The first proposal

At 8 pm on the 31st of december, my mobile seemed to ring louder than usual. I picked up the phone, expecting a call from someone wishing me for the new year. It was from an uncle of mine from Delhi, as close a relative as is the distance between the earth and the sun. He congratulated me for getting placed. I was surprised as it had been over a decade since we spoke (now the distance should seem long enough) and had no clue as to how the information had reached him. He wanted to talk to my dad. Suspicion grew stronger as this person was related to me from my mother's side and hadn't spoken much to my dad.

After the initial hiccups, his conversation with my dad grew smoother and for me, hotter. It was a marriage proposal, one from my uncle's friend for his daughter, who apparently had seen me at the wedding I happened to attend at Bangalore a couple of days ago. My dad was laughing joyously; I knew the next few days at home would be spent with people pulling my leg from all directions. Anyway, the person on the other side was serious and my dad seriously denied it too in his thoroughbred gentlemanlike circumlocution. I was floored by his capability to deny a proposal without hurting the person talking to him. His entire experience with marketing should've taught him this.

Anyway, I just want to confess that I blushed like a pig when I heard "marriage" associated with me for the first time and later, thankfully, prudence won. The days ahead intimidate me!