Misty affairs

It was a rainy night. With no shelter in sight, the sister and I were getting drenched to the bone. No cab agreed to take us home. To add to our woes, every passing vehicle was splashing us with such ferocity, we were soaked until our waist. Finally, after much imploring and pleading, a cab driver agreed to take us. After shoving our wet and grumpy selves into the taxi, the sister and I slumped into our seats.

Neither of us were upto any conversation, so it was a silent ride. Since the rain was pelting down in full force, I rolled up the windows. The stormy rain coupled with foggy roads was making the windows mist. Watching a thick layer of mist settle on glass gives me great joy. Soon, I started drawing patterns on the mist.

And then my mind traveled back to that day. This is when my dad had heard of Mint’s name for the first time ever. My mom knew of his existence, since she knows names of most of my friends. Including the ones I am not really in touch with. I don’t usually tell my dad such obscure details of my life because he never remembers them. So Mint’s name had never been mentioned in his presence. And since Mint was ‘just another friend’ back then, there had been no occasion or opportunity for his name to be brought up in dad’s presence.

One day, I had stepped into the shower after having some random conversation online with Mint. The steam from my shower had made the bathroom mirror misty. I don’t really know what I was thinking. Or perhaps I wasn’t thinking at all. But I ended up scrawling Mint’s name in big bold letters all across the bathroom mirror. I suspect I thought of him at that time only because I had just chatted with him.

I stepped out of the bathroom and promptly forgot about my brilliance and what I had just done. My dad walked in to the bathroom for his shower after me, but he came out almost the next second. Here is how our conversation went.

Dad: What have you written on the bathroom mirror? Whose name is that?

Me: *Suddenly realising my blunder and going red* Oh. I was just doing timepass.

Dad: Timepass by writing somebody’s name? Whose name is that anyway?

Me: Just some random friend’s.

Dad: Why would you write some random friend’s name on the bathroom mirror?

Me: I don’t know. Just like that. I happened to be thinking of him at that time. Nothing else to it.

Dad: So you were thinking of this random guy friend of yours while taking a shower. Interesting.

Me: *Feeling my earlobes burn because of how suggestive that statement sounded and what it implied* Dad!! What do you mean by saying ‘thinking of him while taking a shower’? I wasn’t thinking of him like that!

Dad: Like what? I said nothing. I only repeated what you said.

Me: Never mind *scurrying away*

I remember how flushed I felt. Especially because, err, thinking on those lines was unthinkable. Mint really, truly was just a friend to me back then. This whole writing on the bathroom mirror was coincidental. I was very mad at dad for having such inappropriate ideas. He always loves embarrassing me by putting me in a spot. Hmph. Thankfully, he forgot all about it and Mint’s name was never teasingly brought up again, the way I feared it would.

Yesterday, as I watched the swirling rain and drew patterns on the misty window panes of the taxi, I thought of my dad. And the first time he heard of Mint’s name. It set off the laughter and my sister glanced at me curiously, wondering what had brought it on. I didn’t give her an explanation then. I only continued to laugh as our cab rode through the rain.