Those 5 minutes

It was 3pm. Jai had already reached at Kailas restaurant where zia's parents were to meet. He was an hour early than decided. The nervousness in him had made him super restless. He ordered a juice and sat on the table planning his lines. He was absolutely clueless about what to speak with zia's parents. Being known to them through zia, he knew that her dad is not amongst those who will talk and have a quiet discussion across the table. Perhaps he might even slap him on his face, or worst case, may even come with hired dacoits to bash him black and blue. Millions of thoughts kept hovering in jai's head. At one point he even thought of running away from the place. Obviously, afterall he was about to meet a girl's parents for their daughter's marraige proposal with almost no job, no proper house and zero bank balance. Yes, running away was the only convenient solution.

Sharp 4pm, zia alongwith her parents arrived at the hotel. They waited at the lobby area for jai. It was an awkward situation for zia to wait for her boyfriend with mom on one side and dad on the other. She knew this meet would be the most horrible one in her whole life. She was continuously chanting Jesus name in her mind. The very thought of imagining her dad's reaction on meeting jai made her feel sick. She gauged the aura around her parents. Dad was standing with his hands folded looking around the passbyers. Mom had a tensed look on her face. None was talking to either. Any outsider observing them could easily sense the tension between all 3 of them.