May be forever

T H R E E

             ' The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do '
Sister Lucia's voice ringed in Vinny's ears. She was in sixth grade and sister Lucia was her moral teacher. Sister Lucia was teaching them about how their words could affect someone,it has the power to break someone, mend someone and it can cause self damage too. So she was telling her students, to think twice before using their tongues.

The sixth graders nodded in response and Vinny did the same, she didn't understand that fully then. But that words remained with her all these years and was ringing in her ears like angry waves in the ocean, it was roaring in her head,  making her realize how she was digging her own grave with her stupid words.

      Vinny shook her head to get the ringing go away. She tapped on the table impatiently as she waited for Mr. Rao. She felt a wave of fear washing over her. What was she going to do now. Why did she put herself in such a tight spot? Vinny sighed looking out through the glass window on the wall.
           In the past one hour , Vinny has been on an adrenaline rush. The realisation, that he wasn't the guy she was waiting for and yet spilled everything to him, had pushed her into a flight mode. The damage was done and she needed to fix it, before it was too late.

Vinny had literally ran to her dad's PA and asked him to inform the original groom, that she could not meet him today and she got Avinesh Rao's contact number.

Dad's PA seemed skeptical about her sudden approach but she was in a rush. She will deal with her dad later.
First she should deal with this guy. She had called him immediately and asked him not to utter a word to her brother or dad and meet her in an hour. He responded positively and she texted him the address of the nearest coffee shop Cafe cube.

               It was a cute cafe with dim light and large comfy chairs. The smell of freshly roasted coffee beans and low music added the charm to it.
If it was any other day Vinny would have loved it. But today she was restless and she could hear her own heart beat. She had selected a corner table close to the window, It was a quiet and balmy dusk, with a pink shaded sky and sun taking a leave at its horizon,  contrast to her emotions.

          A soft knock on her table broken her thoughts and her eyes met the soft brown eyes from early encounter.
She sat there numb for a long moment,  while he sat down opposite her , facing her , studying her, like making her outline in his mind.
She sat still, preparing herself for a confrontation till he ordered cold coffee for both of them.

'So.. what do you want to talk about Ms. Reddy?' his tone was calm and he saw how her shoulder was tensed and how uptight she was sitting.

Vinny took a deep breath and tried to collect herself.

'See Mr. Rao, I made a mistake earlier. I mistook you for someone else. It was all my mistake and I am sorry about that. You know a lot of things about me now.' her voice shook a bit and he raised an eyebrow at her.

' But please don't tell anything to my brother or dad and proceed with your plans to help Bhai.
You can judge me as much as you want, but please keep it to yourself. Will you?' 
Her voice was hoarse with worry and trepidation.
She hated how desperate she sounded, but she was in need of an assurance and she wanted it from him.
       By the time their coffee arrived, Vinny felt like sitting on an edge, a slight push and she will be gone.
The air of uncertainty hung in the air and it choked up the air around her.

           Avi took his time to sip the coffee and think it over while she sat there unsurely.

' I am not going to use that information against you Ms. Reddy. Please be assured, I know it's very personal and I should not have nudged for more information. It just happened that way. I am sorry about that and Varun is my friend, we will sort it out about the business I mean.'