Time moved on. Suddenly, one day, I felt I was desperately in love with Zeenat -- and wanted to say so to her! To make a honest confession, at a very special, exclusive place meant for romance. I chose the Rendezvous at the Taj, on the top of the city, where we had dined together once earlier.
No setting could be more appropriate, I thought, than a quite candlelit table in the corner, the candle throwing its gleam on Zeenat's face, just as the glow of her cigarette-lighter had lit up her face when I first met her. The dimmed lights of the city below, shinning out of the darkness, would certainly light up the romance of the moment.
I called her up to say, 'Zeenie, I want to go out on a date with you tonight.'
'But aren't we already going together to a party tonight?' she asked me.
'Of course we are. But let's just go there only for a brief while, say Hi to the gathering, and then quickly disappear!' It was an order, but very lovingly conveyed.
She was quiet.
'H-e-ll-o!' I said.
'Yes, I am listening.'
'Is that a date?' I asked.
'If you so desire. See you then!' And she hung up.
I picked her up. Together we went to the party. It was on in full force. The first person who greeted Zeenat from a distance was a drunken Raj Kapoor, with a gallant drawl, 'There she is! He threw his arms around her exuberantly.
This suddenly stuck me as a little too familiar. And the way she reciprocated his embrace seemed much more than just polite and courteous. She quickly bent down to touch his feet, and then gave me an embarrassed look. Raj grasped my hand in a very tight grip, like never before, as if trying to make amends for some wrong he had done, suddenly overflowing with affection.
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