As the aroma of coffee wafted in the air, it caught her attention. That smell reminded her, that she had been working for too long. The woody yet fruity smell reminded her of the treks in the Midwestern countryside, of freshly cut grass and falling leaves in autumn. And the cinnamon-y smell also reminded of cold December mornings spent in the coffee shop on her university campus, sipping a cup of warm coffee, watching the snow fall and her favourite song playing in the background. And it also reminded her of the time spent with him, drinking several cups of coffee together, arguing about which coffee tasted the best. She always preferred a good strong robust cup and he always liked to try adding flavours to make his cup ‘interesting’. ‘You ruin it’, she complained, and he just smiled.
When they met 20 years ago, sparks didn’t burst, angels didn’t sing. She was fighting with a guy who was driving on the wrong side of the road. She had the choicest words to say to him and everyone on the road was in absolute shock. He was intrigued by this “gutter mouth” as he called her later. Finally when she was done with that guy, she started to walk away. He went up to her and said hi. She first snapped at him but then calmed down. He asked her if she wanted to tea. “Tea? Tea is for wimps. Give me a strong coffee”.
That’s when their friendship started. She was impulsive, bad tempered and foul mouthed but he knew, there was a tender side to her that was sensitive and many things bothered her. When they started dating, it was very casual, but slowly she started to depend on him. She didn’t admit ever needing anyone’s help, but he was always the first to get a call when she was angry, upset or happy. And that was enough for him.
When he asked her to marry him, she had laughed. “Why do we need to get married? We are happy the way we are!” And so he fought with his parents and supported her fight with her parents and they moved in. That was 20 years ago. Age had not mellowed her down but they had settled into a routine. It was comfortable. So one day when she said, she wanted some time off, he had said yes. He knew, she needed space. He had seen her restlessness. It was getting too comfortable for her. She signed up for a course in USA for six months. He had supported her. And six months turned into a full fledged 2 years. They spoke every day, and he never asked her when she was going to come back.
So that day in that coffee shop, when she saw an old couple wait at the bus stand in the freezing cold, she smiled. She had just submitted her thesis and was finally done. She picked up her phone, booked her ticket back home and sent him a message “Will you marry me?”

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