“I have a bad feeling about this.'' I declared drumming my fingers against the coffee table.

The four of them gave me a skeptical look before going back to the flashy screens of their respective phones. Well, everyone but Naina whose fingers were busy dipped in the nutella jar filled of molten chocolate. I tried taking a lick from that but my hand was rudely slapped away by my pregnant, hormonal friend. I dropped the matter with just a scowl because she was going to gift me with a baby-angel very soon. 

''I seriously think that there's going to be something majorly wrong with him. And why did you girls decide on setting up a meeting here?'' I frowned.

One thing I didn't ever want was to meet the clowns( my potential grooms) at our own cafe. I loved this place and it had too much of sentimental value to be ruined by tagging some stupid, creepy memory to it.

Yes, we had occupied a table at Cafe Magic Beans at around eleven in the morning. It hadn't even been a few days to my encounter with the ketchup guy that my friends had showed up to my doorstep with a new one. They usually never took it upon themselves to find a man for me because my family was doing an overtime at that but this was one of the rare times when my magic beans came across a 'nice' guy about whom they thought to have a potential to hit it off with me. There were no bright stars seen in their last attempts but I must say that these men usually didn't turn out to be as creepy as the choices of my aunties were. 

''Kshitij is a nice guy and he insisted on seeing this place so...." Kavya trailed off.

"Well, at least let me see his photo or give me something about him. Please?" I asked propping my head up on the elbows.

Naina shook her head dismissively. Since past one year or so, my family and friends had come up with an idea of 'Cloak-And-Dagger'. They only let me know the name, place and time to meet the guy. No photos. No biodata. It was kind of like a blind date but the girls insisted on having a dramatic name so 'Cloak-And-Dagger' it was!

"You guys are just over reacting to come up with this 'Cloak-And-Dagger' scheme of your's. I really don't refuse to meet guys on the basis of some immature, insignificant reasons." I justified.

"You passed on my cousin a year back because his facebook profile had a few likes on some of the reality shows you don't like." Drishti rolled her eyes.

"And it is a valid reason because the person who spends half of his time watching those 'scripted' reality shows full of non-sense and the other half in hitting the like buttons on the fan pages isn't exactly the soul-mate of my dreams." I said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"And remember that family friend of your's she refused to meet?" Zalak turned to Kavya, "Just because he wore a tiny ponytail at his nape!"

"Ponytails on men give me an impression of a rebel or arrogance. How do I marry that ?" I shrugged.

"Also her college friend who proposed her just a few months back!" Kavya recollected, "He was rejected because his last name--"

"Enough alright!" I said wide-eyed, "Maybe I'm a little hypercritical when it comes to getting hitched but it's all because I want what you people have with your mates, something that is still burning bright and alive between my parents after thirty years of arranged marriage. Yes, I'm tired of the wait but I haven't given up yet."

"You will find him Omi and it will be absolutely beautiful." Naina put her hand on my wrist, "There are more than a few hiccups in the way but I'm sure that once you're over them, the other side is going to be spectacular. I'm not claiming that it is all going to be a blissful affair but it is worth taking the leap."

I smiled, "Everyone has to kiss a few ugly frogs before stumbling upon their prince charming, don't they? This Kshitij guy might as well add up to my record of encounters with those sloppy creatures!"

"Omanah!!" The four of them groaned unanimously at my "positive" attitude. 

"What? That man is already an hour late. I'm sure he is a shallow being with an empire-state high male ego. The person didn't even bother calling once to inform us about his where-abouts. For as far as I know, he is less than interested in showing up here." I shrugged.

Drishti's lips parted to speak something but froze in an 'O' as she furrowed her sharp eyebrows at the cafe-door behind me. I turned around to look at the glass door and the road running beyond the footpath on the other side.

I turned back to Drishti, "I don't think he is coming. You can give up staring at the door."

******************************

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The giant clock on the wall struck midnight and I sunk into all the more depression. The packet of chips in my lap crunched loudly in the silence of the apartment as my fingers hovered inside it in search of some last few crumbs. Switching off the television I got up to get rid of the wrappers of chocolates lying on the teapoy in front.

The sharp buzz of the door bell made me drag myself to the front door after dumping the waste packets in the bin under the sink. I pulled open the door to a grinning Naina. In her pajama night-suit, she stood next to Aryan(her husband) with her hand resting on her giant belly. They were followed in by Zalak with Ishaan(her fiancé and our investor), Drishti with her husband Karan and last came in Kavya with Ranveer.

"Happy Birthday Omanah!!!" The four beans hugged me.

"I made it to twenty-five....." I fell on the couch in the drawing room with a light thud.

Kavya looped her arm around my shoulders, "Aww honey! It isn't that bad. I just entered my silver jubilee year five months back, remember?" 

"If it helps lifting up your mood- we have gifts and a huge chocolate fudge cake!" Drishti smiled, "Naina promised to be nice enough to at least let you blow the candles before she pounced on it."

"I appreciate her kindness." I rolled my eyes.

The guys made themselves comfortable as we went through the cake cutting ceremony and gifts-opening rituals. All of us settled down with our respective plates of cakes.

"So, what's new with you Omanah?" Karan asked with his one hand interwined with Drishti's.

"The latest is that I got stood up today." I shrugged, "My suitor didn't consider showing up or even calling after."

He winced before getting back to his cake. I was bitter than the chocolate in my plate but wasn't it justified? Being stood up isn't exactly something a woman would be in a condition to deal with when she is just a day away from getting a year older!

"Before it slips out of my mind. I have got a new rule for my wedding!" Zalak announced.

Yes, she had RULES.

"Not a right time darling." Ishaan murmured to her.

"Don't worry Ishaan. We are pretty much used to her mucked up approach to human feelings." I laughed.

"What?" Zalak frowned clueless.

Call it a blessing or a serious damage- My this friend was born with an innocence of a thousand lambs combined which clung to her through her adult years. The words spilling out of her mouth could easily shatter a person's heart into tiny pieces and she wouldn't have a hint about it. Needless to say that it drove away the men in her life until Ishaan came along. He survived through her random harsh remarks to realize that they were nothing but innocently honest and solely out of the kindness in her heart. Now, how can I not be more than peculiar to find something special like this when I have such tempting inspirations around?

"Nothing. Continue with what you were saying." Naina urged.

"I'm not going to bend down to touch elders' feet at my wedding reception." She folded her arms over her chest.

Ishaan coughed as he choked on the water he was drinking.

"With the heavy dress and all the jewellery that I will be donning, it is going to be a hell of a torture to bend down to seek blessings  of five-thousand people. C'mon, it's practical. I'm sure people will understand, won't they?" she looked at us with her hopeful big eyes.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked.

"Are you sure you want to marry this crazy woman?" Drishti turned to Ishaan, "You still have a chance. Run! save yourself."

"Shut up Drishti! You aren't mature enough to understand all this. I'm the elder one here." Zalak scowled at her.

"Yes, a year more in this world makes you smarter than me." Drishti rolled her eyes, "What does your parents have to say about this wonderful idea of your's? Did you make them realize how amazing of a daughter they have got for themselves?!"

"Amazing is definitely what she is." Ishaan kissed Zalak's small nose, "We will see what we can do for your dilemma. I definitely wouldn't want my wife to suffer a back pain on our honeymoon." He winked.

"Decide on a date for wedding well after my baby's birth." Naina interrupted, "I want to fit into the wedding dresses and look pretty."

The typical skype ringtone from my laptop lying on in the corner disrupted our conversation. I got up and walked to the flashing screen of the gadget. It was a call from home- from my family. I hit the 'Answer with video' button and papa's face popped up on the screen.

"Omanah beta, Happy birthday sweetheart." He smiled warmly.

He looked sleepy in his white kurta-pajama. His silver hair had outnumbered the black ones better than I remembered from the last time I had seen him. I had inherited his fair skin and a big nose. His well trimmed moustache had a few white hair sprinkled here and there.

"Thank you papa. Kem Chho?" I asked about his well being.

"I'm fine. Did you book your tickets to here? You are coming to your cousin's wedding, right?" he asked.

"I haven’t booked the tickets yet but I'll be coming." I assured him, "I won't miss it. Anyway, it has been a long time since I've not been home."

After a few more obvious conversations about business and stuff, papa went back to bed and mummy took his place.

"Jai Shri Krishna mummy."

I greeted as her dusky face with her sharp features came into a focus on my laptop screen. Her  curly hair were tied into a bun. She looked tired and ready to get to bed in her printed night gown.

"Many Many happy returns of the day Omi!" She grinned before it was replaced by a frown, "You seemed to have lost too much of weight. You don't eat at home, do you? Of-course, how could you when you don't even know your way with the stove."

The audience in my living room amused themselves as I tackled each of my mother's claims and observations. After going about fretting over my age and marriage, she vacated the seat for the other people in my humongous joint family. Everyone conveyed their wishes and went back to their rooms when the last person came into the screen- My cousin Miral.

Miral was a couple of years younger to me and we never got along well since childhood. All we did was try and tolerate each other's presence in the same house for years before I finally moved out. She was the one who's wedding I was supposed to attend.

"Happy birthday Omi." She stated dryly.

"Thanks." I matched her disinterest, "Congratulations on your impending nuptials."

"Thanks. Don't worry, you too will have one someday. Hopefully." She gave a fake smile.

"I'm sure." I rolled my eyes.

"Lata aunty is not very happy with you. She is our old family friend and she was hurt that you did not treat her nephew very well." She said accusingly, "Divyesh is a nice guy. A lawyer from Ahmedabad with a nice job. They called up today at home and rejected you."

"I'm heart broken." I said sarcastically. There was no way I was marrying that creepy-ketchup guy.

"With that attitude, no doubt you aren't married yet. Who in their right mind would want a wife like you." She shrugged.

"As a matter of fact, I have always been the one saying 'no' to those men. Divyesh was one of the few who were faster at calling up to decline the relation before I could." I smiled.

"Accept it or not, you are quicker at giving a no because you're afraid that too many refusals from boy's side would shatter your brittle confidence or should I say over-confidence?" She arched her brow, "Marry one of them before you run out of men to refuse or being refused from. Baa is restless about your age and your way with life."

The murderer inside me came to life every time I dealt with this devil of a female. She was shameless enough to drag baa (grandmother) in our petty spats to shut my mouth with guilt.

"Why don't you-----" I started but was interrupted.

"Tell her the truth Omanah. It will shut her up once and forever." Drishti was standing next to me, "Tell her why you have been not agreeing to marry any one of the guys you have been meeting for so long."

I gave her a blank look. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Who is that?" Miral asked from the screen.

"Hi Miral." Drishti sat next to me to fit into the camera frame. "How are you?"

"Hey Drishti." She frowned, "What- What truth were you talking about?"

The audience sitting in the drawing room on the other side were keenly listening to what was going on. Nobody knew anything when it came to Drishti's scheming mind. 

"Omi already has a boyfriend here. She is in a steady relationship. Both like each other but haven't decided on the marriage yet." Drishti shrugged, "Till then Omi is playing along with this whole arranged marriage thing."

Miral gave a blank look, not convinced completely, "Really? What's the name of the lucky man?"

I shot an alarmed look at Drishti. Where the hell was she going with this?! If Miral hissed even a word about this at home, the whole Thakkar family would go crazy and make my life upside down!

"Kshitij." Drishti grinned.

"What?!" I gasped before I could process it through my head.

Drishti gave me a stern look for not playing along so well.

Miral laughed, "Of course Omi has a boyfriend!" She laughed harder and my hand itched to pull her out of the screen and punch her black & blue, "My dear sister, why don't you get this boyfriend of your's to my wedding? It would be a pleasure to have your so called serious  'boyfriend' to my wedding!" She grinned slyly.

"He has always been wanting to meet you all. Kshitij will love to be there." Drishti plastered a smile on her face.