The Brown box

"Good evening Mr.Sidharth! You have a parcel sir, please collect it from the front desk. Have a great weekend!"

I was surprised to hear the voice mail message that evening, after coming back to hotel from work. As I dropped my suitcase on the sofa, I played the message again to make sure that I wasn't dreaming, especially after officiating a quarterfinal match between two of the hottest stars in the women's tennis circuit.

I have been a nomad for the last 8 years, shuttling between US, Europe and Australia on refereeing duty. The name Sidharth Kapoor is now a well established "brand" in Tennis circuit, being the first Indian referee to officiate in all four grand slam finals. The only people who knew my whereabouts are my parents, who lived somewhere in Amritsar. I wasn't used to getting a "parcel", especially at a hotel in New York. Tall, well built, handsome, chain smoker, vodka addict, divorcee - these are some labels with which I am usually tagged. Tennis, of course, was my first love, which lead to the break up of my second love, Neena.

After changing to casuals, I rushed to the reception to collect the parcel from the receptionist. It was a brown box, with just a label on top which said "Amazon.com". I also noticed a tracking number beneath it.

"Hey Jane, do you have any idea which parcel service delivered this brown box to the hotel?"
"No Mr. Sidharth, I wasn't there on duty when it was dropped off"
"Ok, No problem, Thanks!"
"You are welcome!"

What a useless conversation! The brown box weighed around 3 lbs and the size of the box was pretty big. I didn't expect someone to send a parcel of this size, especially when I am abroad. I decided to guess who it might be, before I even open the box. Who knows, it might be WMD or anthrax too. This is America, land of opportunities, where some college freak might want to try something new and play some prank.

"Mamma couldn't have sent this here, she normally sends gifts to my Delhi address" I was trying to figure out who might have sent the parcel.

"Will it be from Neena?"
I immediately looked for my dear ex-wife Neena's number in the Addressbook and gave her a ring.

"Hello Neenu, how are you honey?"
"I am fine. Are you drunk?"
"No, why?"
"Its 1 AM here darling and you seem to have no idea about what time zone others are in! Get lost asshole! Click!"

I could feel the fumes coming out from the receiver's ear piece the moment I heard the handset striking the floor. She is till angry with me I guess. Neena will never change; so will I!

So who else could've sent that parcel? Rishabh is still in Canada but that bloke won’t do such things in his entire life! He is the kind of a person who chose an ipod nano over ipod touch for his girlfriend, just after seeing the price tag; I cannot imagine a kanjoos like him ship gifts to New York.

This leaves me with very little options. It cannot be Rick or Steve or Ryan, all three are bit too formal and they are not the ones who can give a surprise to their friends. It can't be Joe, Rajath, Reema,Parna, Anant... Wait a minute! Will it be Ritu?

Well, it might be Ritu! In fact, I wish it was her. Ritu was my girl friend during my college days in Pune. Tall and slender, blue eyes, long hair and a sweet voice, Ritu was the perfect girl which any man can dream for. We broke up due to some personal reasons, but we still remained good friends. The last I met her was some 4 years back, at a friend's wedding. She was still looking lovely then. Marriage makes women even more beautiful, perhaps. We had a nice long chat then and she promised to surprise me some day. Well, she is one rare species who keeps up her promise, so this might very well be the day she kept her promise!

I frantically began searching for the file in my laptop, where I had noted down her mobile number. After some time, I successfully located it and dialed the number. My heartbeat was racing as I dialed Ritu's number.

"Click, Click, Click...Please check the number you have dialled!"

What a bummer! I tried the same number a couple of times, but the result was the same. I finally decided to open the parcel only after I hear any further information from the sender. I left the parcel on the sofa and headed to the fridge to get a beer. I switched on the TV to divert myself from this brown box episode.

"Tring Tring! Tring Tring! Tring Tring!"
"Hello, Sid here"
"Sidharth?"
"Yeah, who is this?"
"Arre Munna! How are you beta? This is Sonu aunty and Shibhu Uncle here, Remember?"


Sonu Aunty? Oh yes, that aunty with think glasses and a long ugly nose, who once beat me up just because I spoilt her garden with my skateboard adventure! How can I easily forget a stupid neighbour?
"Haan Aunty, aap kaise ho?"
"I am fine beta, it has been so many years since I spoke to you. I have seen you on TV so many times"
I couldn't control my "evil" grin.

"Aunty, you still have a garden? Should I bring along my skateboard to your place?"
"Nahin beta, those were fun earlier. Now I hardly have any interest in such things"
"Haan. So where are you calling from?"
"Beta, I am in New Jersey right now. Listen, I saw that you were in New York for the US Open. I was just looking for someone who will be heading to India shortly, to carry some clothes and toys for Pinky, my one year old grand daughter. Have you met her? She is a wonderful baby. I called up your Mom to..."

I immediately figured out the purpose of the conversation and the mystery behind the brown box!

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Dedicated to A and S for being such a wonderful host! You guys are awesome!!
And to S who actually sent the parcel to my address, without even informing me!!