The Last Sip of Coffee

By Prachi Raje

“Wait! Let me finish my coffee”, he said.

I sat in front of him staring at his innocent, child-like face as he took another sip from the huge mug of The Café House.

I turned my head around to pretend as if I am ignoring him. All over the place, I saw young couples sipping coffee and chatting aimlessly.

“Do these relations mean anything? Or is it all going to end with the last sips of their coffees?”, I wondered.

Nevertheless, he spoke again, “So, when are you leaving?”.

“Right after you are done!”, I said.

“No, I meant, leaving for UK?”, he said.

I repeated myself, firmly, “Right after you are done …. Got it? No? You do what you want to, I will do what I want.

Right after you are done with your wedding, I will be gone!”

He chuckled. Not wanting to speak anything else, he again sipped his coffee.

Punit and I had a very special relationship in college. It’s all fun until your last day of college. He left for his hometown and then joined some company near Delhi. We used to speak on the phone initially, but gradually, the “Long-Distance Relationship” became too long. ‘Boring’ and ‘Tiring’ were his words to describe our situation. Well, I do not blame him. I too had my ambitions. I pursued my master's and was planning to look for further courses in the UK. I was lucky enough to get enrolled in one, like, in a prestigious one!

“So, our long distance is getting longer and longer”, he laughed and said while speaking to me nearly after 3 weeks. I was in no mood for fun, I had tears rolling down my eyes, which I wish he could have seen. I barely managed to say, “So ? Breaking it up now?”.

Within a second, he replied, “Yeah, I guess it's high time”.

Cold ….. Cold was the breezy night, and so was his tone.

I stayed up all night crying near my bedroom window.

Within a week, I packed my stuff, and left for my new life, not to forget, I literally threw ‘that’ SIM away.

Yesterday, I landed in Delhi and reached here for my cousin’s wedding. She is a year younger to me but is getting married before, that too on such a short notice. Her would-be husband and I met during the Sangeet Function yesterday.

I had no way to control my tears, but for the first time, I let him see them. He was obligated to pretend everything was normal; being in the limelight as ‘The Groom’ is not easy.

We did not speak a word there, but he managed to pass me a tissue paper with the address of The Café House with the date and time. And here we are. He is getting married tomorrow …. that too in my close family.

I ordered a latte but couldn’t drink it. He kept asking me casual questions, but I couldn’t answer them. He kept staring at me, but I turn my head from side to side to avoid eye contact.

“Is it done?”, I asked impatiently.

“Yes, my last coffee with you …. The last sip is done. WE are done”, he said coldly.

By Prachi Raje