Silently Falling in Love: Again (Edited)

Chapter 34 - Parent Teacher Night

Anjali – October 2007

Raj held the door open to the Italian restaurant as several of the parents joined us for dinner.

"I can't believe how long the back to school nights are. They get longer and longer every year," Raj lamented.

It was after nine, and we were starving, so we agreed to meet for dinner before returning home.

We waited at the bar as the waiter pulled together several tables for our big group. Raj chatted with one dad as I waited patiently for him to get us drinks.

"Hi. You look like you could use a glass of Chardonnay," Alex said as he handed me a wine glass.

"Thank you." I smiled and took a sip of the cool liquid that tasted like peaches and jasmine blossoms mixed.

Raj turned around from his conversation. "How do you know my wife drinks Chardonnay?"

Alex looked stunned but recovered quickly. "Lucky guess. Most women like Chardonnay. What will you have, Raj?"

"I'll take a Scotch. Thank you."

Raj placed his hand behind my back. "Is it good?"

"It's fine. Do you want a sip?" I asked then held my breath. I hadn't shared with Raj that I had a weekly lunch with Alex. Something told me Alex hadn't shared information on our weekly lunches with Christina either. It was our secret, and I wanted to keep it that way.

"Thanks sweetheart, I'll wait for my Scotch."

Seconds later, Alex came back. "A Scotch for you."

"Cheers." Alex clinked his beer bottle to Raj's Scotch and then to my glass of wine.

"You're a beer drinker, huh? I guess that fits your profession as a programmer," Raj retorted.

I looked at Alex and he discreetly acknowledged me before saying, "Yeah something like that."

Moments later Chris joined us, and we toasted again as she raised her glass of red wine.

"Anjali used to be a beer drinker when I first met her, but she's since changed that and many other habits," Raj confessed as he looked over at me.

"What made you give up drinking beer?" Chris asked trying to be a part of the conversation.

"I mainly drank when I raced and I don't race anymore so I guess the habit died with that," I blurted, hoping to end the conversation. It reminded me of all the things I'd given up over the years.

"What did you race?" Alex asked.

"Cars. I loved racing fast cars, but that was a lifetime ago." I sipped my Chardonnay. I didn't like the attention on me.

"Thank god she gave up racing and drinking beer. I'd like to think I had a hand in taming her. You wouldn't have recognized her she was such a tomboy when we met. She even dressed like one," Raj chuckled as he dropped a kiss on my forehead. "I definitely prefer this version of Anjali," Raj added.

"I had no idea you liked to race," Alex breathed even though I'm sure I'd shared this with him.

Or maybe he said it because it would have been odd for him to know about my wine preferences and the racing. These weren't the details that arose when you're carpooling kids. These insights are only revealed when you spend large amounts of time together.

Chris added, "Alex used to love racing too. Thankfully, he doesn't now. Do you remember when they used to have those industry events at the racetracks? Alex always took my spot. That's the only company event he enjoyed attending. Thankfully, they don't do those anymore."