“Trust me, Sam.”
“I trust you Pihu. But I can’t believe what you just said.” Sam was minutely observing the can Pihu had just handed him.
“Ok. You don’t have to. What worse do you think can happen?”
“We can die, of course. And are you really sold on the story that by gulping the contents of this can, I will live this day again, as many times as I want?”
“Oh don’t be a child, Sam. You are not going to die. And yes, I believe in the story.”
“Am I the one who is being a child? And this can resembles a plain antique mess to me.”
“It is antique, passed on for ages. It was handed down to me by grandpa. And you know he was one hell of a psychic.” Sam knew.
“Don’t think too much, Sam. Pass on that can opener.”
“Today’s going to be the best day of my life”, Sam said as he sipped his coffee.
Pihu sat there in an attempt to be attentive. She looked deep into her coffee mug as if fishing for the words to utter. She knew why he was so giddy.
“So what’s the plan for tonight?”, she finally asked.
“As if you don’t know. Aren’t you the one who booked the evening for us?”
She struggled to put a grin on her face. Her mind was meandering, searching for the reasons why she helped Sam this time.
But then he considered her his best friend — a person, the only one for that matter, with whom he shared all the facets of his life.
And that was the reason he had been with her right from the morning. Today was a special day for him, and he wanted her to plan it for him.
Pihu realized this might have been the only instance when they had spent the complete day together — enjoyed it thoroughly in each others company.
He had woken her up, breakfast in his hand. He had brewed the coffee while she freshened up. They munched on the sandwiches he had brought, parcelled. He cooked and they dined together as she planned the night out.
They teased each other over their frailties. They laughed. And they played. They danced. And they eased off. They enjoyed like they never did before.
She was happy. And boy did she plan when she was at her happy-best. Classy ride to the movies in an Uber Mercs. A rom-com with popcorns — platinum seats in the house. A candlelight dinner under the clear skies to sign it off. A picture-perfect evening, she thought as she patted herself.
It dawned on her, though, that it wasn’t her who he would finally bow down to and propose. It would be Rita.
And this realization unsettled Pihu. She was suddenly filled with extreme rage, even as she sat there warming off in Sam’s embrace.
He was anticipating that the evening will make today his best day. It had already been Pihu’s best day. She hated Sam for sharing everything, but not her feelings for him.
She wished their day, their lives even, ended at once, with her in his cozy embrace.
“I wish I could just relive this same day again and again.”, the words spurted from Sam’s mouth. And Pihu’s lips spread themselves into a mean smile.
Pihu opened the can, poured the black gooey contents in a glass. As Sam held it, he saw Pihu raise a toast to him.
“Here’s to the best day of our life.”