THE INTROVERTS - A RESTAURANT STORY

Adira was always on the lookout for new restaurants. Considering the fact that she stayed in a place which had few good options to dine at and sit comfortably, her young foodie soul was always hungry. When she heard about ‘Just Bing'g'e’ at Vashi, the place was in proximity to her dwelling and she thought of exploring it. On a late Sunday afternoon, she landed at the cosy dining place. She could see one empty table, two others were occupied by couples, while a young gentleman was sitting on the third one reading a book.

“Great! I can peacefully read my book as well”, she thought to herself.

As soon as she sat, a young lady came to welcome her and take the order. Pointing at the opposite wall which had a big caricature of a salad, Adira ordered a Waldorf Salad with Passion Fruit Iced Tea.

As she sat waiting for her food, she looked up, ‘The Kite Runner’ and several other books were hanging from the ceiling. “Ironic,” she thought as she placed the same book by Khaled Hosseini on her table and started reading.

When the food came, she kept the book on her side and looked around. The couples had left replaced by new people. The gentleman was still there with the book in his hand, still reading. She tried in vain to read the title.

It’s a weird phenomenon, but when someone stares at you, you always know. It was the same for him as well. Slowly he kept the book down and said, “Quiet by Susan Cain.”

She smiled and asked, “Let me guess, you are an introvert?”

“You have read the book, I assume,” he said.

“One of my favourites. Finished it a year ago,” she confessed.

“Has the book made any difference in your life?” he questioned.

“Every day is a learning curve,” she said.

Her food came in and while her attention was occupied by the waitress, the stranger went back to his reading. When she looked towards him, she wanted to ask him to join her. But she dismissed the idea. She went back to her food, devouring every moment, typical of a café food, she saw herself adding it to her list of frequent visit places. Done with the salad, she wanted to have a sandwich, so she hailed the waitress. By the time, she was done ordering the Little Miss Havana, the stranger had left the café.

“Idiot! All I had to ask him was – care to join?” she muttered to herself on seeing his empty table.

Disheartened, she quickly finished her meal and walked out. On reaching home, she realised she was missing Khaled Hosseini. She immediately called the restaurant who informed her that they indeed have the book with them and that she could collect it any time. The next day, late evening after work she returned to the café. On getting her book back, she thanked the manager, who surprised her by informing that a stranger, a man who had been sitting on the table besides her was the one who had brought to their notice about the book.

“So he had come back. If only…” she thought to herself while turning to leave. In her thoughts, she didn’t see a man standing behind her and bumped into him. “I am sorry,” she said and looked at him.

“I asked them to inform me when you came to collect the book” said the same stranger and continued, “I was wondering if you would like to join me for coffee.”

“Adira,” she said, putting her hand forward.

“Ram,” he said while shaking her hand.

Just Bing'g'e was bustling with people all around, but Adira and Ram were lost to the world.

Image Courtesy: Aziz Ampanwala