Date Night

A and I have been so busy with work lately that life has been hectic. Add to that the ever-present guilt of being working parents with limited time to spend with the kids, and a chatty chubbocks on summer vacation, and the going away of our live-in maid and suddenly one day we realised that it had been ages since we'd been out anywhere, just the two of us, and managed to have a conversation of more than two words without the kids butting in. A and I love hanging out together and have usually managed to make the time to do so, so we felt all the more deprived. It seems bizarre that we spent seven years struggling against various odds to be with each other, and now that we officially are, we have no time to spend with each other!

Luckily, an invitation from the French embassy coincided with our finding a potential live-in maid. We roped in mom to let the kids sleep over, with maid in attendance, since she is so new I couldn't leave the kids with her with any peace of mind. And once the kids were off to the park, we began titivating ourselves prior to our date with each other.

I pulled out my new petrol blue Wendell Rodericks chiffon shirt, bought this summer, since the event said the dress code was formal; and my maternity pants. A pulled out his favourite Hugo Boss suit and a dashing red tie. I pulled out some of the stops with make-up, using all the stuff I had recently splurged on at MAC. Sadly, my shoes had to be my sensible work-style blue pumps rather than any gravity defying stilettoes since at my current size and girth, mother earth loves to embrace me at any unwary step.

Finally, looking like a handsome elegant man accompanied by a giant blue walking egg, we made our way out of the house. It felt a little strange to be do dressed up this early in the evening, but we had to be there at 7 pm so we swanned out conspicuously among the gangs of neighbours taking leisurely strolls in their sweatsuits.

The function was the conferring of the Legion d'Honneur upon Yash Chopra. Many politico types and some socialite types were spotted at the do. We snagged good seats and then, realising we were ravenous, fell upon the canapes that were circulating - quite delicious. The function itself was short and sweet, with a nicely made AV tracing Yash Chopra's cinematic oeuvre and pictures of him and the stars of Veer Zaara causing a stampede and riot in Paris during the premiere. Maitre Chopra made a heartwarming speech, and then it was all over. I ensured that A met and congratulated Mr. Chopra, since Deewaar is his all-time favourite movie - the man can recite all the dialogues in his sleep! - and then we headed out to dinner.

Italic has often hosted our unplanned outings, post a quiz or some such, so we headed there, since it has great food and is convenient. A live singer was playing some of the oldies which never fail to make you sing along - Imagine, Tie a Yellow ribbon, Country roads and so on, and A and I joined in with great gusto, unheeding of any distress we may have been causing fellow-diners. It felt great to be out again, just the two of us, not mentioning the kids except in passing, enjoying some music...being ourselves, A and P, not mom and dad. It brought back memories of the years when we were dating, when we had tried out practically every restaurant in town and yet hardly noticed the food, we were so busy falling in love with each other.

Back home, the contrast to our dating era was obvious and welcome. Instead of heading off into different directions, we got to go home with each other, cuddle up and watch our favourite Tv program, sa Re Ga Ma Pa, sing along to whichever songs we knew and go to bed snuggled into each other. And be able to say "I Love You" to each other in person, instead of over a cellphone call. And to be ok with turning over and going straight to sleep...hey, I am 6 months pregnant!

Life is only going to get more hectic in the coming months. A has a lot more commuting to Bombay coming up, we have a third kid on the way and if it's half as chatty as the other two, A and I will be lucky if we can say two words to each other once a fortnight. And of course, the close monitoring a new baby needs and our incremental guilt will make it harder for us to get away. But we've both firmly resolved that regardless of the guilt and the logistical hurdles, from now on, regular date nights are on the menu!