Elusive Economist
“Sir injector shaayad faulty hai, fuel pump bhi bhar gaya shaayad… jam hai” he bend down to explain to his employer
“Aap yahi ruk jaayenge? Yaa ap inko chhod deejiye?”
“Jo bhi sir” he nodded
He turned slightly
“I can drop you or he can”
“Umm.. I am hoping Piyush or Bua’s driver gets here I don’t want to”
“Umm.. its not safe to be here by yourself”
“I meant I don’t want to bother you” she said”
The seated were heated the car was fantastic, comfy and plush
There was an assortment of things to drink and eat in the back
“Its no bother” he mumbled
“Achha main wait kar loonga aap chhod dein”
“Arey nahi sir, aap chhod aao” the driver insisted
“I can drop you, can you cancel the driver?”
She texted non stop
“Umm.. OK.. thank you” she mumbled
“Paper hain gaadi mein?” driver asked
“Oh yes” “Main apni bag le loon?” she got out
“Arey Ma’am aap baitho” he ordered
Went and grabbed everything holding it under the umbrella
“Thank you… aapka naam nahi poochha” she spoke politely
“Ma’am Jagat”
“thank you so much” she nodded with folded hands “Heat shaayad chal jaayega aap try kar lo” she offered
“arey nahi Ma’am aap jyaada bheeg gaye na… mujhe thand nahi lag rahi “Aap aage baithengi?” he opened the passenger door
He was afraid his employer was being made into a chauffer
“Its OK” raanav waved
“OK fine” she sat beside him and shut the door
“Do you have an address for me?” he paused
“Oh umm… The Retreat Sector 23”
“What area?” he asked quietly
“OH? Rohini” she looked up at him and crinkled her eyes confused
The rear view mirror light was on as he tidied the cup holder so she could set her coffee mug
“What were you doing out when its raining” he asked calmly
Woww!!
Her insides cartwheeled
“I went to a friend’s”
“And he wouldn’t drive you home?” he asked coolly
“If you notice I have a car” she laughed as if it was a joke
He was not laughing
He sighed
“Don’t say anything I know how much you hate him” she smiled amused
“I am not amused Viveka” he said quietly
Oh please say my name like THAT!!
It slid off his tongue like butter silky and smooth like him
“I cant stop seeing him” she said looking down at her hands
“I am sure not” he said shutting off the light and igniting the engine
“You are not going to take any potshots at my car?” she turned to him
He turned toward her and met her gaze and looked away, at the windshield
“Are you sure he will be OK?” she worried for Jagatji
“Umm”
He did not speak, just hit the music and drove quietly
“You never told me how many umbrellas there are in your car” she tried to coax him into a conversation
“Rolls Royces come with one” “he had one”
“WHY? You are never going to take a bus”
“To help women who are too foolish and set off alone from Vikaspuri during a rainstorm?” he said silkily
She turned a guilty red
“Yeah if you do this frequently you might actually need them” she mumbled
Not looking at him again
The drive was long… roads were full of water or choc a block with traffic
Papa texted her multiple times
Ma called her twice
She declined the call not wanting to explain everything
He didn’t pay attention to her
“Were you going some place important”
He didn’t answer
She was irritated
“OK… I am not sure what I did… you need not have stopped I could have waited for Bua’s driver…. Don’t worry I am not going to turn this to my advantage and ask for your email or cell phone number or expect you to marry me” she said with a coldness she had to dig up from her core… shoving her glasses up
She was usually warm affectionate and funny
She didn’t hold grudges and didn’t lash out at people
She had had a healthy fulfilling childhood with a lot of attention and love
There were no “psychological issues” she battled, being angry and negative did not come naturally to her
“In THAT case we can talk about this!” he pulled over near Mongolpuri Industrial Estate
She looked at him startled
“Uff.. I was being facetious” she was a bit nervous now
“Lets have a do over?” he offered turning off the engine
“I know already I don’t want it” she was afraid he was going to tell her he was in love”
AWKWARDDDD!!
“No I wont repeat my declaration of love… I would like to know why you were stranded”
“My CAR broke down?”
She suddenly grasped at things in her memory frantically
Was Abhishek right?
Was Raanav high? Did he forget?
“No I am not high… I know it broke down… Could you not ask your boyfriend to trail you home?”
She turned a bright red
“Umm… there was a power outage in his complex
“So he showed you the door?”
“His Baba is in Mumbai, and the back up power didn’t come on RWA wanted something or the other… he”
“Umm” he sighed exhaling with difficulty as his mind conjured up images of Viveka being ravished clumsily by that SOB in a candle lit apartment
He looked out his window
“Its fine if you wont talk with me… its fine if you hate him immensely” she said quietly
He began to drive quietly
They arrived a little after 10 PM
He followed her upstairs
Dadi was drinking CHAI and watching soaps
Papa flew out and hugged her not seeing Raanav at first
“Arey betaaa aap? Aa jao” Akash was stunned
He hesitated, Viveka did not turn around and insist
Neither had she thanked him for anything
“Kisko laayi beta?” Dadi was nosy
The siblings doors were shut, must be on their devices giggling
Anubha came out in her nightie and dupatta and glasses holding an Ipad and smiling about some article
She was stunned to see Raanav
“Oh? Umm.. Hi!”
“I am sorry its late I should go”
“Bilqul nahi” Akash pulled him in
“Hamari Biveka ki chinta thi hamey” Dadi explained
He nodded politely
Anu went in and changed into a suit
Viveka went to her room and showered and changed in 10 minutes
She heard her parents chatting
Dadi being nosy
“Sikhaate ho poti ke saath?”
“No.. nahi” he smiled
“Shaadi ho chuki”
AYYYOOOOOOOOOO” Viveka banged her head on her desk
Her stomach was rumbling
She smelled her arm
It still smelled like him and his car
“Veeev… aa beta”
Naina opened her some what already open door
“OMG!!! Its YOU!!” she flew into his arms to give him a “bro hug”
He did politely
“What are YOU doing here?” Naina was nosy now
“Arey Veev ko laaya Toyota ring road par band ho gayi”
Naina didn’t care about all that
“Vivekaaa” Akash was puzzled why she wasn’t coming out
“Hmm” she stepped out without making eye contact with him
“khaana lagao beta” he ordered
She was back to her salwar and skinny tee he noticed curvy and hot!! Her hair a damp mess from the shower
He wanted to wave a wand and send everyone to outer space and pick Viveka up and carry her to her room
Viveka was back to being her polite formal self
“How is Inder?” Naina made sure everyone KNEW she KNEW raanav the most
“Hes fine” Raanav smiled at the joke
She was chatting with him inside a second ago actually
Inder had texted him saying he could see him in Naina’s living room
“You should have dinner” Naina pulled him down to sit
“Shaadi kab karogey beta?” Dadi did her crocheting and “weaving”
“Hamari Biveka ki tarah saari umar kaware rahogey?”
Viveka didn’t care… she was not mortified or ashamed
Dadi was a badass she listened to no one
Anu began making rotis
“Kha chuki tum?”
“Ask him first Don’t waste your time”
“I bet he only eats fresh milled atta every meal”
Viveka chuckled
“Achha hai Dadi uski class le rahin hain” Anubha thought it was good pay back for all the insults Smrita heaped on her
Akash and raanav talked about the next steps for the dead car and what could be wrong
Naina asked him a million questions and snuck into the kitchen and acted like she was a Dhamija already and so by deductive property Parashars were HER homies
“Inder says they eat dinners from a different country every night”
“It gets shipped home?” Viveka mocked
“HAW HAW… very funny… their chef makes it
Viveka took her food to the dining table and sat down
“Veev betaaa”
“Would you like to have dinner?” she asked him
“Yes Viveka” he said capping all the nonsense and exerting his familiarity with her
He knew he might never be invited back ever again to this apartment
He would just sit across from her and savor the food and the elusive Economist
Edited by Nisha0604 - 4 years ago
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