I Miss Her – A romantic story.
“Liz, make me a latte with an extra shot,” said Janet. She would be late as she was working on the latest contract, and thus needed some caffeine to keep on going. Janet paid for the coffee and took to the nearest corner table. Janet liked such lazy afternoons well deservedly enjoyed during her office breaks, as she could pretty much sit comfortably by a cozy corner and could get completely lost in a trashy novel without any worries disturbance her. She took out her latest Mills and Boons novel and began reading it.
Valentine’s was just two days away, and this was all that she could now do to prevent herself from feeling lonely and unwanted. ‘Not that she wasn’t pretty or anything, In fact, at 5 feet 9 she composed a beautiful stunning figure. She was atrociously gorgeous. Janet usually turned more than a few heads every time she happened to be strolling around. She was pretty with a deep set of dark brown eyes and lustrous curly hair.
She was in the midst of an interesting bit – ‘the guy almost on the verge of making love to his girl -suddenly her concentration was broken as she heard someone step in. She didn’t want to look up fearing to miss “that bit”, but found herself helpless after hearing, ‘a man ordered a cappuccino and was asking for directions to a shopping mall near by.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know as I am new to this place myself,” She heard Liz smiling under her lips.
“Oh! That’s okay ma’am,” there was an intense politeness to the voice. “I’ll find somebody who knows.”
Janet immediately noticed that his accent wasn’t English, but neither was she sure where he was from. ‘Must be a tourist’ she thought. She knew where the mall was as it was located a mere 15 minute away from the cafe, where she was now sitting. But she didn’t want to get trapped in any form of random conversation, that too with a stranger. After all, this was to be her only free time wherein she gets to read her favorite book in total comfort of joyous silence.
However, her amiable nature soon got the better of her, and she decided to help the guy with his directions. “I can tell you…”
And she stopped at that. A tourist or not, the man was drop dead gorgeous. He was tall, well built, with short dark hair and even from where she was now sitting; she could clearly mark the color to those eyes. They were blue. She couldn’t bring herself to break the eye contact. He was wearing jeans with a white t-shirt. “Will you be my Valentine?” she wanted to cry out. Only no words came out of her mouth. It was left wide open with awe and surprise. Janet and the stranger were staring at each other as if they formed the only ones left all alone on the face of the earth!! “Sorry” with a guilt realization, they broke the eye contact both apologizing at once.
“Were you telling me something?” the man queried Janet blushed and was staring at him again.
“It’s quite nearby.” Her hand pointed in the direction. “Turn left, err! I mean…right” the book in her hand almost threatened to get flung away “then again a left and yeah keep going until you reach a shady corner. That is the mall.”
“Ah, that is quite close. Well that means I’ve still have some time in my hand .” He wasn’t flirting.
Janet didn’t know what to say. She returned to her book and gave away a smile in shy’ed embarrassment. How stupidly! The way she was acting, As if she was some infatuated teenager!! He must have been probably married or at least engaged and here she wanted him to be her Valentine!
“Would you mind if I join you?”
Janet looked up to lose herself in his blue eyes again. “Yes please,” she blurted out.
He smiled again and Janet felt her heart almost stopped.
“I’m Roland and you are?”
“Janet.” She was out of breath.
“Thanks a ton for helping me out. I wanted to go around the city but somehow forgot to take my map along. Was lost,”
“That’s okay. You don’t seem to be from here.” Confident of her remark “where are you from?” she asked without any hesitation.
He threw back his head and laughed so hard “It’s my accent …isn’t it?”
Janet blushed.
“Am here on holiday.”
Janet felt some disappointment. He would leave soon. That meant the end of anything she had thought.
“But if I like it here, I might even end up moving in. Actually my dad wants to set up a firm and I have come here for those negotiations,” Roland said.
Janet cheered up.
“What do you do Janet?” Roland asked.
“I work in that firm, across the road,” Janet was again pointing.
“You are pretty. You can be a model, you know,” said Roland leaning towards her and Janet blushed redder.
“Hey, have embarrassed you badly I can see. I’m not here for long, but please let me buy you dinner tomorrow night,” said Roland.
It took Janet all her strength not to shout “yes” immediately. She hadn’t been on a date in months and was wondering when she would meet a nice guy again. She certainly didn’t want to miss this chance – to be with Roland for sometime.
She told Roland how much she would love it and then she remembered! The contract she was working on had to be submitted on Friday morning and there was no way she could meet Roland on Thursday night as she would be in working in her office till very late
“Oh my God. Am sorry, I just remembered my deadline. I just won’t be able to,” Janet said dejectedly.
Roland checked his diary flicked the pages over and tried his best but he failed to find a combination that might work. They couldn’t meet, he said.
“Looks like it just wasn’t meant to be,” Janet pointed out.
Roland looked up. There was disappointment written clearly on his face. He was about to stay something when Janet realized how desperate she must have sounded. After a pause, he said, “I would like to know you better Janet. Let’s stay in touch. I might be moving here soon.”
There were lots of if’s involved and Janet knew that. Suddenly her phone buzzed and realized she should have returned to her office while an hour ago. “My boss must be wondering where I am. I’ve got to go, Byeee.”
Janet was about to rush out when Roland stopped her by her arm. “It was wonderful meeting you Janet,” said Roland and Janet left with a quick smile.
Only as the lift doors were closing, did Janet realize that she and Roland had not swapped details after all. She felt terribly sad as she realized she would certainly never get a chance see him again.
How stupid of her to walk out this way without even leaving a simple email address at him She hoped Roland might leave a message with the girl in the café, but there wasn’t any when she queried the next day. The thought that, ‘may be Roland had the impression that she didn’t wanted to stay in touch, and that’s why he must not have left any message, made her feel all the more despondent.
The prospect of never meeting Roland again made her very upset. The next day she worked like a zombie. She realized she would have to get used to the fact that Roland wasn’t for her, his looks had meant nothing! That night and the following one too she cried herself to sleep.
The following morning, there was a note from her boss asking her to come to his office as soon as she arrived. Her heart sank. Was it any problem with the contract? Had she made a mistake? She knew how particular her boss was about work.
She walked towards his office as slowly as possible. Her boss, Mr Smith, was sitting at his desk when she opened the door. Another man sat facing him.
“Boss, you wanted to see me,” said Janet.
“Yes. Seems you have quite a reputation. This gentleman here wants you to personally handle his affairs,” said Mr. Smith.
Janet felt confused. Why her? And then she was dumbfounded when the man turned his head. It was Roland!
“It’s fine Janet. Have heard only good things about you,” Mr Smith said with broad smile.
He then asked Janet to see Roland downstairs after their meeting had ended. And through the meet, Roland kept staring at her as if he couldn’t bring himself to lose her. As for Janet, she couldn’t help losing herself in the depth of his blue eyes.
“Janet, did you really think that I would leave without meeting you once?” said Roland when they were finally alone.
Janet stopped breathing. “I wasn’t sure. After I turned down your dinner invitation and then rushed off, must have made you think I wasn’t interested.”
Roland smiled. He moved closer to her. “How could I ever let go of someone I want you to be my Valentine forever? I knew you were working and that you rushed out because you had to get back to work. That gave me the idea that may be the best way of us spending time together would be through work. My dad checked up on your firm and after he gave me the okay, I scheduled the meeting with your boss.”
“You could have just left a message at the cafe,” Janet suggested.
“I wanted to do something better, sweetheart, cause I wanted it to be very special for you and I don’t think I can wait till V-Day….it has to be now,” said Roland.
By now he had cornered her near the lift and placed kisses all over her face. “I have even better news. I Am moving to your city. Now we can have all the working lunches that we need before we are ready to move in together – get married.”
Janet smiled with pleasure at her other colleagues, as the two of them left the building together, hand in hand. She would never be alone on a Valentine’s Day ever again.
Any guesses where they went?? Yes ……It was heavenly bliss after that!!
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