CHEERS!

 

This is a story of an evening that occurred almost twenty two years ago. Shweta and I shifted to Mumbai from Pune immediately after marriage, as I had a job opportunity in Mumbai. Luckily we had a friend who had a 2 bhk flat to be rented out in Andheri west. That was a convenient location for me as my workplace was in Andheri east. Things had fallen in place. We had moved to Mumbai and had now been settled there after almost six months. We had started to understand the pulse of the city and liking it despite all the problems, which generally only the outsiders complained about.

Newly married couples then staying all by themselves with complete privacy, what else could you ask for. One day we were watching a movie together and in that there was a scene where the couple is having a nice dinner at a restaurant and having wine along. The beautiful, bulging wine glasses with that red velvety textured wine was a treat to the eyes. Shweta said with a husky voice, "Lets have some wine someday." I was a bit surprised at this request. We used to have beer very occasionally, but going for the upgrade sounded interesting. Besides I had no option but to say 'yes' to that request in the husky voice. 

So we decided to have a romantic date one Saturday evening. The main agenda was to have wine. I asked Shweta, which restaurant should we go to? Shweta hesitated for a while and said well Shonu, (now Shonu is my pet name and only she is allowed to call me that), what I was thinking was that since we both would be having wine for the first time and we don't know how is it going to suit us. So how about having the date at home first as a trial run? Once we are sure about the 'whats' and 'hows', then maybe we can have our final date in a restaurant. Initially I disliked the idea, but on reflecting on it I felt that made sense. It's good to have a scene, if at all, at home rather than outside at some unknown place. I agreed and felt so proud of Shweta for her visionary thinking.

So Saturday came which we both were excited about. We set out for shopping. Shweta took care of buying all the groceries and ingredients for cooking the starters, followed by a sumptuous dinner. I had to buy the wine obviously. While Shweta was busy shopping for the veggies,I told her that I would go to the liquor store  nearby to buy wine. She looked at me and gave me a blushed smile. 

I smiled back and rushed to the store. In the excitement I stepped up to the counter and confidently asked for a bottle of wine. The guy on the other side took a good look at me and with a smirk on his face said which one? I said red, in the same spirit. He made a straight face and asked again which one in red? My confidence suddenly drained and my face turned into a big question mark. The guy on the other side suddenly appeared to me as the professor from our engineering college who used to ask such loaded questions knowing full well that this candidate knows nothing. I immediately went into rookie mode and asked which ones do you have? He just like those waiters from udupi restaurants started blurting out names of the wines which didn't even sound English to me. Now when you lose the first criteria of options to make a choice, naturally you are left with only the other option. So I asked the price range and he immediately answered that there is a whole range from three hundred rupees to five thousand rupees. I was more puzzled. I realised that there was no point in putting up a facade. I immediately put up my hands in the air and surrendered to the circumstances. 

I confessed to the guy that this is my first time to buy wine. I have no prior knowledge of it. He laughed and told me that he knew it from the moment I opened my mouth which actually made me feel a bit irritated, but then you need to succumb to knowledge.I also asked for help in making a choice. He then put up three bottles and made my life very easy. He told me the prices and the taste characteristics. Now I started looking at those three bottles and was confused again. He sensed my confusion, picked one bottle and told me to take the  one he pointed at. This is the best option available to you. Take it. Taste it. If you don't like it, get the bottle back and take your money back. No questions asked. Now that sounded like quite an assurance. I immediately obliged. Took out my wallet and paid him. He packed the bottle in the newspaper and put in a plastic bag and handed over the bag to me and wished me luck.

I rushed back to Shweta. She was done with her shopping and was waiting for me at the corner. She asked me why it took so long. I goggled and told her that I will tell her later. We both picked up the bags and got an auto for ourselves and reached home.

It was seven in the evening. Shweta had finished cooking dinner. I too had invested my time into making some delicious starters. I set up the table in the living room. Arranged flowers in the vase. Turned on some dim lights. Had the starters arranged by the side of the table. Had the glasses set on the table which we had bought on the way home for the party, just for the two of us. 

We both dressed up for the date. Shweta was wearing a beautiful purple color evening gown and I had her favorite printed shirt on with a vest jacket. It did feel like we were stepping out for a party. We both stepped into the living room and it felt awesome. The ambience was just right for a romantic date. It was pretty similar to the one from the movie. I pulled the chair and helped my beloved settle down in the chair. I sat down on mine. We smiled at each other. It was feeling a little pleasantly awkward. We held hands. I kissed her beautiful hand. I gave her a red rose. She blushed. We chatted for a while, felt relaxed and excited. Shweta asked me about the wine. I, in my most polite etiquette, obliged and excused myself to step in the kitchen to get the bottle.

I stepped into the kitchen. Opened the refrigerator and pulled out the bottle of wine. It had a paper seal which I could remove very easily. I was getting excited to taste the wine and enjoy the rest of the evening. As soon as I removed the paper seal,I further broke the seal of the bottle and removed the cap.The moment to serve and taste the wine was very near now. Both of us had taken a lot of effort for this date and hence eagerly looking forward. 

As soon as I removed the bottle cap,I was stumped to see a cork seal fitted at the mouth of the bottle. This was like the googly question from the viva. I had no idea how to remove it. Just Shweta called for me and asked why it was taking so long for Shona. I murmured that I will be there in a minute. Meanwhile I was trying to think hard as to how to remove the cork from the bottle. I pulled out a spoon and tried tampering the surface of the cork. Then I tried the knife. It did carve out a few pieces but still not very assuring. I tried inserting a thin knife along the edges of the bottle but it didn't go beyond a point. 

Sensing that it was taking long for me, Shweta stepped into the kitchen and surprisingly asked me what I was doing. What was I struggling with? I showed her the cork seal with a puzzled face. She saw me struggling to remove the cork stopper. She also offered a few ideas but they too didn't work. Now I was getting a little upset and frustrated. I was controlling it well so far. I mean when everything is falling in place why does something have to come up as a challenge? Why can't there be smooth journeys and happy endings. A philosophical thought crossed my mind even in that situation.

Shweta suggested that we cut through the cork by using the thin knife and then take it off. The idea sounded good. I started slowly piercing the knife in the middle of the cork, building the bottle tightly in the hand. It was very time consuming and I started losing out on my patience. I threw the knife and shouted with frustration that this method is not working and gave a look to Shweta. She stared back at me and told me not to get upset with her as it was my job to find out about these nitty gritty's of the wine bottle. I got the message. I immediately made the liquor shop guy my new target and started cursing him as it was his job to brief me about the bottle opening challenge. Then I kind of lost it. Very soon Shweta realised that the date was off. She stood there in the corner watching me and clearly very upset. I took on the task of cutting through the cork more rigorously and in that haste if making it happened faster, i lost my grip over the bottle a it slipped from my hand and with a loud "CLLANNGG" sound banged against the floor and shattered all over the kitchen. There was wine all.over the floor, my trousers had  huge splashes of the wine. Shweta's gown also got splashed with wine and she gave away a cry. 

We both looked at each other. The wine bottle had clearly ruined our evening. The entire efforts had gone down the drain. Shweta went inside the bedroom, came out after a while with her night capris and t-shirt. She gave me a cold look and asked me to step outside the kitchen. I stepped out with a completely off mood and came into the living room. Switched off the dim lights and turned on the regular tube light. Turned on the TV and flipped through some channels. Actually I was in no mood and kept thinking about the incident. Shweta finished cleaning the kitchen. She came out in the living room. Sat in another corner. I felt sorry for her. Her desire to have an evening date and sip wine had gone down the drain. I felt guilty. I should have been proactive and asked. 

We sat there in the living room just like two strangers in a waiting room. After a while Shweta got the dinner plates. We served a little, ate a little. She packed the leftovers into the refrigerator. I went up to her and said sorry for ruining the evening. Very sincerely I accepted my mistakes and kept saying sorry.

She said it was ok and not to trouble myself so much. She was understanding enough and told me that things happen. It's ok.

We switched off the lights and went to bed. I was still feeling low and upset. We both were lying on the bed but knew quite well that we are not asleep. There was silence in the air, pin drop silence and just then Shweta blurted out a loud laughter. I was shocked to hear that. She continued laughing. I asked her what happened and she replied that it was quite hilarious to watch my expressions when the bottle slipped and broke. She almost started mimicking me in slow motion. That made me laugh. Even i recollected the incident and laughed out loud. We both shared a hearty laugh and then started looking at the entire evening through humor lenses and it all started feeling quite funny. I also shared with Shweta what happened to me at the liquor shop and she laughed her guts out. She said that I was a real cute, innocent, childlike dumbo and gave me a sweet peck on the cheek. I felt relieved and hugged her tightly. Sometimes letting go of smaller issues in life makes it so healthy and relaxing for everyone involved.

© - Rahul Shinde 09/JUN/2020