Hello dears! Happy Monday! 🤗 I had a couple minutes so I thought I'd post my update...for all the sleepyheads who need some Prem-Heer before going to sleep😉. And for all the wide awake ones too...what the hell!! 😃
Do let me know what you thought....
Chapter 17
Heer came out of the washroom, hoping that at least she looked calm and composed, even if that was the last thing she was feeling right now. Her eyes immediately found him, standing by the desk and poring over the papers that Anita had left. He looked up and smiled at her. "Ready to leave?" he asked, stowing the papers in his briefcase.
She nodded and followed him. Relief seeped into her as she realized that he was not going to talk about what had happened, any of it. Maybe it was the coward's way out, but right this minute, Heer felt totally inadequate to deal with the situation. They walked past the foyer and out the door when she remembered and walked back to the reception desk.
"Thank you," Heer said, "for your help back there." Diya gave her a wide smile and nodded.
Prem was eyeing her speculatively. "What was all that about?" he asked her.
"Nothing. So, do you have an idea of what you want to buy for ma?" she asked as they waited for the elevator.
"No…I am all yours," he said.
Heer looked at him sharply. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"That I have no idea what to give my mom and that I leave myself to your capable hands." He glanced at her a little too innocently. "Why, what did you think I meant?"
She turned her head to hide her smile. "Oh, let's just take the stairs," she said, tugging his arm.
-----
"So, where are we going again?" Prem asked Heer, as he negotiated through the rush hour traffic.
"Well, you have to pick something special. So I know this old antique shop that has great stuff. It is in…umm…Chor Baazaar."
Prem turned to stare at her incredulously. "You are joking, right? I am going to buy my mom's gift in…Chor Baazaar?"
"Oh, don't be such a snob. Everyone who visits Mumbai goes to Chor Baazaar …it's practically a tourist haunt. Trust me," she said smiling.
"Famous last words," Prem muttered. "Look, couldn't we just go to the mall or something?"
"Do you or do you not want her gift to be special or not?"
"Yes. But, Heer…Chor Baazaar? The name sounds really dodgy."
"Fine." Heer folded her arms and looked straight. "Let's go to the mall. You should have done that in the first place instead of bothering with me. I am sure you can find lots of things that hundreds of people buy everyday. Then her gift will be just like everyone else's."
"What happened to the quiet, clumsy Heer that I used to know, uh?" he was smiling when he glanced at her.
"Well you didn't really know me, did you?" she said, a little huffily.
"Apparently not," he muttered and glanced at her sideways. "Ok. How do we get there?"
The smile that lit up her face was brilliant. "Are you serious?" and smiling at his resigned expression, she directed him.
-----
The place was nothing like Prem had ever seen before. He could not believe a place like this in Mumbai could exist. He, it seemed, had only seen the ritzy side of the city which was a far cry from what he was looking at. The roads were bustling with so much traffic that he was amazed there wasn't an accident in every corner. Heer asked him to pull into a side street and told him to park his car.
Prem noticed a Police station nearby. Good landmark, he thought and made a mental note in case they missed their way, for he had serious doubts about this expedition.
"We'll walk from here," Heer said and got out. She looked at Prem and had to hide a smile. He looked so uncomfortable and totally out of place, in his suit and well polished shoes.
"This won't do," she told him and when he looked at her blankly, pointed at his suit jacket. "You need to take that off and your tie as well. Not at all appropriate," she said.
"Yeah, well I didn't think I'd be talking a hike down Chor Bazaar today. So, excuse me if I am not dressed for the part," he muttered as he shrugged off his jacked and yanked off his tie. "Do I take my shirt off too? I am sure I spotted a few bare chests back there. I'd really blend in," he said sarcastically.
Heer giggled. "No, you can keep your shirt on."
Prem threw the jacket and tie in the car and pulled back the sleeves of his grey shirt. Heer's heart skipped a beat as she stared at his annoyed face
She held out her hand. "Your wallet."
Prem raised his eyebrows. "Isn't this a little premature? I mean we are not married yet."
"Oh, please. Cut out the sarcasm. I just want to make sure you don't…er…lose it."
"I am not that helpless, you know." Prem said exasperated, but handed her his wallet anyway.
"I know," she said and stuffed his wallet into her purse. "Let's go."
Heer saw Prem give his car one last look, as if hoping it would still be here when they got back, and bit back a grin. He already seemed on the edge a little and now would not be the time to tease him, she thought.
She felt Prem reach out and grasp her hand. Heer saw their linked fingers and looked up, surprised. "I don't want to get lost," was all he said and tagged along with her.
Chor Bazaar was a stretch of narrow shop lined street which were bursting at the seams with every imaginable thing for sale. The tiny street that Heer led them to was off of the main road. It was flanked by rows of little antique shops that looked like musty attics that sold just about anything from old ship parts, grandfather clocks and gramophones, to crystal chandeliers and old English tea sets. Prem was fascinated, despite himself. He kept stopping to peer into one of the shops or stand and admire a Victorian armchair. Heer had to keep dragging him away, shaking her head.
"What was wrong with those coins?" he was asking as Heer pulled him away from yet another shop. This time, he had been all ready to buy a set of silver coins that the seller claimed to belong to the era of Portuguese settlement. She had refused to hand him his wallet and the shopkeeper had looked at her oddly. "He's probably thinking that I have a shrew for a wife," he grumbled.
"You'll need one won't you, considering that you can so easily be ripped off? Those coins were fake."
"How do you know?" he insisted stubbornly.
"I just know, ok?"
It had been a long time since she had been here the last time when they had moved to Mumbai, to tell Ismail chacha about her parents' death. It had been tough and she had never had the courage to come back again. She was not sure why she had brought Prem here, to share this place that was so special to her. Heer glanced up at him and realized that all through their long walk here, he had not once let go of her hand.
Next update, as usual on Wednesday! Take care!
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