It’s been thirty years since we both have been married. And in these thirty years, I haven’t touched a cup of hot coffee. 

Going back in time when we started seeing each other, it was almost the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s. Those days there were not many places, where we could date each other openly. So, the movie halls, cozy-looking restaurants, parks, and the college or university canteens came to our rescue. She was a college student while I was working in a publishing firm's Sales and Marketing division. We were family friends.

My studies were completed outside Kolkata while staying in a hostel. I only came back to the city to work and to stay with my family. And my luck! I met her at a family get-together. It was my parent’s anniversary. 

It all started from there. One look at her face and one smile from her could make my day. Some days, I even waited  for her outside her house so that we could go out together. Although she was both shy and surprised at this sudden attention, her parents were pleased about it.

The first time I asked her what she would like to have, she said, 'Coffee.'

I could sense her fondness for coffee from her voice. I ordered a cup of coffee for myself too and eventually, this became a routine between the two of us. The corner table of the nearest cozy restaurant and two cups of hot coffee.

I was never a coffee person. But I would drink it with a smile, only in the name of love.

Now, she knows it. She knows that I hate coffee. She even regales our son with this story about how I would do all of that for her, with a blush on her cheeks. Fortunately, nothing has changed. Neither us nor our love for each other. Except for the time that has flown by and that now, it’s one hot coffee and one tea that gets served on the table.