Chapter 2

[MEMBERSONLY]

[NOCOPY]

WHEN BEBE AND THE REST of the family force Neil and Avni to take a honeymoon, the couple do not know how to say no without revealing to everyone what their marriage really was - a complicated means to a simple end. After much deliberation, the two of them hand over the planning of the honeymoon to their overly-invested grandmother. It is only when Bebe wakes them up at 7:00 AM on D-Day, hands them a car with a pre-fitted tablet that would serve as their map and enough supplies to last for a week on the road and tells them to drive until they have lost themselves, that both of them realize what a tragically bad idea this was. Unfortunately, it was too late to back out in front of their hopeful grandmother who told them that she'd noticed how much the two of them enjoyed driving. Her voice tapered off towards the end hesitantly at their lack of enthusiasm but they recover quickly and reassure her they were just shocked because they didn't know she knew them so well. And so, a road trip it would be.

For the first hour, there is perfect silence in the car. They drive until they've reached a 24-hour coffee shop (both of them unconsciously avoid Chamko) and eat breakfast in an awkward, uncomfortable silence. Until Neil ends up spilling some water on himself, which invariably reminds Avni of the time in their bedroom when he'd suffered similarly. The smile that breaks out on her face is involuntary. From thereon, the tension shatters spectacularly as Neil sulks peevishly and his wife laughs at him despite trying very hard not to - until he manages to flick some water onto her. The water fight that ensues is nothing short of legendary. The cafe doesn't even let them use the bathroom to change out of their soaked clothes while kicking them out in the wee hours of the morning.

From that on, a silent understanding is formed. This is no different than two friends escaping their lives for a short reprieve from all that reality has burdened them with. It doesn't have to be awkward. The sexual tension notwithstanding. After finding another place to get changed in, they plan to escape to Ganpati Phule - a place Neil has always wanted to visit but never gotten the chance to. Avni is comfortable with wherever they choose to go, as long as there is beauty on the road. They take the longer route - because why not? The rules are simple - there are none. This one week, they are whoever they choose to be, wherever they choose to be and whenever they choose to be. In three hours, they reach Pune and have a proper breakfast - finally. She determinedly orders poha, and he laughs at what a cliche Maharashtrian she has turned out to be.

After breakfast, Avni offers to drive up to Satara and he is grateful to her for it, for the Mumbai Pune highway has been fraught with traffic and he knew he could use a short nap (he's never too good with waking up early). So, he slumbers, and she puts 4:44 by JayZ on loop (she's had a weakness for rap, always) and drives and drives until her playlist is over and Neil wakes up blearily. Just as he blinks the grit away from his eyes, the sunlight splays across his face and something indescribable loosens in Avni's chest.

He bullies her over her playlist until she finally lets him control the music but if Avni's music is terrible, Neil's choice is truly pathetic - for he immediately switches over to soft, indie music. They mock each other as two old friends and the laughter that rings on the road is too pure, too indescribable to ever be successfully reproduced anywhere else but on that road, in that moment. After three hours, they stop at Satara to stretch their legs - for the roads uphill are steep as they are tiring to navigate. Over there, they overhear some tourists talking about the valley of flowers. Their spontaneity is not well rewarded, for it turns out that the trek needs to be booked in advance. Nevertheless, it turns out to be a source for much jocularity and they laugh and laugh all the way down to Ratnagiri, where it is time for lunch again.

They eat in a seedy canteen like restaurant (neither of them were obsessed with food) with middle aged men staring at them disapprovingly until she gave them her frostiest glare and Neil subtly-but-not-so-subtly flash his police badge at them. The disapproval does not abate but is tempered with a healthy amount of respect for the outsiders who talked loudly and obviously shared a fair amount of intimacy. From lunch, they float around the tiny city - unwilling to leave. Finally, finally they make their way to the Ganpatipule beach. The sun rays glitter on the ocean, the waves are pure and white and they've found a surprisingly deserted area. The air is pure, crisp and the sun burns on their backs. It is awfully uncomfortable and breath-takingly gorgeous. In sheer awe, Avni takes Neil's hand in her own and suddenly, the beach around them isn't half as beautiful as the pure happiness on her face as she breathes in deeply, holding his hand in her own.

The journey back to Pune is long and hard, and Neil refuses to give her the keys to the car for she'd manipulated him into letting her drive up to Ganpatipule entirely so they leave by 5:00 PM. The skies are rapidly darkening, and they have to stop once for petrol in Shiwade. Neil blinks at her owlishly as she replenishes their water bottle supply from the shop nearby and she wonders what it would be like to plant a soft kiss on his lips, right there - under the bright, white lights of the tiny petrol pump both of them were in.

Conversation lulls in the car, but the silence is not uncomfortable. They have long reached a truce about the music, and are watching the countryside speed by them as The Cinematic Orchestra played in the background. Somewhere, DD calls him to update him on some case and Neil groans as DD has good naturedly goofed up the paperwork on yet another file. Neil tells her about how he'd had a friend just like DD in college and it was strange how some people ended up never left your life. As he tells her all this, Avni is fiddling with the music system and he doesn't find the courage to tell her that a part of him hopes she was one of those people.

They're halfway to Pune when she brings up Delhi and talks of it with nostalgia. She'd gotten her bachelors in mathematics from Delhi University and speaks of Ramjas College fondly. She tells him of her teachers, of sutta lane, of the rivalry between St Stephens and Hindu College. She tells him about fests and the heated politics and momos at the Kamla Nagar Market. The more she talks, the more enchanted he is at the visual of a more carefree Avni, trying smoking for the first time and fanning her mouth over the spicy momos chutney.

They reach Pune and Neil blesses his luck when they end up finding a motel to crash in despite the lateness of the hour. They scarf down sandwiches and collapse on the bed, too tired to care about the fact that there was only one bed but two people. Avni falls asleep first and then Neil, both of them having put up a barricade of pillows between them. The next morning, Avni wakes up to realize the barricade has been breached effectively and the warmth she was experiencing was because they'd found each other last night, and stayed together. She gets up silently and pads across the room, only stopping to look back at him once she'd crossed over to the bathroom and wondering what it would be like to wake up next to him like that every single day.

Over breakfast, Avni moodily stabs her toast for she does not know how to tell him that she does not want to go home - not now, not yet. He notices the cloud of gloom around her but does nothing to abate it. The moodiness stays until she realizes they're going towards Nashik. She glances at him quizzically, and he tells her with awkwardly that since she misses Delhi so much, he thought it would be nice if they could drive till there. He does not look at her as he says this, but she says thank you softly, hating that her voice hitches at the thoughtfulness from the man who had done nothing but give her everything she'd dreamt of since she was a little girl. He nods uncomfortably and nothing else is said on the matter.

They stop at Dhule, a small town with booming industry for lunch. She'd eaten little in her anxiety over having to go home so soon and he'd eaten even littler because he was unsure of how she would take his surprise. In the end, they find a restaurant called Blackspoons which is done artfully to the theme of black and white. They're from the city, and such ideas are hardly pathbreaking but the owners of the restaurant are proud of their place and want to engage the out-of-towners in conversation. Avni is stiff. Conversation is people is an art she hasn't yet mastered, but Neil talks to them so skilfully that by the end of their meal, free dessert is pressed on them. They eat their vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce, and when Neil is done, he leans over to steal some from her. Except she anticipates his movement and turns sharply, only to have his lips collide with the corner of her mouth and then, the return of the slow burn that seemed to grip her body when they had those moments where time stilled and hearts quivered.

The drive to Indore is silent, save for the music playing in the car. The awkwardness has reached peak level. It is not the awkwardness of a man or woman who had inadvertently kissed but rather, that of a man and woman who wanted to do more. Finally, the sun begins to set as they enter Madhya Pradhesh and under skies streaked with blue and gold, he parks the car on the corner of the road and tells her he could not stand the ambiguity for much longer and wanted to know if he was alone in the madness that had gripped him. 

Their first kiss happens in a small town called Sendhwa, in the corner of the road as the skies glow from the last vestiges of a sun that has long slipped below the horizon. The skies are streaked with blue and gold and the area he has parked in is relatively secluded from the rest of the town. The handbrake digs into her ribs, but Neil's lips are soft and his palm caresses her cheek like she is something invariable precious. The kiss is chaste, soft, full of promise and when Mr. and Mrs. Khanna separate, both of them know it is the beginning of something auspicious.

The rest of the drive is filled with conversation, as though nothing of consequence has occurred. But once or twice, when Avni thinks Neil isn't looking, she touches her lips with an expression that borders on dreamy and something akin to wonder and pride blooms happily in his chest.

In Indore, they freshen up at the hotel Neil has booked for them and set out into the night to meander their way through Sarafa Bazaar. The Market lives up to its reputation of noise spectacularly, and Avni feels as though she can float when Neil flattens his palm over her waist protectively. They become foodies that night and resolve to sample whatever looks appealing to their eyes. Bursting to the brim after having eaten dal bafla, egg benjos, garadu, gol gappe, jalebi and happus ice cream, they waddle back to the hotel and collapse on the bed without saying any word but before they sleep, Avni kisses Neil on the mouth softly and he decides he likes the taste of the ice cream better when it comes from her mouth.

The next morning, they wake up next to each other, his leg strewn over her waist and his hardness pressing into her back. There is a beat of indecision, and then a flurry of activity as she twists around and he kisses her with teeth and intent.

Their first time is not gentle for neither of them are virgins nor are they interested in treating each other carefully. She grabs his hair roughly and he peppers hickeys all over her skin. She scratches his back and he spanks her, softly first but then harder when she tells him to do it like he means it. It is a heady explosion after months and months of anticipation and when Neil and Avni finally part, it feels like years have passed. Wow, Neil mumbles and Avni huffs out a short laugh breathlessly before gently pushing herself off the bed and gingerly walking back into the bathroom. She limps back into bed after cleaning herself off and ignores his pointed smirk at her pained sigh. They fall asleep like that, naked under the sheets and wake up hours later. There is the awkwardness of the morning after, but that dissipates as hunger takes over and they order an early lunch from room service. Over food, they talk about everything but the magnanimity of what just happened, but Neil covers her hand briefly as she hands him some water, and she knows everything will be okay.

On the way to Udaipur, Avni insists on driving despite the soreness of accommodating a new lover. She does a spectacular job of hiding her discomfort but Neil begs her to let him drive (for his own peace of mind he says) and she finally lets him and pretends she doesn't see his small smirk of triumph because her pride may prevent her from saying it out loud but she could admit to herself that their morning had made her delightfully sore.

On the way to Udaipur, they stop at a town called Ratlam because DD has called again to update Neil on what is happening. When Neil mentions offhandedly that he was in Ratlam, the other man screeches with unholy delight and demands they traipse around town to find Hotel Decent and send him photos of it. Neil rolls his eyes and Avni too, cannot stop her smile, but they comply to the wishes of the one man who loved them dearly and expected nothing in return.

In Udaipur, they hold hands because every moment they aren't touching feels wrong. Indore and what happened in it feels so far away, yet so near. A conversation loomed in the horizon for both of them had much to say, and knew the dangers of assuming too little or too much but when Avni lightly clasps Neil's hand in her own, he finds he does not dread it as much as he should.

At night, they dine at the Sheesh Mahal which was as elite as they come. The restaurant was beautiful and overlooked the lake and though neither of them officially name it as such, it is their first proper date. The lights of the patio they are seated at, are dim - designed to create an aura of sensuality and beauty. The lake glitters with the lights from the palaces and restaurants surrounding it. Avni turns to the lake with a soft smile, but this beauty is wasted upon Neil who only has eyes for his wife.

They talk through the night. Sometimes, she cries and sometimes he does - when their talk winds down, they feel more married to each other than ever before. This conversation was by no means over, for there would be nights and days where they would discover each other in a whole new light. But tonight, was important. Tonight meant something. Tonight was an unspoken promise finally given to in words. It was the official beginning of something special.

When they stumble back to the hotel room, their bellies full wine and food, she initiates their kiss - warm, heady and tasting of wine. This time they f**k slowly, her on top and him swiping at her sweet spot until they both reach culmination and collapse on each other, sweaty and breathless. Sleep after this, is but a distant reality.

The next morning, they leave early, for Delhi would be half a day away. This time, Avni drives for a full six hours and he lets her play Kendrick Lamar until his head rings hollow with the lyrics from Humble. He begs her to stop and she takes pity on him, letting him play his indie music. Upon reaching Jaipur, they stop for lunch once more but don't linger in the town for much beyond that.

They reach Delhi in the evening. Too tired, both of them check into the hotel room quietly and decide to take a short nap. When they wake up, they realize how ravenous they are and she takes him to Chandni Chowk for a full meal of biryani and mutton burrahs. The next day, she takes him around to her college and he finally gets to try the famous Kamla Nagar momos (he doesn't see the hype but doesn't tell her when he sees the hopeful expression on her face). With nothing else to do, he goes where she takes him and listens as she narrates bits and incidents from her life from Delhi. Out of respect, they dutifully check out some historical monuments but Avni has never seen the appeal of looking at crumbly old buildings and Neil prefers places where the people are alive, anyway - so they give it up after two hours of boredom.

In Janpath, where they have gone to visit the emporiums and the silver markets, they run into an old classmate of hers. "Who is this? asks Preeti Sabharwal in a stage whisper and Neil only feels his heart unclench when she holds his hand and calls him her husband.

That night, they are driving around town when she suddenly says, let's go back. He doesn't question it, only turns the car around and lets her take over at the Delhi border. She drives them back up to Udaipur, which is a ten-hour journey (he is asleep for 9 of them). He demands to know why she hadn't woken him up and only receives a shrug and a "you looked too at peace to be disturbed" in response. He takes over the wheels as she sleeps in the backseat, and drives up to Bharuch, where they both give in to their bodies and give their legs a much-needed stretch. From there on, it's them alternating at the wheels up to Mumbai. The car is filled with conversation - sometimes about music, sometimes about something much deeper and sometimes, long stretches of silences where they are content to do nothing more than grasp each other's hands while changing gears. Finally, finally, they enter Mumbai and navigate their way through night time traffic to reach home.

When they enter home, Kareena runs forward and demands to know of each and every detail and Shweta throws in snide remarks of her own. "Welcome back, beta" Prakash says gently, over the volley of shouts as Bebe castigates Shweta for her rudeness while ushering them all into the dining room. Neil squeezes her hand gently as they sit next to each other, too tired to do much but lean against each other comfortably. "Missing your vacation already?" asks their aunt, shaking her head reproachfully at the shouting. 

Neil smiles back softly, but it is Avni who shakes her head. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be" she says tiredly. Neil's heart swells at the obvious sincerity in her tone. He does an excellent job of not showing it. 

reflorated2017-07-19 01:13:00