Suman was too busy browsing through the books to notice the tall, bespectacled man staring at her from the far end of the bookshop. He was pretending to look through the books while observing her constantly. At last he couldn’t contain his curiosity and walked up to her. He cleared his throat and coughed politely before addressing her.

“Excuse me, Ma’am, are you Suman Sharma’s sister by any chance?”

Suman wheeled around and smiled.

“Well, well! What a pleasant surprise. Isn’t it the good old ‘shadow’? My God! It has been a long time Pankaj! And have I changed so much that you are wondering if I am my own sister,” she laughed.

“Oh no, I just couldn’t recognise you. You looked so familiar and yet I wasn’t sure it was you. Come on let’s go somewhere and talk. God! Am I happy to see you? I always thought that Saturdays were unlucky for me. Imagine meeting an old heartthrob on a Saturday! Come on, let us get out of this musty book shop.”

“Say, where had you disappeared all these years?” he asked after they had settled down in the coffee shop.

“Good old Shadow! As nosy as ever. If I remember correctly, you always had a very long nose.” She laughed. “ You have changed, too. The specs were there but somehow you have gone a little shorter and that moustache is new. It suits you. Wow! I am excited. Its nice to see you again after all these years.”

“I haven’t gone any shorter, stupid. That happens only after the age of 50 when people begin losing height. And I am nowhere near fifty. All I have done is to put on a little weight, so now I don’t have that lanky look. As far as the moustache is concerned, it is a sign of maturity,” he joked.

“Some maturity! I can’t forget those big round eyes peeping from behind the specs, always following me around. What have you been up to, all these years?”

“You remember you quit Jolly Food Products about seven years back. Well, I also left the company within a couple of months. Somehow it wasn’t the same working there after you left. Moreover, I didn’t want to work as a stores clerk for the rest of my life. I joined another organisation in a slightly better post. There was no improvement in salary but the designation sounded better. ‘Stores Supervisor’, that’s what they called me.  I did the same work but the tag of a supervisor was a boost to my ego.'
 
He paused for effect before continuing. 'I was happy working there for the first six months and then I suddenly realised one day that I would hate to be stuck up in the stores department for the rest of my lie. I had developed an interest in the HRD side of the industry. So I slogged at the work by the day, and with the books by the night. That earned me a degree in HR and then I worked on the LLB. And now, sitting before you is the ‘HR Manager’ of Zoom Televisions”.

He pulled up his shirt collar and gave her a mock bow. She burst out laughing.

“You are a real clown, Pankaj. You have really brushed up your sense of humour, if nothing else. But ‘Maan gaye Ustad’, you really slogged for so many years. Can’t really believe it. And am I impressed with your climb on the corporate ladder.”

“The sense of humour had always been there, you had never given me a chance to demonstrate it. I remember how you were always trying to avoid me while I kept mooning over the pretty, young and naughty Suman. I even called you my ‘bunch of flowers’. What has the bunch of flowers gone through?”

“Ah! Me? I was always the ambitious one. In fact, when I joined ‘Jolly Food Products’, I was just twenty-two years old, fresh out of college. I got the job by chance. after working for a year, I realised that being an inventory clerk was not my cup of tea. I had never taken that job seriously as I was attending evening classes after work.”

“Oh yes, I remember. Once I had even followed you upto the ICWA building.”

“Living up to your name, Shadow. Well, I finished my Cost Accountancy and went on to continue with my love affair with figures by doing Company Secretary’s course. And now, my dear Shadow! Seated before you is the Accounts Manager of ‘Data Products’, Ms. Suman Sharma.”

“You mean, you haven’t got married yet. There is still a chance for me.” He joked.

“Oh definitely, provided you woo me the proper way instead of following me around, sighing silently and writing mushy poems. I don’t like silent admirers.”

“You’ve changed a lot, Suman. You had very long hair and very thin eyebrows.”

“Yes, I cut my hair about two years back and my eyebrows are now thicker according to the dictates of fashion.”

“No wonder I thought you were a sibling of Suman. The moment I entered the bookshop, I saw you and felt I knew you. I kept watching you but you were so busy that you failed to notice me. I thought it would be a shame to lose track of you once again and so I approached you. I was quite prepared for a rebuff. Lucky, it turned out to be you.” He feigned an exaggerated sigh of relief.

“Suman, today is a Saturday, my day off. Can I take you out for dinner? Let me reframe the request. Can I have the privilege of spending the entire day with you? I mean, can we have lunch, tea and dinner, together?”

“Pankaj, stop clowning. You make me laugh so much. I don’t think it is lady like to be laughing like an idiot. I may consider taking up your offer, since I do not have any other appointments and today happens to be my day off, too.”

“That’s settled. Now, another request, can I spend another day looking after you tomorrow?”

“This is the limit. I give you an inch and you ask for a yard, aren’t you getting greedy? Tomorrow is another twenty-four hours away. It is just a Saturday morning. Let’s spend this day together. We will think about Sunday, later.”

“I just thought, since everything is booked in advance these days, I would book your time, too.” He pretended seriousness.

They spent the next few hours, shopping, eating, talking and teasing each other. Over tea, he asked again – “Suman why didn’t you marry?”

“Oh! Nosy Parker. I was so engrossed in my studies and my career that I never thought of it nor did I realise that I should be getting married. Now that my nose is out of the books, I will start the hunt for a mate. In any case, I don’t think that thirty is too late. What about you, Shadow?”

“I wanted to wear the designation of an HR Manager before tying the knot. What a coincidence! I began thinking of marriage just this morning, after my milk boiled over and the toast got burnt. I just thought of marriage and here you are!”

“Don’t act smart, Pankaj.”

“I knew I couldn’t fool you, no one could.”

“We were two ambitious souls working together in ‘Jolly Food Products’ and we achieved the success we dreamt of. JFP must have been a lucky beginning for us,” she mused.

“Yeah, and our success was the loss of JFP. Imagine losing two great potentials like us. Shall we raise a toast to our success?”

Over dinner, he became serious – “You know I was crazy about you, seven years back. I still am. Would you consider being my life partner?”

“Is that a proposal? I thought that you had outgrown your youthful infatuation. Anyway, I think you are rushing things a bit.”

“Oh no, never. I could never outgrow my love for you. We have know each other since the last seven years and it is no rush job.” He protested.

“Dear old Shadow; the persistent admirer!  Anyway I am ready to give you a try.”

“Tell me, what would have happened if you had given me the go-ahead at JFP?”

“I never would have. I aimed high and would never have taken a stores clerk for a life partner.”

“Thanks for being so candid. But supposing you fell in love with me,” he persisted.

“Then we would have got married and by now, we would have been the frustrated parents of a dozen offspring and you would definitely have been the ‘Head Clerk of Stores’ at JFP. I might have also acquired the same designation. Not to forget the quota of two free jam bottles a month between the two of us.”

They burst out laughing at the thought.

The dinner was an exclusive affair as they opened a Champagne bottle and raised a toast to the ‘two ambitious souls from JFP.”

“Don’t forget to send our wedding card to Mr. Jolly and the staff,” said a slightly tipsy Suman as they tottered out of the restaurant.

She snuggled up to him in the car and mumbled sleepily –“All in a matter of a single day, fast work, Shadow.”

“Yes, and my unlucky Saturday turned out to be the luckiest one in many years,” he replied, tousling up her hair as they sped towards their destination.