Thanks to @jahnavie14 @sapna17_ for voting and commenting :)

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More than anything, to call my mom and inform her about going out with Viren, was going to be difficult. Not that she would stop me from going but with all the drama happening, I could not anticipate her reaction. I dialed her number and waited for her to respond." Hi mom" , I said trying to sound cheerful.

" Payal? Is everything alright?", her voice was filled with concern. I could imagine her expression with a frown on her face." Yeah. Yeah. Everything is alright.I actually wanted to inform you about something", I stopped to make sure she was listening.

The concern in her voice faded and the inquisitive one set in,as she asked, " Inform what?". " Hmm.Viren just called. He has two passes for a painting exhibition. He wanted me to come along.So I will be late in the evening", I finished before she could interrupt.

There was total silence for what felt like a long time to me. My mom could go on like that not uttering a word, but I did not have the time. "Mom?" I broke the silence." Yeah. Come back soon", she said and was about to slam the phone down when " Mom!Mom!", my high pitched voice made her get back on line.

" You don't want me to go?" I asked almost in a whisper. " No, in fact I am happy you are going. I have thought about what you said. May be we should just let this match go." , her voice sounded so serious, I gulped in fear.

She waited, expecting me to say something. Sensing the silence from my side, she continued " Your grandpa called up in the morning. He was talking about one of his friend's grandson for alliance. He knows him and his family really well. I was planning on talking to you about it in the evening. Since, Viren himself asked you to meet.Let us give him this one chance. If he is still not making an attempt about this alliance, we will drop it. You were right, we need to move on", her tone was flat.

I fell into my own trap. That was how I felt. I was the one who suggested her to move on. Now, she was ready to, but was I? Yes, he ignored me and not just once. To be frank, through out my life, I have never let anyone come too close to me in fear of getting hurt or insulted. Ignoring me is no less than that, yet I wanted to give him chance after chance. Why? I do not have an answer. May be she is right, this should be the last. I cannot let myself down by giving him more than he deserved. I decided I will forget about this whole thing after today, if he did not get the topic of this alliance.

I was dressed the most simple today and I did not bother to get ready. I had no interest to. I was talking to Mr.Subbu when my phone beeped and there was a message:

Hey I have reached. Will you come down?

" Payal, Am I holding you from something?You look distracted", Mr.Subbu said.I just smiled not knowing what to say. " Please go on. We will discuss this later", he suggested. I got out of his cabin and the first thing I did was to text Viren back that I would be there in five minutes.

" Hello there!Please hop in", he greeted bending down to look at my face from the driver's seat. He looked tired, there was a hint of dark circles under his eyes. His smile however was radiant as ever. " Thanks for inviting me",I said smiling back. " Oh! That's nothing. One of my friend had the passes and his girlfriend dropped the last moment. I remember you told me you liked his paintings, so I took the opportunity", he grinned.

We drove the remaining distance in silence. There was something different in his demeanor. He was continuously tapping on the steering and  kept fidgeting with his seat belt. A frown was stuck to his forehead and his breathe was heavy. He sighed a few times like he would say something but nothing was coming out. I had a hitch that he was nervous to talk about 'the' issue. If that was true , I had no intention to make it any easier for  him. I looked out of the window like I was oblivious to his struggle. For the first time I realized he was not the confident guy he projected himself to be. He looked cute struggling like that.

I was lucky to be amidst not just the paintings but the artist himself. He was a charming man in his late sixties. A total of twenty selected pieces were on display.The title and the background of each of them were included in a note underneath them. For someone who was not very interested in this form of art, Viren had a great deal of knowledge on the brush strokes, colors, hues etc. He kept talking about something or the other about each of the painting as we moved from one to another. He also had a very beautiful way of interpreting what each one depicted.

Mr. Gopal made sure to interact with as many audience as he could. I was one of them. He came by when I was staring at one particular painting with admiration. Viren excused himself to attend a very important call. " Do you like it?", he asked. His voice was soft and held no glint of pride. His eyes were deep and and there was mystery in them. His hair and beard greyed considerably. I thought he would have looked very handsome when he was young.

"Hello Sir. It is beautiful". I replied mesmerized by his aura. "This is one of my favorites. It was in memory of my love. It is a beautiful emotion.Isn't it young lady?", he smiled warmly." Life just becomes a roller coaster ride the minute you fall in love. You are filled with a surge of feelings you did not know existed. It will confuse you, frustrate you, hurt you  yet you are at peace. It will find its way and you will find yourself giving it chance after chance. Love is about you and you alone. It has got nothing to do with what other person has to offer. Not many understand this. My love left me an year ago and I miss the warmth but I miss my messed up mind the most", he winked. I only kept staring at him for all the while he spoke. This was exactly how I was feeling about Viren. Was I in love? " You know something?", he asked leaning close to me." My love looked a lot like that", he pointed to someone.

My eyes went wide looking at Viren.Oh my god! He pointed at Viren! He was gay! " Of course, when we were young. So handsome!", he blushed a little staring dreamily at him. " Do you want to talk to him?", I asked, a mischievous idea forming in my mind. " Do you know him?", he seemed very pleased. " Yeah, he is a friend of mine" , I told him and  lead him to where Viren stood.

"Hey Viren! See who's here, it is Mr.Gopal", I said ,  gaining Viren's attention. " Nice meeting you sir", he said extending his hand. Gopal took his hand holding it for more than usual looking straight into his eyes.Viren looked confused and embarrassed while I enjoyed the scene in front of me. " Pardon me. You look like some one I know", he said winking at me knowingly. " Oh!", Viren uttered looking between the both of us. He spent some more time with us explaining some of his other work, his concentration totally on Viren making him quite uncomfortable. He insisted us to have dinner with him. He was put up at Hotel Marriott and he wanted us to come along. Initially both of us declined his gesture but he was way too convincing. We offered to drive him to the hotel, where would dine together and then part ways. Even before I could reach the door to the front seat of the car, Gopal rushed to sit beside Viren giving me a sheepish grin. I had to settled down at the back seat gesturing Gopal , a thumbs up.

The drive and the dinner had both been very interesting. He was a very knowledgeable man with a lot of experience about the people and the world as whole. He shared with us some of his experiences as a child. He belonged from a very small family that was economically backward. The pressure and struggle he faced to become what he had today is commendable. He also shared how he began to  express his emotions in the form of art. Art had the potential to convey even the most difficult of messages in a very subtle way, he believed and I could not agree more. " Hey! why don't you tell him about your interest in paintings", Viren said suddenly during the dinner. " You paint?", Gopal asked pleasantly surprised. I glared at Viren  but managed, " Yeah. Sometimes". " What do you like to depict?", he asked suddenly shifting his attention from his love, Viren. " I paint only when I am touched or moved by someone or something, it could be an incident or a talk I have heard. That usually goes onto the canvas", I said hoping I did not sound stupid.He thought for a while, " I would love to see your work", and shifted back hia attention.

He seemed totally lost in Viren. May be he really felt like he was with his boyfriend. There must have been so much of love between the both of them. It was apparent he missed him terribly. Viren's presence was comforting him.He went to the extent of asking for his mobile number which I intervened and gave it to him. Just as we were about to leave, he took Viren's hand and gently kissed on it making him gasp. I had to bite my lip to control from laughing.

Jokes apart, he was a great man and a superb artist. This was easily one of my most memorable days. He has also taught me something, love knew no bounds. I mentally noted that I should thank Viren for this but only after teasing him enough.

" Stop laughing now!", he growled for the tenth time. We were in his car, driving back home. I told him who he resembled and the connection with Gopal. His face turned red in embarrassment as he now understood the reason behind his weird behavior. I laughed at his embarrassment. In fact I had been laughing like a mad person for the last ten minutes recollecting his expressions. "Payal!This is not funny", he was irritated. " Ok!Ok! sorry", I said trying to suppress another bout of laughter.

As we fell silent again, my mind went back to what Gopal said. Was I really in love?And with this man who is driving me insane with his unresponsiveness. Of all the men I came across in the last 27 years, it had to be him? Good job! I told myself Now, what if he simply rejects me and walks away. Who will mend you? Stupid heart!

He suddenly cleared his throat making me turn to him  " I think we should get to the point", he said.

Finally!

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No offense. Sorry if I have hurt anyone :)

Thanks..