Chapter 9: Silly Dumb Heart

Perfect!

The weather outside was warm and bright, just perfect for any kind of outdoor activity. Susan felt a thrill of excitement with each passing moment and her excitement increased exponentially with the thought of shopping in London for the first time. With the uplifted heart, she looked at the yellow sticky post-it, attached in front of her and tried to finish the to-do list before she left. After work, Susan greeted everyone weekend wishes and rushed out with Paul and June for the most awaited evening adventure – dress hunting.

“So, did you think of any good store?” Susan asked June as they walked toward the subway.

I know some promising stores at Oxford Street and, that’s where we are going.” June answered.

“Oxford Street! I heard about it.” Paul added.

In no time, the train for Oxford stationed at Canary Wharf and, they all got on the train. Along with the movement of the train, June turned her gossip on that looked like as though she was pacing with the train and, would stop only when the train halts at the destination. As the train was heading closer to the destination, Susan’s heart thumped with enthusiasm; she could feel the rush of emotion invigorating as she contemplated getting into the classy stores of the London city.

The station was crowded with the weekend rush and, before the train went past the station they were nowhere near the platform. Apparently, Susan’s footsteps wanted to accelerate with the mounting heart rate, but her stature couldn’t keep up with it. June took them to a department store which indeed looked promising to Susan. It was a breathtaking experience for Susan, to explore the stuff she was going to wear for the party. She had never worn something like that before, so she was a bit anxious about the whole thing. While going through the dress racks, she avoided the short length and strapless dresses which, she knew, would make her feel awkward. She made sure June did the same thing and, in order to make the dress selection process quick they decided to look into separate racks. In the meantime, Paul escaped to the men’s wear section until the girls had their mission accomplished.

“Hey June, I think it’s enough stuff we’ve picked out, now I should go try these on.”

“You are right, let’s see which one is going to be a perfect fit for you.” June consented.

It took some time for Susan to try out all the dresses, which she and June chose; and when she came out of the trail room, she wore a Burgundy color, tea length dress with satin lace work on it. She looked for June as she wanted to show it to June, then she heard a sharp, familiar voice from the distance.

“Perfect!”

Susan wondered and looked around.

“Paul! Where were you?” Susan asked bewildered when she saw Paul walking toward her.

"Well, I was upstairs, I thought I would buy something for myself...so…"

"Have you seen June?" Susan asked before he could finish the sentence.

“I am here. Wow! Look at you...you are absolutely stunning in this dress.” June came over and commented with her eyebrows raised.

“I was thinking I should go with this. What do you say?”

"Definitely….no second thoughts.” June encouraged.

"All right, I will go change and come back.”

Later they headed over to accessories, to find matching jewelry; Susan also tried on shoes that would go with the dress and, found a pair to match both the dress and her jewelry. And by the time they walked out of the store, they were starving; so they went to a nearby fast food center, KFC, and ordered for a fully loaded meal. When they were done, they took a taxi to their respective destinations.

Chapter 8: Silly Dumb Heart

Weekend.

The rest of the week went quite well with no more distractions during the day and no haunting dreams at night. By Friday Susan could fully blend in with the team; and June, one of the interns there, became good friends with Susan. June was a very nice girl, with cheerful personality. She lost her mother at a very young age and was brought up by her father since then. They were originally from China, but after her mother’s expiry June's father took a job in London and, they got settled there. June had her boyfriend, Dave, working in the same organization, but in other team; and they both lived together. Susan met Dave only once, who seemed like a perfect fit for June with the same pleasing personality.

It was Friday evening and, there was excitement all around the place at work. Everyone, in the team, was chattering about their weekend plans; and few had already planned to leave early that day.

Chris came over and asked Susan in a casual tone, “Hey Susan what did you plan for the weekend. It is your first weekend holiday in London.”

Susan bit her lip and, after a moment of hesitation, she said. “Well, I haven’t planned anything so far..uh..”

June quickly picked up on the conversation. “Hey Chris, I was going to invite Paul and Susan to my place. I and Dave had already planned up something nice for the weekend and, I want them to be a part of it. It’s just going to be a small party, a get together of few friends.”

“That sounds like a great plan.” Chris commented and, left the place.

“What kind of party?” Susan asked, wondering.

“Like I said, a small get together. Few friends of mine and Dave are going to come over.” June said enthusiastically.

“But they are all strangers…” Susan paused for a second, “and I can’t come to a party where I know no one.” She continued with a grimace.

“You know me and Dave; and Paul would also be there. Besides they are all wonderful people and, it’s nice to be around such a good company. Trust me, you’d love it.” June urged in a voice so convincing and, then turned to Paul. “What do you say Paul?”

“Of course, but... if Susan’s having a.... problem with it, then I am not in either.” Paul couldn’t help but support Susan.

All of a sudden June sounded very firm. “She’d definitely make it because I am inviting her.” then she politely insisted in a soft tone of voice, “It’s going to be really fun Susan, so please say yes.”

“I am sure it is, but… I don’t feel comfortable with strangers.” Susan sounded wavering.

“I promise it won't look like that you are trapped in a room full of strangers. They are very lively people and, you’d feel great being there. ” June insisted again.

“Okay.”

“Wow…that’s like a good girl. Paul, it’s your duty to bring her to the party.” June sighed and demanded Paul.

“I am always at her service.” Paul smiled teasingly.

“Now, you shut up!” Susan simpered at Paul.

“But, what am I going to wear? I have no good dress for the party.” Susan frowned.

“Don’t you worry about it; We will go shopping as soon as we wrap up with the work and, I am going to help you buy a perfect outfit for tomorrow.” June spoke with a tone of assertion and, excitement.

Chapter 7 : Silly Dumb Heart

Haunted

Susan spent most of the time, evening, over the Internet, chatting with her family and friends. Later, she and Paul decided to go out for a walk to enjoy the night breeze. They also had to buy merchandise and groceries as they didn’t want to have outside food anymore. They went to a big store that was little far from the hotel they were staying, so that they could get everything they wanted to buy. Besides they also wanted to watch the beautiful city in the night lights and have a pleasant walk. When they reached the store, Susan grabbed a bottle of skim milk, two boxes of corn flakes for breakfast and a large pack of noodles for dinner. Paul picked up a packet of rice and lentils and, dumped it in the groceries carrier. Susan looked at Paul in amazement when he did that.

“Why did you pick this?” She asked mystified.

“It’s because you are missing Indian food.” Paul snickered.

“When did I say so?” She was still dazed.

“In my dream.” He blurted out without thinking.

Now her eyes widened. “What?”

“I was just kidding. But, seriously, I miss Indian food. Don’t you?”

“I do, but…umm…I don’t know how to cook rice and lentils.” She admitted.

“Don’t worry, i am going to make it and, you can learn from me.” He smiled teasingly.

“No, that’s okay, I can survive on noodles.” She sounded hesitant.

“Come on, humor me.” He insisted.

“Alright, but I have one condition.”

“What’s that?” He rolled his eyes, bewildered.

“I’ll do it myself and, you will just give me instructions.” She grinned.

“Okay, done.” Paul sighed and, they both walked to the counter to get the stuff billed.

It was nice spending some time out which seemed to help her crabby mood; and she was off to bed as soon as she came back to her room. Susan could sleep well that night, but the same, last night’s, dream haunted her again; except this time she was very close to the strange person calling her. He was standing with his back to Susan and, as she was about to reach him, her eyes opened. She woke up from dream to daylight, fluttering her eyelids. She lay in bed for a while wondering what that strange dream could possibly mean.