A Glass of Merlot

I had been thinking and dreaming of going on a cruise. And now it was going to be a reality.

My Company has organized orientation program for the participants on a charter boat. A full 2-day orientation on the boat. The program has been organized for fresh recruits and interns. The concept of having an orientation on a boat was pretty exciting. They did not tell us about the program iternary other than it’s going to be a total surprise. This announcement added a zing to the already growing excitement.

We got a day off for preparations. I began my preparations for it, already thinking and imagining of what to wear and all matching accessories. After all, it’s going to be a time to make impressions. I drove to the Westfield Mall to buy a few essential items. Once home, I stood in front of my closet, wondering which clothes should I pack. It’s late spring time, so it’s not going to be too cold, though being on the water, carrying some light woolens would be sensible. The coordinator mentioned about carrying some formal party clothes. I picked up a sleeveless black dress, which had an organza scarf with Perl embroidery. Black color and parties go very well with each other.

Next, I made a cup of warm coffee for myself and sat down to prepare an introduction of myself. Introductions always makes me nervous. How much ever, I tell myself, each person is different, a comparative feature always runs parallel in the mind.

It was quite late by the time I was done with the preparations. I had already booked the cab to pick me up at 4.30 am in the morning. The drive itself will be an hour and then all the other formalities of registration. I was tired due to sheer excitement and nervousness at the same time, but I couldn’t sleep. Finally, I dozed off for a couple of hours.

The alarm went off and I quickly showered and picked up a coffee and waited in the lobby. The cab came at sharp 4.30 am. I told the driver to proceed towards the harbor point. The ride was long and I dozed off again the cab.

I got off at the harbor point. I spotted our coordinator, Nick. He seemed all up and bright. We went through all the registrations and he asked me to proceed towards the breakfast area. I proceeded towards the breakfast area. There were already few early birds there. Freshly brewed coffee aroma was all around. I always wondered, why coffee had more preference over tea. My preference has always been fresh ginger tea. Coffee is always an alternative if fresh ginger tea is not available.

I got some toast, eggs and a cappuccino and went to the furthest table, from where I could see everyone. My eyes fell on a guy wearing a sweater with a scarf around his neck. The overall appearance made him look rustic and handsome. Something about him, seemed attractive. He was busy in his group, possibly oblivious of my eyes on him.

I felt reminded of a recent Simon Sinek’s post on LinkedIn. He compared sales as similar to dating, obviously with different outcomes.

By 9.30 am, the boat was ready to sail with all the participants aboard. Rounds of beverages were still on, when Nick began addressing all the participants. The atmosphere was pretty cool, the tension was only in the mind.

Nick began with talking about the agenda for the day. The first day was planned with a lot of introductory notes from the company personnel. The surprise of the agenda was the evening, ‘ dating night’. There will be 2 groups that will pair with each other and every pair of participants will dance for 20 minutes to exchange information about each other and then move on to pair with the next person. What an innovative way to lighten the atmosphere and get the participants to know each other. I wondered in my head, all the time and effort, I spent in preparing the introduction and now I have to change the format.

Evening came and I wore my black party dress. I curled my hair a little at the front and at the ends, put on my red lipstick and a blush on. I wore a very attractive line of stone necklace with long earrings. I curled the scarf around my right hand. One last look in the mirror, satisfied, I went down to the main hall. My heart was thumping loud and I felt reminded of a song,‘ My heart is beating, keeps on repeating….’

With that thump and light music, we started dancing, exchanging information and moving on to the next partner. It was fun. Almost towards the end of the session, it was my turn with the rustic and handsome guy, who I had my eyes on in the morning. My heart began beating even faster. And I wasn’t thinking. I seemed to have gone dumb. My introduction seemed broken. Later, I wondered, what impression, I made on him. He was my last partner and I was feeling relieved to sit down and catch my breath after a very eventful day 1.

Something was in the air and I felt the spark between us. There was cool breeze around and I could feel my hair flying across my face. A warm and firm hand began pushing away my hair and tried to tuck it behind my ear. My heart missed a beat, seeing the handsome guy. He asked me, if I would go on a date with him, just a couple of hours and I was taken by surprise. The sparks were felt and he seemed quick to pick up.

It was getting chillier, on the deck. So we went into the bar room. He got me and himself a glass of wine and we seated ourselves in one quiet corner. Most of the lot had retired to their rooms. And so, we had some exclusive time.

It seemed a little odd, logically thinking, we had just introduced ourselves to each other. But the attraction between us overpowered. I began some light conversation and asked him about the wine. He said it was Merlot. I may have possibly seemed to him a seasoned connoisseur of alcoholic beverages. Little did he know, that it was my first time with alcoholic beverages. He found me an ardent listener, while he spoke to me about the Merlot variety. I don’t know how much went to my head, because I was just adorably looking at him. The boat, the wine and my handsome partner, all together, it seemed so perfectly romantic.

The bartender came and checked with us, if we need anything as he was closing the bar. We asked for a bottle of Merlot and he gave us that and closed the bar and left. We were the lone pair in the room. We talked about so many things, didn’t realize the time till it was nearly dawn. By dawn time, with Merlot moving into our heads, we had snuggled into each other’s arms. His hands caressed me while he kissed me on my lips. It felt heavenly romantic. A dream cruise turned into a dream date. I felt, as though our time should never end.

Morning brought us back to reality.