A Stretch in Time

(Genre: Just Like That)

"Hold on the line for 2 minutes.", "I'll call you back in 10 minutes", "I'll see you downstairs in 5 minutes" says Dhamini.

Had I not been any smarter, I would be:

a. Still holding on to the phone
b. Still waiting for her to call
c. Still waiting in her office Parking Lot
d. All of the above

Obviously the correct answer is (d). But smartness doesn't help and I am still stuck at (d).

In I(W)ST (Indian Women's Standard Time), "5 minutes" can sometimes last for hours and days altogether. Sometimes you try to budget for it by saying that you are waiting at the door even when you are actually 10 minutes away, but still the "5 minutes" stretch to gulp down your 10 minutes grace period and takes 10 more minutes (if you are lucky). If you give 15 minutes grace, then "5 minutes" will stretch to 25. You just cannot win.

What do you do when at the end of it all, you see her rushing towards you with hands holding her ears, smiling and saying sorry at the same time ?