Pearl Jam's Last Kiss

I was not surprised to see his number flash on my phone, but yes I did have those butterflies when I saw his name. Why was he calling me? What does he want now? Why do I always pick up his phone? Uff… what the hell! I picked up the phone; he apologised and then asked if we could go out drinking. Drinking… sounds good. But drinking with him, for what? What will we talk about, or will we talk at all? I don’t know, which nerve in my body screamed, “YES” and he was here within 10 minutes.
I was the one treating and he had made it very clear from the beginning. I checked my pack of smokes, “I would need them tonight for sure,” I told myself. Standing just a little before my office’s building he was standing with someone with both know. Our ex-colleague Jo. Jo the sweet fellow, did he know about us? Had he known that Spikey and me had dated each other for 6 whole months a year back? Naah… whatever it did not matter now. Because earlier when I used to see him (Spikey), I used to go numb. This is after the break-up. But now when I look at him, he is just a part of the crowd. A crowd that I look at but don’t register a face in my mind. A crowd that walks past me everyday, and yet everyday fails to make an impact on my life.
Spikey has grown a beard, looked drunk already when we met. His car, the car that I chose for him, this car was dirty. Well, I am glad about one thing, I am not an adviser of Maruti Esteem. “I am already a few pegs high!” he said. Well he didn't really have to say that? He looked so lost! “OK” after this we debated about the place where we wanted to drink and finally landed at Café Morrison. After entering the Café he, like always, chose the seat from where he could see the entire place and I could just see him. BORING, and PREDICTABLE! After a point of time, your exs do forget that you used to know him/her some time back. Anyways, I ordered some beer for myself and he ordered single molt on the rocks. I was beating the heat and I really don’t know what was he trying to beat. He spoke to someone and said, "I am not ok." I agree, he did not look ok. But I was too lazy to ask, because by the end of the day after work, I don’t like to tax my brain. Especially not by helping people out! He asked me if I could ask the DJ to play Pearl Jam’s Last Kiss for him. I wanted to scream no, but I thought to myself that the DJ would not even look at him in that condition. And so I requested the DJ.
Crib, crib, crib and more crib. That has been the sole motto of his life. You just have to look interested in listening and he would go on and on about how the life has been mean to him and how he is a gentleman who has never cheated on any of his women and how he can never find the right job.
I was getting bored! Then finally he made me wake up, just like he used to. “She is a Punjabi,” he said pointing out at this girl sitting behind us. I agreed with him, the streaks in her hair, the length of her hair and her ugly slippers attested the thought. But she was not a Punjabi, I chatted with her before she left. Well, then one after the other we scanned the room. He like the girl sitting right behind me. She was pretty, but she was doing the one thing he detests in women – smoking. To me she seemed nice and if he would have stopped being so stubborn about the smoking bit, I might have helped him out in getting to know her. We had also sent her a drink, but she declined. Well finally the Last Kiss was played and Spikey started singing in his usual Santa Claus voice. To which I had to just pray, “Only if I was drunk enough!” anyways it was time to hit the road home. He had to go and meet another friend for more drinks. “We had fun, this was fun!” he said. I agreed! To my delight, I could just think of all the happy cold beer in my stomach and my bed. After winding past some HR registration trucks, we reached my place. The evening that I was dreading would have been about crying, making out, kissing and screaming; finished with, “I am sorry for everything!” from his side. And, “You and me was always a bad idea. But at least now we shall not make this mistake again. Drive safe!” from my side!
Mandy