Friday Word: Coffee

I always get the friday word from Sanjay's blog but found it this evening on Mona's blog. By the way I am an avid tea drinker and need my morning cuppa to function! I never drank coffee until I came to the United States. Now I drink black coffee, which is rather strong for a tea drinker who loves lattes. Of course I have my own anecdote associated with coffee.

My first job or rather my second job after graduation was as a trainee architect in one of India’s top architectural firms. My boss shared the office and studio with his erstwhile partners. So it was a fun filled space with many young architects like me. My father’s friend was a close friend of one of the ex-partners. When I started working he told me to totally steer clear of Mr. So and So‘s youngest son, as he had quite a reputation with the ladies. He told me that if the son asks you out for coffee, don’t go because who knows he might drug your coffee. My father’s friend had a febrile imagination perhaps because he had a lot of free time or perhaps he might be watching a lot of Bollywood films. I thought what he said was hilarious and I wanted to laugh out loud to his face but instead replied, “Don’t worry I only drink tea.”

Anyway Mr. So and So had more than one son and all his kids used to work for him. One of the sons used to hang out a lot with us. He looked younger than the other brothers and therefore I assumed that he might be the youngest son. He was an extremely well mannered and soft spoken person. He seemed like a thorough gentleman but I remembered the avuncular advice therefore would not talk to him at all. This guy was surprised at my behavior because I was introduced to him prior to joining the place and had chatted nineteen to a dozen with him. So my behavior definitely was a stark contrast from being Ms. Chatty chick to Ms. Snooty pants! For the longest time I would ignore him and not even say “Hello.” One evening, typical to Bombay, there was this awful monsoon deluge and we were stranded in the office as all public transit had come to a standstill. The guy graciously offered to give me and my three co-workers a ride. I refused but my friends accepted so I was forced to go with them. I definitely wouldn’t have braved going home by myself with the city coming to a standstill! The four of us sat chatting in the car, while braving the traffic jam. The guy of course ignored the other people and asked me a lot of questions, which I first answered grudgingly. Then one of my co workers asked him if his youngest brother were out of town. So I asked the guy “You have a younger brother.” He said “Yes I do and he is on vacation. Why do you look so surprised?” I replied “Oh I didn’t know that, I always thought you were the youngest.”

Anyway as I got to know the guy well, I found that we had a lot of things in common; our attitudes, aspirations, hobbies, sense of family etc. We gradually fell in love and I am married to that guy for the past ten years. Whenever he makes coffee for us, he never fails to inform me with a smile and a twinkle in his eye, “Drink up honey, it is not drugged.”