The wait

She sighed in relief as she sent the final email, and looked at the clock on her monitor. 5 54. She had just six minutes to catch the six o clock bus. She looked around carefully to see if the project lead was around. He wasn't. She just had to get out before the loudmouth caught her again and assigned some other task to her. The date was originally at five - she had called and postponed it to seven already. She couldn't wait any longer. She had waited all week to see him, and she really couldn't wait any longer.

She slid out from her cubicle, aiming to visit the restroom before she could catch the bus. But she heard the loudmouth from the general direction of the restroom, and couldn't risk being seen by him. Besides, her watch now showed 5 57. She would have to hurry if she had to catch the six o clock bus. With a silent request to her bladder to cooperate for another hour, she turned and headed for the door.

Her decision turned out to be correct. The buses were just revving up as she reached the parking area, and she only just managed to get into her bus. She sat down thankfully and watched as the buses crawled out of the campus onto the road.

It always seemed like the bus drivers were too fast and rash. But today, their driver seemed to be taking his own time. The bus danced merrily across the humps and potholes, and the driver made no attempt to hurry. She couldn't bear it. She willed him to go faster. But neither the roads, nor the traffic aided that. She just sat and watched the trees go by slowly, painfully slowly.

The traffic built up and slowed to a crawl. The bus driver started steering towards a side road that had lesser traffic, but was so narrow that it was prone to traffic jams. She prayed fervently that he wouldn't take that road, and if he did, that it would be free of traffic. But the driver just had to take the side road, and within a couple of minutes, they were in the midst of a terrible jam. She sighed, and leaned back in her seat. She just had to relax. There was no point worrying - it wouldn't help clear the jam. She closed her eyes. He floated into view in her mind's eye, and she involuntarily smiled. And then she felt the urgency again. When will this blasted jam clear up??

After an unbearable ten minutes, the bus moved again. It cleared the major bottleneck and reached the wide main roads. She sighed with relief. Now only if all the signals were in their favour - she would be there in time. But no, they did have to get stuck at the first major signal. Now they would have to stop at every signal for sure. She looked at her watch, and wished that the traffic would move as quickly as the minute hand in her watch.

After interminable waits at innumerable signals, they reached the final stretch. Just one more signal to go, and then she could alight, and he would be there. It was already fifteen minutes past seven. She was late, and she knew he would already be waiting. The bus stopped at the final signal. She resisted the urge to jump out and run the last few meters - it was far too foolish, and dangerous. The light finally turned green, the bus moved and arrived at her stop. She was already at the door, and was jumping out even before the bus stopped.

She walked quickly to the usual meeting place. Turning the corner, she saw him, a lone figure, standing patiently, watching the traffic go by. As she trotted up to him, he turned, and their eyes met. He smiled.

A wave of warmth swept through her. She relaxed completely in the comfort of his presence. It was worth it, she found herself thinking. The agony, the urgency, the tension, the endless wait - it was all worth it.

Now all she had to do was find a loo.
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Update: What would "He" have been doing all this while, waiting for "Her"? Viky tells you. Read his fabulous story here!