Love and Rains
Dev Dixit stood at the window of his office on the top floor of a lush high rise is Delhi watching the rains fall on the streets. He sighed and sat down at his desk. He shut his eyes and leaned against his chair. He was restless and was dying for a drink. He thought how his life has changed in the last one month. Ever since he and Sona separated seven long years ago, he somehow just managed to survive from day to day and relied on generous portions of imported single malt scotch to survive. Seven years later, Sona walked into his office again, this time not as his employee but as co owner of the office space, this was due to a yet another badly executed deal by his so called brother.
He also discovered that he had a daughter who was six years old and was with Sona. Sona had nee pregnant when they separated and she also didn't know about it. He was very angry that his daughter was hidden from him for six years but then he realised that Sona did try to meet him with Suhana but his own mother did not allow her into Ishwari Niwas. Dev and Sona still hurt after seven years and the fact is that though Dev blamed Sona for leaving him when he was the lowest in life, he knew that he had wronged her beyond measure. But somehow for their daughter's sake they were polite to each other. Sona had changed ... a lot. Her smile no longer reached her eyes. She spoke very little. Her clothes had lost all the color as she now predominantly dressed in strict western formals in blues and greys and blacks. She, who had been so fond of jewellery, now wore no jewellery with the exception of diamond solitaires in the ears and a Rolex around her right wrist. And of course, the biggest change she had cut her hair short. Now it barely reached her shoulders. She would work on an average 12-14 hours everyday, especially when Suhana was with him. When Suhana was with her, Sona left promptly at 6 PM to spend time with her. They shared the custody of their daughter whih Suhana spending 15 days with him and 15 days with her. Right now she was at his house. The sparks between them were still intact, probably stronger than ever before. But both were not ready to lower their defences. As of now there was an uneasy truce between them.
Suddenly Dev realised that it was nine and he decided to leave. As he was leaving, on a whim he decided to drop into Sona's office at the other end of the floor. All her staff had left and she was still working, She was typing away at her laptop and did not look up when he walked in "Arre Paromita I asked you to leave. What are you doing?" and she looked up. Seeing Dev she was surprised and apologised" Sorry I thought it was Paromita. What are you doing here?"Sona got up slowly and stretched her hands. She was dressed in a grey pencil skirt which fell just below her knees showing off her shapely legs. She wore a white shirt whose sleeves were currently folded and her grey jacket was placed on her chair back. She had her glasses on and to Dev she looked so sexy that he found it difficult to stop himself from admiring her...He suddenly noticed that she had kicked off her heels under the table. He also realised that she was waiting for him to say something... he cleared his throat "I just realised that you were still in office. So came across to check if everything is OK." Sona looked surprised and said "Of course everything is OK. I am travelling for a couple of days to London later this week so that I can be back before Soha come back home to me. What were you doing in office so late?" "I'd rather not answer that" Dev murmured back. Dev asked her suddenly "Will you have coffee I was just thinking of having some coffee before leaving?" When Sona agreed he called up the caf nearby asn asked them to deliver the coffee and sat down on the sofa in Sona's room and picked up a magazine lying around. Sona said "Let me just finish my work till the coffee comes". She sat in front of her laptop again and continued working.
Dev looked at her over the magazine and he realised even now how pretty she looked. Even when she wore minimum makeup and almost no jewellery like today, she still looked so attractive. Suddenly she looked up and smiled. By then the coffee came and the delivery boy placed the coffee on her table and left. Sona shut her laptop and packed up and Dev came and sat on the chair across her. They sipped the coffee in silence when suddenly Dev said "Its raining hard. I hope your driver is there". Sona said suddenly "Oh I forgot - I let him go early today. I will drive and go". Dev did not say anything. They finished the coffee and left Sona's office together.
When they went down, Sona went to her car and Dev to his. Dev waited for Sona to leave first. Sona tried starting the car but for some reason it just wouldn't start. She gave up after a while and fiddled on her phone trying to get a cab when there was a knock on the glass, seeing Dev outside Sona pulled down the glass and said "The car is just not starting - I am just asking for a cab"> Dev immediately said "why cab... I will drop you" Sona hesitated and then accepted and in the next five minutes, they were driving towards her house. Sona was sitting quietly watching the rain outside and she was getting overwhelmed slowly with old memories of rains shared with Dev. Their dances, their hugs and their kisses in the rain. She could feel tears gathering in her eyes and stopped them by suddenly asking Dev "Why didn't you get married again Dev?" Dev braked hard and the car came to an abrupt halt. "What kind of question was that Sonakshi?" he asked angrily. She replied equally angrily "Yes... why is this question invalid. After what you told me that fateful day seven years back - that I married you for your money, that I never tried to fit in your family and the worst that you were happy I couldn't be a mother because I would have made a bad mother! I thought after we divorced you would have got married to someone like Natasha who was rich, wanted to be a housewife and you would have had children of your own by now". Dev did not reply anything just glared at her and got out of the car into the pouring rain and slammed the door. Sonakshi didn't know what got into her and she also stepped out of the car into the rain. She saw that Dev was leaning against the driver's side door and staring straight ahead. She went upto him and said "Why are you getting angry? Isnt what I am saying true? Doesn't my question deserve an answer?"
Dev looked at her angrily and said "I don't want to talk about the past. Why don't you understand that I have moved on?" Sona said again "If you have moved on why aren't you married? Please spare me the lies?" Dev countered her and asked her "Why aren't you married Sonakshi. Its obvious to anyone that Jatin likes you. But why are you so interested in my life? You are anyways not affected by me or my presence".
Sonakshi looked away and said "You have not changed. Any question for which you don't have an answer is useless!" She turned around angrily saying "I will go the rest of the way in a cab!" As she turned to go away, Dev held her wrist and before she knew it she was pinned against his car and he was holding her arms in a gentle grip "We will not leave from here unless we complete this rather interesting conversation Sonakshi!" Sona replied "But I don't want to Dev and let me go!" Dev said "No - you started the conversation so we will complete it. You want to know why I didn't marry isn't it? Are you prepared for the answer? Well here goes - because I still love you probably more than ever before. Even now when I see you I want to kiss you senseless. I feel jealous of Jatin and any other man who seems even a least bit interested in you. My head tells me that there is no place for me in your life but my heart has not let me give up on you or us for the last seven years and I feel closer to you that ever before." Sonakshi was shocked and she said "you are mad. Let me go Dev". Dev smiled and said "I am not done yet. I know I cannot tell you that that day after you left I kept drinking for a couple of days and was totally sozzled and unahappy. I honestly don't know what happened in the next two weeks. Reality only struck me when I got our divorce papers approved by the Court one and half months after we separated. I don't remember when I signed the papers. I know my mother and Vicky took advantage of me at that time but then I felt that I had nothing worth living for anymore because you also left me Sona. Why did you leave me when I needed you the most?"
Sona said "I don't know what to say Dev. Its easy to get drunk and try and forget everything. You should know that when people drink to drown their sorrow they should also know that sorrow can swim. Life was not easy for me and my family either. We had to start our life in Kolkata again. From scratch Dev. That's why I don't feel you ever tried hard enough to find me." Dev was silent and said "You were the only one I ever loved Sona and I also know that I am mentally not half as strong as you are. When you walked out of my life, I was broken and I knew I would never be able to fight my mother and family without you and what would I fight for?"
Sona felt hot tears in her eyes and she didn't stop them this time as she felt the falling rain would hide them. Dev also had tears in his eyes and they just started at each other trying to look into each others souls. The tears reflected the hurt and the deep love they still had for each other. Time seemed to stand still and then they reached out for each other at the same time. They just kissed each other as if there was no tomorrow. When their lips met, they both felt it was all so familiar and yet so different. Dev's stubble pricked her and yet they continued. Dev held her head gently for the perfect angle. She bit his lower lip and he opened his mouth in surprise. Their tongues met and they tasted each other after years. The rain continued fall. They moved apart after a while when they needed to breathe. They started at each other, their hearts racing and chests heaving. Sona didn't know what got into her and Dev was equally shocked.
Sona was quiet for a while and then said "I think we should go now." Dev could only nod and they got into his car again, both soaked to the skin. When they sat in the car and Dev started driving again, they were quiet. But this time the silence was not of anger or discomfort - it was of a comfort born of familiarity, comfort of knowing that the other person still loved them. They did not know that this juncture what the future held for both of them and their little daughter. Tomorrow was after all another day and it would bring with it new hopes and new wishes and maybe, just maybe there was a tiny flicker of hope that they could get together for the rest of their life as they had always wanted.
<<End of OS>>
Anupamaa
