Off the market.

Ladies & gentlemen, deviyon aur sajjanon, I have found a riding partner. And she has found me.

Funnily, she isn’t anything I thought I wanted.

But equally funnily, I have come to realise, she is everything I needed.

Note, though, that I can only speak for myself here.

Having gotten that out of the way, I must say I am relieved to announce that I am, as of this moment, off the market, having entered into an exclusive, intimate relationship with a fascinating woman. We’re taking this one step at a time, and as of now, this is a tentative dipping of our toes very cautiously in the water to test both, our toes and the water!

Of course, given how many of you are emotionally invested into how much of my story for how long, I would wager a fair bit that the relief I feel at this point is not mine alone. So, feel free to fix yourself a stiff one, and join me in a toast to life herself, unpredictable, risky, scary, but fulfilling. Thank you for riding pillion with me on an exciting journey that ended in the most unusual of places.

I must also reiterate that while I am an older man, those friends who know of her identity (and even they don’t know enough) do not think I am wiser at all, and that I am living dangerously. Once again.

Indeed, if you knew half the insane things I have told my dear friends about this new alliance (and the other, equally incredible half I’ve kept from them), you’d think I am making shit up. Nobody can have that crazy a life, you’d say. Surely, something’s got to give at some point. And you’d be right. Or not. There is, you’d agree, no way to tell except by hindsight.

Those who know me know that I live (and one day, hopefully, will die) by the dictum that,

‘If you ain’t living’ on the edge, you be wastin’ space, babe.’

Also, who knows what the future has in store? And who are we to predict it, with our own baggage, limitations, flaws, and weaknesses? Smarter, wiser people with far more experience and data have failed at relationships. Simpler ones have succeeded. And vice versa. This isn’t an exact science. All we can do is play the hand we’re dealt. With confidence, joy, and as much panache as we can summon.

So, onwards. And upwards. At the end of the day, as long as the answer to the question,