Expect The Unexpected

1: Unexpected tapping

Khushi's POV:

Moms and goodbye tears are inseparable. Standing at the entry of busy airport and pretending as noting her advises, I check down my inbox. One week of vacation and its flooded now. Take care of yourself. Eat food on time. Do not stay late at office. Get married soon. My bobbling heads stops and I smirk at her. Again the advices are repeated after snatching my precious cellphone.

This smirking one is, me Khushi. The day I started working, vacation for me is sleeping all day or get pampered by mom. But, my mom prefers to define vacation as the time to meet the 'preferred suitable boys'. When I thought graduating means start of work-period and financial freedom. She understands graduations means I must get married now. Guess, my mom and I are suffering from generation differences. For initial couple of years the 'get-married-soon' topic was saved for vacations but now the topic got promoted to higher priority. My mom is sweet, charming and everything; including nagging. Nagging to get married now has been her recent favorites.

It's difficult to believe, right now am getting all those nagging words next to airport entry. This vacation I almost successfully dodged four marriage proposal citing reasons forgotten. While am musing thoughts, she is moved to tears thinking am moving far from her. Giving her a bear-hug, wiping her tears and promising to call her every day, I start. Only to be stopped by a voice calling some 'Khush'. I ignored it.

While I showed the guard my documents, my thoughts started dragging the Khush word. My roomy, Sneha used to call me by that name. And it used to irritate me as hell, I prefer my name over the word. For unknown reasons the word gain popularity and my name changed to torturous Khush. Thankfully my faculties and certificates carried on my identity, else Sneha rechristen me bad. As I continued to scan my luggage near security deck, someone tapped me. That someone, was male creature and grinning ear to ear calling me Khush. Men!! I ignored him and continued to collect my luggage from the deck.

But it is said, the more you avoid trouble, the more you land there. I realized, my book, a novel that I bought to read during my flight is missing. Shit! Ignoring mom's rants costed me. I must have lost it in taxi or somewhere. Musing my thoughts I loaded my luggage on trolley and moved to collect my boarding pass. My cellphone began vibrating and flashing mom's caller photo. Guess, she noticed my book and I can get it. By end of call I knew two things. One being mom has my novel and other unknown. She term the later as surprise.

Hoping that her surprise would not turn me in shock. I walked near the entry again. She was having a company, a lady around my mom's age. But she was not having any bags, maybe she came to see off someone and met mom. I pleaded the guard to allow me to cross the gate, while he mentioned all security reasons. So, I waved towards mom. But boy, she is so lost hugging her accomplice. I tried her cellphone and informed my presence near gate. Both soon joined me and introductions were made. She was my mom's long lost friend, Mrs. Sharma. Giving her a polite smile and greeting I eyed mom to pass me the book in her hand. As soon as I placed the book in my handbag, I heard a voice saying – 'ladies miss me'. It's the grinning guy who tapped me earlier. Gosh, he seems too full of himself. Mrs. Sharma immediately stopped me saying 'meet my son'.

Giving a tight smile, I exchanged hellos. And began excusing as flight was on schedule. But fate had drowned this morning. Grinning guy, scratch it, Mr. Sharma started 'Khush' raga again. As I quick jog my memory trying to figure out who-the-hell-is-this.