Chumki was standing alone in the parking lot, lonely and upset. It has been ages since Montu came by and she was missing him terribly. Of course, there was Piyu, Chintu and Titu around for idle chit chats and sometimes a hearty conversation in the evening, but that wasn’t the same. Not being able to see Montu, tell him how manly he looked, blush shyly and turn redder at Montu’s flirtatious glance, his many compliments. “Wow you are glowing. I so missed your sweet voice,” Montu would tell her lovingly.

Chumki met Montu on a cool autumn evening, as she was standing quietly and enjoying the dewy twilight. Montu strode in smoothly, buzzing softly and stood right next to her. She was immediately taken in by his manly demeaner, and cool confidence. Then to her surprise her mistress Monica stepped out of Montu, a black Ford EcoSport, followed by a handsome young man. As they walked towards the lift, to go up to Monica’s apartment, Chumki peered into the rear view mirror to catch a glimpse, tried hard to hear bits and pieces of their conversation. “Not nice to pry into other people’s affair,” Montu’s comment, tinged with amusement and scorn, startled her. “Hey, that’s my mistress there,” retorted Chumki sharply. “Oh, your mistress sure has good taste,” said Montu looking at Chumki appreciatively.   

That’s how it all started, the wheelie romance of Chumki, a bright red Nissan Micra, and Montu, a handsome black Ford EcoSport. As Chumki looked at Montu feigning anger, he smiled and told her what she was dying to know – how his boss Aneek met Monica. “Well, your mistress and my boss went for a long drive today. They seemed very happy and lovey dovey. From what I could gather they met a few days back and seemed to have fallen for each other.” “Oh, that’s good,” said Chumki cheerfully. “I am very happy for them.” “And lucky for me to have met you,” said Montu softly to a blushing Chumki.

Chumki and Montu kept meeting frequently after that. Aneek would come often to see Monica, park Montu in the empty spot next to Chumki before heading up. Chumki and Montu would spend hours talking, planning their future together. Sometimes they would stand quietly and enjoy the starlit night. The visits stopped suddenly. “What’s wrong? Did they break-up?” thought Chunki apprehensively.  Then one day, she saw Aneek getting off a cab. “Oh my god, where’s Montu. Did he meet with an accident? Did Aneek sell him?” Her friend Piyu tried to calm her, but Chumki couldn’t stop crying.

When Monica was dropping Aneek off to the nearest metro station the next day, Chumki learnt with some relief that Aneek is currently handling an outstation project, so Montu is parked at his office. “You could park your car here,” said Monica. “The slot next to my Micra is empty.” “That would be too much trouble for you,” replied Aneek to Chumki’s dismay.

Though Chumki was glad to learn that Montu was doing fine, she awfully missed him. It has been months since she has seen him. Aneek kept visiting but Montu was completely missing from the picture. After almost 6 months, Aneek drove in Montu again and parked him next to Chumki. “Hey where have you been? I missed you so much,” she chirped happily. “I was standing for months in a basement parking. I was so bored. So good to see you again,” said Montu with some relief. “So, didn’t you make any friends there? Weren’t there other cars?” asked Chumki. “Hmm, they would come and go,” said Montu trying to change the topic. Chumki, sensing something, looked at him hard, “Well there was one Pinky, the golden Honda City,” said Montu casually. “What were you having an affair?” screamed Chumki startling the other cars. “Chumki, no, please listen. We would only talk sometimes. I would tell her how much I missed you.” It took Montu a while to calm Chumki. Finally, they stood quietly under the starlit sky enjoying each other’s company, realizing how much they were in love. “You will be leaving tomorrow morning,” sighed Chumki.

But Montu had made up his mind. He was not going to leave Chumki again. Next morning, when Aneek came down to leave, Montu refused to start. Aneek tried very hard, even pushed him around but to no avail. Finally, Monica offered to get Montu fixed. “Don’t worry, I will call the garage and get your car fixed. He will be parked safely till you come back,” she assured Aneek.

So Chumki and Montu were parked happily next to each. Every morning, when Monica drove off to work with Chumki, she would take a good look at Montu to ensure he has been cleaned and washed. Aneek also started coming more often. “See, my boss can’t stay without me,” Montu boasted to Chumki. “Oh, come on, he’s completely smitten by my mistress,” replied Chumki. During one such trips, when Montu was driving them around, he learnt to his delight that Aneek would be moving in with Monica.  He gushed to Chumki as soon as he was parked in, “My love, nobody can take us apart now. We will be together for the rest of our lives.”

And so, continued the wheelie romance. Every morning Chumki and Montu would drive their respective bosses to their office, rush back in the evening to be with each other in the solace of the night.