“I shall not take NO for an answer,” with hands folded around the arms, my seventy-year-old girlfriend stood in front of me. Her feet firmly set on the ground; she had made it a point to block my pathway without giving me any chance to cut her talks or vanish into thin air.

“What’s the big deal, Grammy?” Clearly upset with her verdict, I searched for opportunities to avoid the subject before she came up with another file.

Oh! By the way, ‘file’ didn’t mean some sort of paperwork. For a bachelor, …

She sat there, at the innermost section of the coffee shop, the venue which we had mutually agreed upon for our first meet. She was constantly looking at her high-end smartphone. I observed her for a few seconds from the bookstore opposite to the coffee shop, wondering why it was a big deal to meet her.

She was synchronously setting and ruffling her hair, pouting her lips and making faces on her mobile screen. She is funny. That was her first impression on my mind. And cute too. My alter-ego …

Rejection doesn’t kill as much as waiting does. It’s like tying a noose around your neck and waiting for your life to ebb away. Okay. Maybe that’s not a right way to anticipate for an answer. But the lack of clarity took a toll on my single-dimensional, mundane life.

What is her answer? Is it a yes? Is it a no? What if she says a yes? What if she rejects me? A gazillion thoughts trespassed my brumous mind. Day one. Day two… Day eight. A week had passed already, but I had found no sign of an …