“Eating. You should write it in capitals under hobbies in your resume”, He said laughing.

“I am a big big big foodie. I love food.” I said.

“Do you remember first time you had food”

“What! I must be around six months old”

“Yeah, but it’s a tradition in our religion. Annaprashan. It was an important day for your family.

“Yeah, maybe” I was busy chewing.

“Do you remember your first day at school. Did you miss your mom? You cried?”

“I don’t know. There’s a picture of me in school uniform, if that counts as a memory.” I replied with a mouthful of biryani.

“and your last day of school.”

“Oh! That was amazing. Promises to keep in touch, slam books filled, pictures taken, written shirts, good luck, excitement about college life, even our teachers acted nice.” I replied laughing.

“First day of college?”

“What’s going on? Are you writing my biography”

“Can’t you just answer?”

“You haven’t touched your food.”

“Like eating is your hobby grilling people over meals is mine. Tell me, did you enjoy your first day at college?”

“I was mostly nervous”, she looked so cute, using her authoritative tone, I couldn’t help reply.

“But, your parents must be thinking, their son has grown up. Last day?”

“If you are trying to annoy me, you are doing a good job.”

“Trust me, it’s worth it. How was your last day of college?”

“It better be. Convocation, it feels like an achievement.” I was trying to figure out what she was up to.

“First day of job?”

“It was mostly paperwork. I was confused and I don’t remember the exact emotions.” I said monotonously, “but, my parents were happy.”

“Yeah, but retirement is celebrated.”

“I am not retired yet.”

“And when you are, you will be a toothless old man. You will always remember the last meal you had with your teeth.” She was giggling.

“Not being able to eat! Are you trying to scare me?” I replied acting afraid.

“No, I was trying to tell you, FIRST is over rated and is important to people around us. LAST is under rated, but it is really important to us. You aren’t my first, but that was something I regretted almost immediately. You are my last and I value you more than anything else.” She had tears in her eyes.

I couldn’t answer this time. She looked so innocent. Her only fault was being honest. She had told me about her college affair and since then, I had not let a single day pass without reminding her of it.

I got up and hugged her tight. After a couple of seconds she hugged me back.


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