Gautam entered the Irani restaurant at his usual time. Two waiters greeted him. He took his usual table. It had a green table cloth with muddy patches of various shapes and colors. He looked in the direction of the kitchen. The waiter approached him smilingly, “sir can you take the table by the wall today?”

“Why what is wrong in this? It is empty.”

“Any minute delivery boys will be piling up whole lot of packets on this.”

“Oh okay, not a problem.”

Gautam looked critically at the other table before sitting. He checked the chairs. Then tried to look outside from there and frowned. Dragged a chair out and sat down. Opened his laptop, touched the keyboard with both hands and touched his forehead. Laptop made some musical sounds as though acknowledging his respects.

“Keep the water far away. Its contents can endanger life of ‘my life’. I mean this machine.”

“Yes sure sir.”

“And I want to be left alone, nothing right now. I will ask for it.”

He touched a few keys on the computer and appeared pleased with what appeared on screen. He looked up towards the kitchen and found the waiter, pointed his index finger up. Waiter approached him.

“Tea, but I prefer it hot; not warm.”

Waited left and in a moment returned with a small glass of cutting chai.

Gautam asked him, “how many days fresh are those samosas?”

Waiter blushed.

“If they are not more than two days old, I think I can afford to eat just one without falling sick. Also get two green chilies and, and don’t forget your yellow tomato ketchup.”

Waiter moved with a nod and a fishy smile.

“Oh but wait. Get me today’s newspaper. Why is this fan making so much noise? Put some hot samosa oil in it from your kitchen. Oh wait, wait why so much hurry? Do you recognize my cycle? It’s outside on right side. Keep an eye on it, in between…”

Manager shouted, waited left.

With this fan production factory noise on my head, how can I add tenderness of romance to my romantic scene in the love story?

Young couple in Gautam’s story had planned to see a flop film. The idea was, with very few people in the theater they could themselves get; well, romantic… But suddenly the boy stopped at a pavement tea vendor flocked by auto and taxi drivers. He asked for two cutting chai. Holding the slippery glass in her hand, the girl moved away from those noisy men and… him. Gautam blamed the lack of good ideas to the noisy fan.