Michael could feel a thousand butterflies in his stomach.
"So where are you taking me after all this mess gets cleared up, eh?", Jennifer asked him.
Now he could feel a million of them.
He was overjoyed and wished that he could thank the Almighty for this opportunity. His heart was free now and he could feel his tongue loosening its previous knot.
"Remember the time we went to "Camp Bale" and both of us got stuck in a canoe with the paddles gone....and you didn't know how to swim.....some situation, eh?", he laughed.
Jennifer interrupted him - "Yeah....yeah....if you hadn't told me about the crocs in the water...." Michael continued laughing. "Don't laugh Michael! I took swimming lessons for a month later, you know...."
Michael still didn't stop giggling. She didn't waste any time in using her handbag to lash at him. "Michael...stop it....you liar, you brute...", she quipped.
He evaded her blows but continued laughing. She finally couldn't resist and burst out laughing with him.
They ran out of breath a few minutes later.
"I'll miss you Jenny.....", Michael said as he sat clutching his belly.
"I'll miss you too Michael...."
The smile on her face faded slowly. Silence followed. Slowly she took his hand in hers and said "I'll miss you a lot Mike....."
Her eyes were full now as she narrated how she adored him, how seriously she'd started taking their relationship, how much she needed him.... - Michael could do nothing; he felt as if his strength was drained away from his body - he didn't battle any feeling now. He came close to her; gently kissing her on the cheek he said what he had wished to say since a long time - "I love you Jenny."
**********************************************************
Evening 6 p.m. found Michael in the elevator of his dad's office. His face portrayed a brilliantly lit smile. He couldn't believe what had happened since afternoon - he had told her everything and even she had a lot to say. She'd agreed to his plan of waiting till both of them finished their academic courses and she returned from Australia; she was more than happy to consent to marriage.
Mr. Tender was busy with a board member when for the second time that day, Michael barged into his office room.
The old man listened to all that Michael had to say. His composed demeanour showing no signs of excitement as he narrated the afternoon incident. In the end, father and son just embraced each other.
Mr. Tender could see that Michael was too happy. He wished Mary were up there somewhere witnessing everything.
"Dad could we go the church?....You and me?", Michael asked.
"Sure son.....just wait outside near my car, will you? I'll be there in a moment or so.", he assured.
His eyes welled up with happiness as he saw Michael leaving the scene. He quickly turned to the board member Mr. Clive Max who was watching the whole episode.
Suddenly, Mr. Truman entered with an informally dressed bald man, in a boiler suit.
"Hello Bob.", Mr. Tender greeted him.
"Hello sir.", Bob replied in a deep voice.
"Mr. Tender,", Truman said, "Sir, these are the charges....Bob's bonus for overtime comes to $3000 and rent $7500 plus damages incurred worth $2500...and....that's it...." He handed his boss some papers and a chequebook.
"It's all right Truman, they've done a good job - clean and tidy.", Mr. Tender spoke as he gave an assuring smile to Bob. Bob smiled in return.
"Thank you sir....", Bob said as he left the office room with Truman.
"Mr. Tender can I know what is going on?", Mr. Clive was totally confused. "As a board member I think I should......"
He was interrupted by Mr. Tender - "Hey, calm down Mr. Clive, it's nothing to do with the company or the business, all right.", he said as he got up. "The guy you saw in here - Bob - he is a truck driver.....", he said as he tightened the button on his blazer and proceeded towards the door.
Suddenly, he stopped, turned and asked - "Ever tried to buy a traffic jam for your son, Mr. Clive?" He smiled as he left the office.
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29 comments :
Hey, that was nice! And the story sure lived up to it's name... hehe. The ending was amazing, nicely put :)
Any more parts coming for this one...?
@Arnab
Come on.. this can't be the end. But I shouldn't be speaing for the author.
@Isha Di,(I can't help the Di part)
Really well written.
@ Arnab...thanks a ton. Well, the ending was the the most crucial element. Glad that you liked it. :)
And no. This love story ends here.
Cheers.
@ Netika...fortunately or unfortunately, this is the end.
I really need to work hard on my writing skills. I can't even make an end seem like one! *worried*
Thanks. :)
And honestly I don't mind the Di part in the least.(Always brings back fond memories of the glorious college days):)
Cheers.
I read all d 4 parts at 1 go.n i absolutely loved it. kudos 2 d writer!!!!
Oh..is it. :(
But it was a lovely one..really.
@ Anwesa....That's a change! So far the feedback had been that it was gettin way too stretched.
Glad that you loved it. :)
Welcome to C'est La Vie. Keep visiting and reading.
Thanks for commenting once again.
Cheers
@ Netika...Uh, yeah.
Thanks anyway.
Cheers
Isha, that was a beautiful story. i luvd it. i read the last part first :( cos i din read the title :( i read it from my G Reader and after the story, i felt like - some thing is missing. and then i checked the comments and found that stupid me has missed 3 parts :) then i went back and read from the startd. it is awesome and did i tell you that i luvd it? :P
@ Sawan....the fact that you loved it despite the fact that you read it in reverse order means a lot.
Thankyou sooo much for the kind words.
Welcome to C'est La Vie. Hope to see you around.
Cheers.
Niiiice... :)
Reminds me... Back in the first part, in reply to my comment. You justified it really well.
Cheers! Keep writing...
Peace.
Holi greetings to you and yours...
Peace.
@ Kartz....Thank you. :)
Yup. I couldn't help but smile when I read it and I was praying to God to not let you guess the relevance. :D
Happy Holi to you too! :)
Cheers.
i would. i luvd this place :)
@ Sawan...I'm honoured. :)
Wht a end....
good very good
hey i thought u will continue this story...
ummmmmm?
anyways i will wait for other one...
heyy u write well who told uu??
n thts cud be the perfect end for love story i think..which reflect the love of a father as well as boy n girl
applaudddd....
keep smiling n blogginggg.
i love to read n listen love stories...
sorry i l late for comment..i should have the first one
ha h aha
@ Pallav....thank you so much.
If you think this is the perfect end to the story why would I spoil it by continuing it ? ;)
Another one? Ummm, I'm not too sure about that. Writing fiction is not really my cup of tea. Will definitely try though.
And well a father's love is a prized possession. However grown up we might be, we never outgrow our parents' love. :)
I'm not that big a fan of romantic stories, but just out of curiousity, where do you get to listen to love stories ?? :O
Once again thanks for the comment and the enthusiasm. :)
Cheers.
"Another one? Ummm, I'm not too sure about that. Writing fiction is not really my cup of tea. " ???? Excuse Me...!!! hw the heck did such an idiotic thought cross your evr zooming head ???!!!
I had said this before... and im sayin it agen... you have done an excellent job... and you need to keep it going.. you would only improve... although thrz nt much scope fr it... :)
The ending... superb... !! ... It was defnitely nt gettin stretched at all...gripping is the word... :) ...
PS - I have tried buying a 'jam'... nt sure bout th 'traffic jam' part...!! :P
It's not!!! It requires wayyyy too much effort man!
Thank you for all the appreciation. :)
I'm sure you'll buy both the "Jams" for your son, if and when the need arises. :P
Cheers.
ha ha ha....
"I'm not that big a fan of romantic stories, but just out of curiousity, where do you get to listen to love stories ?? :O "
u rock..
hey i mean i love to listen people when they narrate me thier love story..
also if i came to know somebody is seeing...
then i ask them how, when n why y started
ha ha ha....
Gr8 workk n its ur cup of tea.. n coffeee
hv funnnn
Okay first I was like..OMG WOW!! She loves him too!! Great! cause I love happy endings!!
Then, when the Bob guy came in, I thought, maybe Mr. Tender bought Jenny into loving Michael..u know like..Bob could have been secretly paying Jenny so that she'd stay with Michael or something..I guess 'cause that way the story wouldn't have ended here, right?
Now that I've read the ending, I think what you've done here is something not many can do..short and sweet may be a "cliche", but it isn't always meant as much as it is said. :)
P.S.: This was your first attempt at fiction-writing, right? Any way, I loved it! :)
Also, I think when the ending doesn't quite seem the ending..as was the case with Netika and me, it's all the more good! because that means, even after all you could do with words has been done, the reader expects more..wants more..
So, that's a good thing, you see! :D
@ Pallav....Ah, THAT!! even I don't mind that. :)
Thank you once again for all the generous words. :)
Cheers.
@ Siya....THAT's some thinking. Maybe you should try writing fiction too. ;)
Thank you so much. :)
And yes, it was my very first attempt at writing a full length fiction story.
And I'm glad that you loved it. :)
Hmmm, is this what they mean by "tantalizing" the reader ?
Honestly though it still makes me feel like somewhere I haven't been able to do justice to the story.
Once again thanks a ton for all the comments and trying to make me realise that a misunderstood end ain't such a bad thing. :)
Cheers.
Yeah, I'll try sometime. In fact, that's precisely why I asked if this was your first time!
Oh, yes! That's the word! :)
Hmmmm...The old man truly deserved a hug by his son...
nevertheless parents have to satisfy just like that..:(
Good story...
Just clear my confusion, why this story has an added adjective "tender" in b/w love and story :p
He did get one though of course Michael had no idea that he owed all his happiness to his father.
As I have said earlier too, our parents' love is a prized possession which, more often than not, we seem to take for granted.
Love by itself is a very tender emotion and thus every love story by default is a tender love story. However the word tender gains another dimension in this particular story as the lead pair shares the last name "Tender". Yes, the father and the son form the lead. :)
Hope it's all clear now. :)
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
I shall be visiting your space soon. Well, as soon as I get over with my exams.
Cheers
ishiiiii...it was an amazingly beautiful love story...vrryy nice ending..the way u described each part kept me asking for more n moree..i guess now i wil b a regular reader of ur blog...seriously u rock gurl...keep the work goin..all the best :)
@ Saryu - Thank you soooooo much sweetie.
He he...would love that...at least one of my closest friends will be reading it. :P
Mwah...take care. :)
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