an exercise, a compulsion for both of us. With winters coming, it gets dark by the time our granddaughter's class and the long commute by the metro ends. I have to pick her up and since I can’t drive all that well in the dark, Lata has to come along. She usually pushes the seat back and waits silently with her eyes closed. Today, she was engrossed looking at the kids.


They moved desperately across the building premises, scanning for some private space in the public place I guess. Yes. A little nook behind a pillar that supports the stairs to the first floor. Good place, but too many people – a security guard of an ATM, a man who is in charge of parking, people coming from the book store on the floor above… I smiled. Their plight was enjoyable.

They kiss, briefly, and turn their heads hastily to check if someone was watching. First timers. I was wrong; they cannot be older than fifteen. The girl holds the boy’s hands and brings them closer to her chest. I cannot be sure if he felt her breasts but even if he did, the girl couldn't have felt anything. Wimp, he retracted quickly.

“You were as shy as him on our first night”, Lata suddenly said.

“Huh, I wasn’t”, I defended quickly but she wasn’t impressed. “Not as much as him at least… and only on the first night.”

She checked her watch and looked past me, in the direction of the kids. It didn’t matter anymore – how I was or how she was and how we once were. This wasn’t an occurrence – somewhere between becoming parents to grandparents things had changed and we became just that. Both of us silently acknowledged that we did not have any other roles to play.

I wiped the car window with my hands and searched for the kids. They weren't there. Perhaps a better place was found and they were enjoying each other’s company. Lata pushed her reclined seat further back and closer her eyes, like she does daily. I did the same.
 “Was I that pathetic?” I put my right arm over my eyes and asked with utmost casualness. 

 She didn't reply for a few seconds, but then she whispered, "Come here". I noticed the familiar tension in her voice that had long been absent. I opened my eyes and looked at her: she was still beautiful.

“Come here”, she commanded. I hesitated, unsure of what’s going to happen. She took my hands in hers and brought her face a little closer. I quickly turned my head and checked. Night had crept in, it was still drizzling and no one was around who could be looking at us. We kissed, briefly.