“What! Did you call me at this hour just to ask this? And what’s this lip zip about?”, asked Nisha, shrugging.
Dr.Alok laughed again.
He corrected her, “Sexy! Nisha medam, you invented a new term now from zip-lip to lip-zip.” She blushed, rubbing her hands on her forehead. “Hey, do you remember that day in college?”, asked Dr.Alok, blushing as he looked outside his netted window. Nisha shrugged, turning at the mirror to catch herself blushing.
The scene of young Nisha in a black salwar and young Dr.Alok in a violet shirt on dark blue jeans pants in the faculty’s staffroom flashed in their minds. The young guy was busy packing books from a table into a kitbag.
“Alok saar! Hurry up! It's an important normalization lecture today. We need a sound knowledge of the same for our internship”, emphasized Nisha.
As he nodded, she moved her right palm up like flash. She smiled at the no books left on the table. “Zip lip it and come soon saar!”, rushed she.
“Sexy! What, medam!?!”, exclaimed Alok, smiling and chuckling along. “Zip lip?”, shrugged he, shrinking his lips to control his laughter. She bit her tongue. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Oh! I meant you zip the bag soon. Let's go, distribute and attend the lecture.”
He stood up, shaking his head along. “Nah! I will zip lip it and then come.” The two burst into a round of laughter. Nisha looked up with tears of laughter. “Hmmmmm!”, he sighed long, at which his light brown meekish eyes caught her happy black eyes.
Back in the contemporary moment, Alok and Nisha were busy blushing at each others’ eyes; the voice call no longer remained a mere ordinary call. It was then a video call.
“Aww! So sweet of you, saar. How come you still remember despite the passage of time and many other things that came our way? Isn’t it such an old matter of our pasts?”, enquired she.
“Nope, not at all. Every little moment of love remains new and fresh like the tea leaves of an estate at a hill station…”, convinced he.
She interrupted him,” Wait! Does it mean that you were already falling for me before you even met Payal?” He narrowed his smile. Tears flooded his eyes as he nodded; his soft face and gentle brown eyes uttered everything. They wiped their tears away.
“It's okay. You at least confessed now. Nothing is late in love either”, she reassured him. They nodded and blushed at each other. Nisha placed her lips between her index and middle finger. She closed her eyes and shared a flying kiss with him.
“Nishoo, don’t you know how to kiss? This was like you spitting out paan masala!”, he commented. Nisha made a sad face, demanding him, “No, I don’t know how to kiss. Teach me if you know, saar!” He brought the screen closer. He closed his eyes and blushed while shooting a kiss at her lips.
“Aah! Oye!”, exclaimed she, chuckling and blushing along. “Aww!”, exclaimed she, catching his light brown pupils dilating secretly.
“I am sorry if I woke you up and disturbed you in the middle of the night. This sweet cute memory that we shared back in 1992 struck me while doing my notes. I couldn’t stop from talking it out to you…”, he apologized.
“What do you mean by such a sweet disturbance, saar?”, she shrugged, shrinking her eyes. She continued, “Will you call me only if there was a reason?” He was about to speak out when she gestured for him to stop.
“Come on, saar. Aren’t we lovers? I have been longing to spend such special moments with you in the night and you…”
“Ooooo!”, exclaimed Alok, blushing and checking her out. She blushed. She shook her head, clarifying, “What moment, saar? Aye! I can hear your dirty thoughts…I meant conversing over hours on video calls. Naughty saar!” He chuckled. He sighed aloud as she looked down, blushing along. “Hmm no matter what the very matter makes girls blush heavily.”
“Saar!Stop!”, interrupted she, as her nourished fair cheeks wore a layer of rose. “Saar, I am feeling shy. Stop, now!”, said she, closing her eyes and placing both hands on her face. He chuckled, clarifying, “Medam, anytime. You can tell me anything!”
She released her face from her own capture. She pouted to control her blush. “Feel free, medam!”, said he. She swallowed her timidness.
“By the way, all I meant was nothing that you think. I wanted to warn you not to act formally with me. I repeat, my saar is indeed a sir at the university. Leave your formalities in your footwear before stepping into our house. No formalities between us. No sorry no thank you…”
“Okieee medam, okieee!”, he acknowledged.
“I would always love spending lovely moments over our late night calls going on and on nevertheless the grandfather clock strikes a three. I also remember Payal sharing how much you used to speak over the call till two every night, back during our college days. I wonder if I can see such a deep love for me in your eyes….”, shared she.
May it be a second, a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, a couple of years, or even throughout one's life, relishing the most beautiful feeling on Earth-the love, it still matters.
While most couples are almost near the silver jubilee of their wedding anniversary, Alok and Nisha are just about to begin their love life!
Love at any age is love. Why not a middle-aged love story?!
“Such a nasty woman she is. Did she fucking tell you everything despite knowing your feelings for me? I still wonder what the fuck made me fall for her, a witch. Such a donkey she is…”, screwed he, gnashing his teeth and closing his fists.
“Aww! You are screwing her for me. You are raising your voice against my enemy. You are so damn sweet, saar. I love you, seriously you are…”, romanced she.
“What did you mean by if I will ever love you like her? No way! I love you more than anything else in the world. Nisha, I repeat, you are the purpose of my life. You are my only family and love left behind after losing everything else. Don’t you ever dare leave me again, baby”, he answered. She nodded while he continued, “Anyways chuck it. Why are we taking the name of Dracula’s evil daughter in the middle of the night? Leave it. Why talk the bitter pasts now?”
As she nodded, he declared, “Medam, come on. Why only stay till two or three? Let Alisha’s love break the romantic rules of love. Let's stay awake until sunrise. What do you say, medam? Yes or no?”
“Love night challenge! Who stays throughout the night loves more!”, exclaimed she, falling back on her bed. He too lay on his, holding the phone up. She turned about to place her phone between the two pillows.
“I’m sure I will win, medam. I love you more!”, declared he, with a cent percent confidence. "Be ready to lose it to me, saar", she challenged him.
Their pupils dilated, and her cheeks formed dimples at the corners of her lips, as they talked, laughed, and blushed, over and over. Their cute conversations were filled with their pleasant pasts from the 1990s. They couldn’t take their eyes off their phones; they walked along the passage between the bed and the wall or the bed to the door for a change, at times.
The bright morning beam stepped into their rooms. They yawned, looking around and laughing.
“See, both of us won”, announced Alok. Nisha nodded. They waved at each other and hung up. They fell back too tired to get up.
He dropped a message to his colleague, “Ishitha ma’am, I will be on leave today!” No sooner did he turn to the other side that he slept like a log.
“Who said that lovers are love birds? Lovers are nocturnal owls!”, grumbled Nisha, lying on her bed like the diagonal of a quadrilateral. She hugged her pillows and dozed off.
Will Nisha reunite Dr.Alok with his good old family?
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