LAW OF ATTRACTION

“Two people look really miserable at this party. You are one of them," said Andy to the girl standing in the balcony. "Can I join you?” he asked.

Sari nodded and Andy stood next to her looking at the skyline of buildings nearby, lit beautifully at night.

“Who’s the other one?” she asked.

He smiled and answered, “Well, that would be me.”

She laughed, then asked, “What would you rather do?”

“Read a book, drink some hot chocolate or some wine, movie maybe, dinner, something quiet,” confessed Andy.

“Something opposite to this noise, I presume. Ditto with me. I would rather watch some movie than be surrounded with thousands of guests screaming at the top of their voices and dancing as if it’s the 90s. I mean, I can dance when I want to, but not today,” said Sari.

“I agree. I mean I would rather spend my time with Shakespeare than anyone else,” said Andy.

“I would love spending mine in the company of Jane Austen,” she competed.

Andy laughed and Sari wondered what she had said that made him laugh so loudly.

“I am so sorry. I often do that. Shakespeare is my four-year-old Pekingese. Here, I will show you how cute he is,” said Andy and removed his mobile from the pocket. Soon the two of them were looking at pictures of Shakespeare, the little mutt on Andy’s cell.

“He is adorable. You should have brought him here,” said Sari.

“I wanted to. But Mathura’s husband is allergic to dogs, I assume. And considering it’s her house and party, I had to leave Shakespeare behind” stated Andy.

“Sweet of you. By the way, my brother isn’t just allergic to dogs; it’s something to do with all animals, especially the furry ones. He has to pop a pill each time he is around one,” said Sari.

“Your brother!" he exclaimed and continued a few seconds later, "You are related to Mathura?” 

“You are at my house and Mathura is my sister-in-law!" said Sari matter-of-factly and then questioned him, "How do you know her?” 

Andy started laughing again louder than before. “You will need a drink when I tell you how funny our situation is right now. Can I get you one?” asked Andy.

Sari was curious to know, so she nodded and the guy went out to get her some alcohol. A few seconds later, Mathura came in.

“You two have been talking for some time now, the most you have ever spoken to any suitor ever. Should I assume you like him?” asked Mathura to Sari.

“What? What gibberish are you babbling?” questioned Sari.

“You don’t know?" asked a shocked Mathura and then continued to tell her sister in-law on realising that the poor girl was clueless, "That’s Andy, my boss’s son, the one I wanted to introduce you to because you two had similarly boring pursuits. But, both of you refused to even meet each other."

“Oh freaks! He is Andy! We didn’t even introduce ourselves. Shit! No wonder he found all this so amusing,” said Sari embarrassed. 

“So you both don’t know that you have been speaking to each other for this long? Oh my gosh! Out of thousands of guests over here, you two had to attract each other. What are the odds of that? It's the law of attraction, like attracts like, I guess” said Mathura and winked at her sister in-law.

Just then, Andy walked in with two glasses in his hand. Mathura reminded the two that they needed to be in when it struck 12 and left.

“You just came to know, didn't you? Your face says it all,” said Andy handing her the glass.

She blushed.

For the next few hours, the two spoke about things they liked, they disliked, about their past and their future plans. Ten minutes before 12, Sari reminded him, they had to go inside.

“I can’t. I am planning to ask this nerd out. We just met and she happens to like books more than people. Do you think she will say yes?” Andy asked.

Sari’s eyes lit up; in her excitement, she gave Andy a tight hug. “Naah. Lets just go in. I want to ring in the New Year with a bang and a kiss. Do you think my date will oblige?” asked Sari.

“He would be a fool not to,” said Andy and leaned forward to kiss her. In the background, one could hear people counting the numbers and wishing each other a happy new year, but Andy and Sari were obviously not paying attention to any of that.