SS : Handa- The Loner, Part 13 Pg 35[19/03/19] - Page 6

Fourth shot

Disclaimer- no animals were hurt while writing this update.Also,this story in no way aims to encourage stalking behavior.

It was second October, Gandhi Jayanti and there was a small program to be held in their society. The secretary of the society had invited everyone.

Since, Maan had nothing to do, no girlfriend to go out with, no friends who were free to hang out with him so he found himself assembling in the club house of their society.

When he reached there, he came to know that apparently, before the actual function started all of the people assembled were supposed to go on a cleaning drive.He looked at his ironed and crisp clothes and cursed his luck. No wonder people had preferred to dress shabbily. It appeared to him that it was a given knowledge that the Swachh Abhiyan was to be performed.

"Why am I always left out of the loop? he thought rolling up his sleeves.

Three hours later, he was sitting watching children performing on patriotic songs like, "De di hamein azaadi bina khadag...Sabarmati ke sant tune...," when he saw Ms.Handa entering the club house and making her way to where people sat.

She was wearing a saffron coloured sari of net material paired up with a white blouse. She had let her curly hair down and made a lovely picture. But then, that Ms.Handa was a beautiful woman was not a discovery he'd made just now. Her beauty was the first thing you noticed about that woman. It was hit-you-in-the-guts- kind of beauty. You could just stand back and stare and stare and stare her some more afraid that if you touch her, she would end up being a figment of one's imagination.The problem was her cold behavior towards others and her nasty tongue. It put you off her.

She passed the seats were other women sat gossiping and went to sit in the last of empty rows.

He thought to go and accompany her but remembered her allegation of him stalking her and immediately dropped the idea.

At the end of the program, when he turned to glance at her and he saw her sitting all alone by herself amongst so many people, people with friends, partners, families, laughing together, enjoying together. It tugged at his heart. He didn't like people to be alone. It must be so painful, so tough to be alone and so despite himself, he walked down the hall and went to sit by her.

"Hello Geet"

"Not again Mr.Khurana," she said exasperatedly.

"Lovely performance by the children, no?"

When he received no answer, he turned his attention to a cute and elegant brown poodle that had wandered towards their seat. With a twitching nose, he stood staring at both Maan and Geet.

The dog had an elaborate hair style-all curls and ringlets and a blue necktie around him. He was wearing a white floral shirt and pink pants and looked like Hawaii returned.

"Tommy...tommy chu-chu-aah-aah..." he called the dog to him.

Geet rolled her eyes at his behavior.This man was really strange and his antics were plain embarrassing. It seemed to her that the dog didn't like being 'tommied' and bark-snapped at him. That the bark would do nothing to discourage the Khurana, none knew better than Geet.

"Tooww..mmiie...aaah...aaah, tow-mie, come to me buddy...come to me baby."

When the dog with the regal-ish attitude showed no signs of coming to him and simply stood mocking his attempts, Maan changed his tactics.

He shouted, "Tommy! Don't you have ears? I said come to me right now!"

If he had thought that the said 'tommy' would come to him wagging his tail, he couldn't have been farther from the truth.The well-bred dog had been clearly exercising his patience, but the man's shouting blew a fuse. And it began ferociously barking at Maan so much that it made heads turn. And it did not stop at barking. The beast revealing its deadly canine jumped on him.

Maan who was taken by surprise by the attack, toppled to his left where Geet was sitting.

The ones present were to report later that how they had witnessed a severe struggle between a dog and a man. The woman became a victim too just because she happened to be present at the site of the war.

Maan fell down obviously taking Ms. Geet with him for how wasteful a fall would be without a heroine in your arms.

And since he had no intention of taking fourteen shots on his bottom or in his stomach, he rolled over exposing Geet to the deadly canines. It was disgraceful and ungentlemanly of him, yes but when it came to your life, you could hardly expect one to be virtuous. And moreover, he had never been into heroic stuffs.

But the beast was definitely a hero material. He was intelligent too. He knew a beautiful woman when he saw one. And wasn't he crowned with adjectives like regal-ish, well-bred, just a few lines back. So living up to the adjectives, he sobered down.

The Miss was wearing a revealing blouse. It exposed to the beast eyes, a smooth tantalizing soft skin.

Long back, an elder friend of his had said to him, an intelligent dog knew when and where to use his assets.

There were occasions when you used your teeth and then there were times when the use of your tongue was more suitable. This surely was an occasion that called for latter.

Geet had no idea what had happened to her. One moment she was sitting on the chair and in the next she was under Maan and before she could push him away he had rolled on changing their positions. His arms were coiled tightly around her waist, his nails leaving marks on her and he had his eyes closed tightly.

"What the hell is this Maan!"

"Please...please save me. I can't get bitten by him. It would require me to take injections. And I'm scared of injections."

And before she could have given him a piece of her mind, she felt something wet on her back. Yuck!!! The dog was licking her.The repeated motion of the tongue on her back made her fidget in his arms.

"Uhmm...Ms.Geet, we are in a critical position and condition. Please don't move."

"Bloody hell!! You rascal, get your hands off me." She tried getting up but couldn't as she was sandwiched between the man and the dog.

"What are you people doing standing there and watching?! Get this dog off me."

It was then when a boy of about twelve jogged to their side and called out, "Batata..come here..."

"Batata," he said coming close to where they were spread on the floor and gathered the dog in his arms.

Once the dog was off her, Geet quickly freed herself from Maan and got up. Her sari had come out at places and she turned away from others eyes to fix it. Meanwhile Maan also got up and dusted off his clothes.

"I'm sorry Ma'am. I'm sorry Sir. He's not so ill tempered usually and has never misbehaved too. I don't know what happened to him today."

"Mr.Khurana has a way of getting on people's nerves. It seems animals are no exception either," Geet remarked

"Batata, apologize to them."

The dog turned his face away from them indicating he was not sorry at all.

"Oh so the name is Batata?" Maan asked jocosely.

"Yes. The name is Batata. Batata Puri."

"Interesting name. I was calling him Tommy. I think that's why he got so angry?"

"Haan. Har kutte ka naam tommy nai hota," the boy replied and left.

"You are impossible, Mr.Khurana. I didn't know you were such a coward. You just threw me in front of the beast in order to save yourself. Are you even a man? Getting scared of a dog! You should be ashamed of your behavior."

"And why so? Yes, I am afraid of dogs and cats and other beastly creatures alike. I am afraid of all other things that people can be afraid of. I'm sorry if I do not meet the standards of your real man. I am what I am. And I am not ashamed of it. Har aadmi macho nahi hota."

Her sari had torn off at the pallu, he noticed. There were people gazing at them. He removed his shirt and wrapped it around her shoulders. He felt conscious standing in front of the lot in his vest and jeans but it was better than her being so vulnerable in front of others.

He had some bruises on his face and neck that looked ugly and painful, she observed when he came close to her.There were murmurs and whistles, the reproaching stares of aunties and uncles too.

"I'm sorry for everything," he said.

Remember to keep away from this woman, he thought while taking her hand and leaving the hall to get way from people's eyes.

She had to keep away from this man, she thought as she pulled her hand from his and threw his shirt on him as soon as they reached the elevator.