**My replies to your comments begin here.I want to clarify one thing. Unlike IOYSM, this story is completely from Geet's point of view and will not jump from hers to Maan's. You will be able to know Maan through Geet's eyes.
19. Decided
I wandered into the kitchen aimlessly, unsure of what I wanted at this time of the night. Sleep had evaded me yet again after we came back from the club. It was past midnight and I was standing with the refrigerator open in front of me, not really registering the things I was seeing when the lights switched on. I was startled and quickly pretended to look through the fridge before I pulled out a can of iced tea.
"Still up?" Raya came around the counter and put an empty water jug near the sink.
"Just felt like drinking some iced tea." I looked at her, lying as smoothly as I could. "Do you want some?"
"Sure." I passed her a can which she popped open at once and took a sip. "Come let's sit for a while."
"Is Raunaq asleep?" I asked her when we settled on the couch in the living room and she pulled her feet up in a comfortable position.
"Yeah. Snoring away already!" She chuckled. "Must be tired after the long day." Her chuckle turned to a fond smile which said it all about the love she held for her husband. "It was fun in the club, wasn't it?"
"Yes it was. I wasn't aware such clubs existed here! I mean, I studied here for three years and never found out about such clubs." I remained normal, without showing any signs of what came to my mind when I thought of the club.
"You think you would have even bothered to find out on your own?" Raya rolled her eyes and snorted.
I ignored the taunt. "Anaya goes to this place?"
"Not anymore. She said she used to go there before her children, but not now."
"Hmm... It's a nice place to hangout with friends." I was debating whether to tell her of my meeting with Maan at the club or not. "Raya, I met someone at the club tonight." I began slowly.
"Who? A new side of Vyan?" She stifled a yawn. "I bet you did. He's a nice guy, by the way. I like him."
I snorted. Chhoti often spoke on presumptions. And she spoke nonstop at that.
"Not Vyan." I started slowly once again. "I met... Maan. He was there tonight..."
"What?" She was instantly more alert. "I didn't see him. What happened?"
"He was on the other side with some friends, I guess. I just ran into him at the bar."
"Did he say something upsetting?"
I shook my head. "No. He greeted me quite normally, and then a girl took him away. It was nothing more than that."
"Di, don't think too much about it." She patted my hand empathetically. "If he spoke normally then it's pretty much obvious that he's over any anger he had on you. You just relax." I smiled at Raya and saw her try to stifle another yawn so I quickly ushered her to go and sleep while I sat on the couch for some more time.
I recalled the way I had come face to face with Maan. His physical appearance had changed, I was already aware of that, but the grave change I had felt in his demeanour was what disturbed me. It wasn't something I could tell Raya about. The way he had flirted with a random girl, who turned out to be me, just wasn't who I knew him to be.
Of all the ways I might have had expected Maan to greet me in whenever we met after the long separation, it was not how it had happened tonight. It was surprising to see him act so casually, to not react apparently, when a little anger or coldness would have made perfect sense. It felt to me like it just didn't matter to him that it was me he had run into, it felt like he didn't care. The thought pinched a bit. Didn't it matter to him that he was seeing me after seven years? His reaction had felt like I was just another friend, a long forgotten one, like he had mentioned to the girl.
But I did see a tiny flicker in his eyes when our eyes met, which was not the surprise of seeing me but something else. A part of my brain tried to refute the estranged behaviour of Maan but I squished it. The flicker was probably just a figment of my imagination, a result of some wishful thinking deep inside my heart. He was casual with me, after all, and he went away with the girl, not even bothering to invite me over.
My thoughts went to the girl in the white knee-length dress with strapped heels and a done up face. She was none of the three women I had seen Maan with earlier. I was reminded of what the gossip-lovers at Zara's kitty party had said about him. Had he really turned to a person who went out with a new woman every week? It was almost unbelievable for me, but I had witnessed it all with my own eyes and I had no choice but to make myself believe that it was indeed true. Such a change, I wondered.
I shook my head to dispel the thoughts. Raya was right. He had probably gotten over the anger he had on me and so I did not need to mull over the whys and hows. I had moved on and so had he, period. We were not two people who had cared deeply for each other but we were just two individuals leading their respective lives in their own desirable ways. If we crossed paths again, which I thought was a very high possibility, I would be meeting a new person. I would not judge him by what I knew him to be seven years ago, I decided. He would be a new person for me to meet and know. If that ever happened, I added in my head.
Edited by mayyo - 10 years ago
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