After much deliberations, I decided to do something that was on my mind. Okay, you can blame me for not sharing it with you, but the plans were so tentative that I did not want to splash out the details only to end up looking like a fool. All night I lay thinking about it and by the morning I had made up my mind. I made the call really early because I was not sure my plan would see the light of day after all. Martina answered her phone promptly.

I started in a normal tone. I wish I could talk about the weather, but that just dries up in my mouth really. Martina asked me casually, “So what are you doing this Valentine’s Day, Mr. Editor?” I got my cue. “What are you doing Martina?” She replied that she was not doing anything and I jumped at the opportunity. “Would you like to go out with me?” There was complete silence for about ten seconds. And then she replied, “Sure! What time?”

But I was back rather early from my date. Hear me out and you’ll find the answers to your queries. But first, how was your Valentine’s Day? Hope you guys had a fabulous time. I’d really want to know how things turned out at your end. Okay, enough of side-stepping the issue. This is what happened:

It started off well. She turned up in an exquisite red gown. We went to Chez Oskar, one of my most favorite French bistros on this side of the Atlantic. It was specially decorated because of the Valentine’s Day. We began it well. We talked about a lot of stuff, including my work. She showed a lot of interest in the reader community I was trying to build up on Facebook. I wanted to steer clear of topics related to work but she didn’t allow us to divert from that.

Then she took a call on her phone. I looked the other way, trying to give her as much privacy as I could, despite us sitting close. She put down her phone and clutched her bag. I looked up with a blank expression. “Look Bob, it’s bad timing, but I have to go!” And before I could speak, she was gone! Yes, you read it correct! She was actually gone in a flash, without any explanation. What could this mean? Was it an emergency? I have no idea. I tried calling, but couldn’t get through. I’ll keep you updated about this rather mysterious turn of events. But what do you think happened?