It was a peaceful ride to the cinema. Anna's sore feet made her lose interest in teasing me continuously. She tiredly told me about her work and how she left work early for our date today only to end up waiting for an hour before I was ready. I apologized to her. I also explained how my impatient boss caused my delay.
We got to the cinema. It was a small one. It was mostly for the selected few who wanted to see the movie with their loved ones in the evening. We waited in line for our turn, got our tickets checked, were thoroughly searched before we were given the approval to go in. The incessant level of insecurity in the country caused a lot of unnecessary procedures.
On getting inside, I smiled at Anna and whispered,
"Why don't we go to the back rows? The movie might be more interesting from that angle."
Anna looked at me with a knowing smile on her face.
"Only if you promise to keep your hands and mouth to yourself."
With a hurtful look on my face, I asked her,
"Don't you trust me?"
She shook her head from side to side and remained silent for a while before replying to me,
"No."
Agony and disappointment were written all over me as I escorted Anna to the front row seats.
Anna waved at the couple seated there with a polite smile before finding somewhere comfortable to sit. I stared at the couple and noticed the man who stared back at me also looked downcast. I understood immediately within myself,
'He was also denied the back row seats. What's wrong with these women! Causing pain for us innocent men who just want to see a movie while privately cuddling, smooching, and probably kissing in peace. Is this too much to ask for!'
Subtly, while avoiding Anna's gaze, I took a glance at the guys who got the back row seats and could see the anticipation, joy, and a little bit of mischief in their eyes. They just couldn't wait for the movie to start.
'They have women who make them happy. I'm so unlucky.'
Suddenly perceiving the scent of Anna's hair shampoo, I turned around and saw her head resting slightly on my shoulder.
"Sitting at the front doesn't mean we don't get to enjoy each other's company. Moreover, you know I'm looking forward to this movie as much as you are." Turning her head upwards, she looked into my eyes and continued, "I'm spending the weekend with you. So I'm all yours till Monday."
Leaning closer to my left ear, she whispered,
"Plus, we need to work on your perversion. You are becoming easily distracted these days."
"While I'm quite elated we are spending the weekend together, I want to remind you that your man is not a pervert." I looked down and smiled mischievously. "He is a perverted gentleman!"
"Have you even seen yourself in the mirror these days? Why won't I always get distracted when a lovely, awesome, caring, and beautiful woman like you is seated beside me?"
Anna took her head off my shoulders and stared at me in wonder for a while. She shook her head slowly, smiled lovingly, and said,
"Sometimes you're the best thing a woman could ask for and sometimes you're the worst. But at the same time, I can't see myself with any other person but you."
Resting her head again on my shoulder, she said quietly,
"I love you too."
Relaxing my back against the chair, I closed my eyes to relish the tranquility of our love, only to be disturbed by some commotion happening behind me.
"DUDE! This is the fourth time you are getting up to use the restroom and we just got here. No one has been here for more than 10 minutes. You are becoming a nuisance!"
A dark-skinned muscular guy was raising his voice at a dark-skinned, short, stocky, heavily bearded guy.
"Who's a nuisance, you bastard! I have every right to exercise my freedom of movement and I am using it to move to the restroom. How is that a problem to you?"
With a darkened look filled with resentment, the muscular man stared at the shorter guy.
"This is the fourth time you are making me move to create enough space for you to move out. You repeatedly inconvenienced me and my girl, and you call that your freedom of movement?"
The muscular guy, still having anger evident all over his face, conveyed his frustration.
"And did you just call me a bastard?"
The short stocky man was about to reply before the girl who accompanied the muscular man intervened.
"Sweetie, please leave him. It seems he's unwell and has a leaky bladder. He needs psychiatric assistance. Let's just let him leave."
The muscular guy, seeming pacified, attempted to sit back down only to be distracted by the sinister laughter coming from the short stumpy man.
"She called me unwell! She called me leaky bladder! He called me nuisance!"
He fell on his knees and continued with a sorrowful look on his face.
"I saw the love in the atmosphere and was having second thoughts on doing it."
Raising his hands to his face while on his knees, he clawed at his face so hard that he bled and shouted,
"THESE ARE THE PEOPLE I AM HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS TOWARDS! THESE ARE THE PEOPLE MAKING ME RECONSIDER!"
Taking his hands off his face, he brought his palms to the ground while kneeling and maintained a crawl-like position. With a tearful face that seemed heavily sincere, he continued,
"I've been wea—"
"Uhmm, Aaron, what's happening? What's with that guy?"
Anna, beside me, who had also been watching the drama unfold, questioned me. She had an amused look that showed she was obviously enjoying it.
"Why is he acting like a victim all of a sudden when he is the cause of the brouhaha?"
"I don't know. But something feels odd about him." I wondered about the reason for his theatrics, observed him, and noticed he was becoming extreme. Looking around me, I realized we weren't the only ones watching the altercation between the couple and the short bearded man. Everyone in the cinema was also silently watching him. Just like Anna, some were seemingly entertained, some were obviously annoyed and were calling for security, some were encouraging the muscular guy to roughen him up if he tried anything funny, some were just watching with complete nonchalance.