Hello All
I am back with OS # 7. Sorry this took so long, but I wanted to take a break and recharge. I did not want anything to distract from last week's episodes either :D Thank you ALL for your comments and likes on the previous ones
Note: You may want to read OS #6 to understand this one completely. But I have written it so that you don't have to. Hope you like this one too (please do excuse the typos, I didnt have the energy and patience to proof-read tonight)
The song for this part is: Aise Na Mujhe Tum Dekho from Darling Darling
***
"And I really hope we don't need another roller coaster for me to tell you how I feel". She thought she'd heard him right. But he had stopped talking, even when she asked "Excuse me?". She had turned around and looked at him, but he didn't budge.She wanted to confront him again, she wasn't sure what she had heard, and what it meant. Her restless mind had not let her sleep that night.
For the next few days, Ishita didn't get a single opportunity to spend a couple of minutes alone with her husband. He used to escape for work when she was busy getting herself or Ruhi ready in the morning. He came in late at nights, and sat in the living room talking to his parents for as long as he could. A few evenings, he even went to the Iyers and was talking to Amma and Appa till the poor old souls started openly yawning. She knew all of this was deliberate. She knew he did not want to face her. At least not until he was sure of what he had blurted out. After the initial couple of days, Ishita she had given up. She stopped asking him to come to sleep, or calling him for dinner. She was too proud to beg for his attention and company. She was also smarter than that. She knew him too well, and knew she couldn't push him into confessing what he had said that night.
The fond memory of that night evoked more sensuous memories of the same day. It was her first kiss. She had never had any physical relationship with Subbu, not beyond hugging and holding hands. Not that they weren't attracted to each other. In some fortuitous moment, they had both decided not to take it any further. If anyone would have told her 6 months ago that she would share her first kiss with Raman Kumar Bhalla, she would have fractured her rib laughing. But she was glad it was him, and it was that moment. It felt right, and feelings and passions she never thought she had were woken up from some kind of deep slumber. The only ache she had was in her heart, for wanting it to last longer. She did feel a twinge of sadness when Raman told her that he kissed her only because he was scared too. But her spirits were lifted when she found out he was lying. When he had said those words at night, one part of her was glad he didn't elaborate or repeat them. She wouldn't have known how to react, IF she had heard him correct in the first place. She had spent quite a few lonely moments remembering that moment, some times more than she recollected the actual act of kissing. She tried to remember the pitch of his voice, the way he said that sentence, but was lost. She had finally reached a conclusion; the worst case scenario was he meant that he felt 'protective' towards her and kissed her, and she should need a roller coaster ride for her to understand that. The best case scenario was that he was really looking for opportunities to kiss her.
The more she thought about it, she didn't really like the best case scenario. It scared her the most. She wasn't used to a romantic man, at least not one like Raman. He was not only attractive, but aroused her intellect as well. The best opponent she had ever faced in her life, best on all counts. If he really was attracted to her too, Ishita knew she would die. She could not possibly face him. BUt she still had to find out. The only way was to take the rational approach and talk to him. This wasn't something she could talk to Bala about. This topic needed a woman's touch. She made the stupid mistake of talking to her sister and cousin together.
That discussion in Mihika's room was one of the more embarrassing ones in Ishita's life. She had shared each and every problem with Vandu Akka and Mihika earlier, so they knew the nature of her relationship with Raman. "At most, the couple could be described as bickering friends". That is what Vandu and Mihika always thought. Sometimes, just to rile Ishita up, they would tease her whenever Raman did something nice. Ishita would just make up some excuse for him being nice and run as fast as she could. The sisters obviously knew about the feelings that Ishita was developing for Raman. They also knew Raman liked Ishita, but both Vandu and Mihika were bowled over by Ishita's latest revelation. She had made them promise first the neither Bala nor Mihir would ever find out about it. Their first reaction was silence. They just looked at Ishita with a question mark on their faces, as it was Ishita's turn to do the teasing now. As embarrassing as the revelation was, their silence was more shameful for Ishita. She now had to convince them that she wasn't lying. Once they were convinced, both her sisters offered their opinion. Almost at once, but vastly different;
"Talk to him and find out what he is thinking" Vandu Akka said
"Simple Akka, Seduce him, see if he can resist your charms. Even if it doesn't work, at least you'll have had a makeover" Mihika advised. Both Vandu and Ishita had whacked Mihika's arms for suggesting something so adolescent.
Here she was, one week after that conversation, and Vandu akka's advice had only given her heartburn and sleepless nights. she couldn't for the life of her, get him to talk to her. As much as she had hated Mihika's stupidity, she now had to admit that it made some sense. Her goal was to get Raman to reveal his feelings, and what was it that someone once said? "To attain the impossible, you must attempt the absurd" So with a faltering resolve, and her pride in pits, Ishita started with Option B.
She went with Mihika to one of the designer malls, to shops that she had never looked at, let alone walked into. Mihika had made her promise that she wouldnt cringe at the sight of the price tags. Ishita had always been a frugal person, the only person she ever splurged on was Ruhi. Some times she insisted that she got to pay for Ruhi's clothes instead of Raman, that had always amused him. When it came to Ruhi, Raman was always respectful of Ishita's wishes and choices. Most of the times nowadays, she thought that he was being nice to her irrespective of Ruhi's presence. "Akka, What are you staring at?" Mihika snapped Ishita out of her day dreaming. This was becoming a habit for Ishita, any small mention of Raman would trigger a trail of thoughts she couldn't wilfully control. They bought some desginer kurtis, a couple of modernly designed sarees and salwar suits. Mihika even talked Ishita into buying some funky accessories and sandals. Ishita lost the will to live after continuously trying out clothes and shoes for over 4 hours. Finally, when all she wanted to do was to go home and crash, Mihika told her about the spa appointment. Ishita finally found out why every one went gaga over massages, she had always thought them frivolous. A massage, mani-pedi and facial treatment later, both the girls left with higher spirits and a lower bank balance than a few hours ago. Mihika's master plan included keeping this day-out a secret. According to everyone in the Iyer-Bhalla home, Ishita was just accompanying Mihika on a shopping trip. All the newly bought weapons were supposed to be hidden in Mihika's room. Ishita would have to just go there late at night and get clothes for the next day. They knew that Toshiji and Simmi would notice a change in her wardrobe. But Ishita would just blame Mihika for her makeover, and they wouldnt give it second thought.
This plan was a bigger flop than Vandu akka's and this one had cost her real money too. It wasnt a complete waste though. She got a couple of whistles and comments from the young boys in the society and Romi also passed a couple of lewd comments that earned him a playful slap from her. But all the will in the world hadn't moved the Titan her plan was aimed at. He hadn't noticed a change in her, if he had, he hadn't said anything. On the first day, when Ruhi commented on how pretty her Ishima looked, Raman had barely looked up. He had just muttered "Yes Ruhi, your Ishima is looking pretty today, OK? happy?". It took Ishita a week more to give up on this option too. She didnt return the clothes, she had actually started feeling comfortable in her new style. She just stopped expecting any reaction from Raman. In her next discussion with her sisters, she told them teary-eyed, "(And I really hope we don't need another roller coaster for me to tell you how I feel)" - "I think what he really meant was that he felt protective and to keep me from getting a panic attack, he had to kiss me. I was a fool to think otherwise".
The last couple of weeks had not been a cake walk for Raman either. It is said that people are usually braver when its dark, and in such a moment he had laid bare his feelings for her that night more than 2 weeks ago. That day had been a roller coaster for him, even figuratively. He had fought off his increasing attraction for her, but seeing her so vulnerable and in need of an emotional and physical anchor during the ride, he couldn't stop. He initiated the kiss because she was scared, but he had been planning for it for a long time. He had been so scared to approach her earlier that her scared state seemed like the logical time to make his advances. At least she couldn't slap him when she was holding on to him on the roller coaster. When they went back home, he was still dizzy with the memory of that kiss. The kiss was over and done with a long time ago, but the memories would linger on his lips and in his heart. It had truly been a long time since he had touched a woman, let alone feel like this while kissing one. He had told her earlier that he was scared too, so she didn't feel shy or embarrased, but it looked like she found out anyway. One of these days, he would have to teach Romi the real meaning of the word 'brother', Raman thought. In that emotional state he had blurted out what he had been thinking all the time while driving back home from the amusement park. He wanted to do this again, and not have to wait for a silly opportunity. But by the time the words left his mouth, courage left his guts. He did not elaborate even when she asked, and avoided her like one would a deadly force.
For the first week or so, he just hid from her, because he was sure she would either slap him or lecture him. She would explain to him the morality of intimacy, and question his sense in behaving like a teenager in a public place. He did what he could to escape her wrath. He even seeked refuge at the Iyers' for as long as he could. After a few days she had given up on her quest to talk to him. She hadn't called him to check if he was OK, she hadn't found excuses to visit her parents when he was there. He breathed a sigh of relief when she gave him the space he needed. He was thankful she wasnt the nagging kind. But well, nagging would have been better than the next charade she was playing out. She had disappeared with Mihika on the Sunday, claiming she was shopping for Mihika. When they came back, Ishita wasn't carrying any bags of her own, but her face was glowing. She did not look like a woman who had just spent the whole day walking around a mall.
Or maybe it was just him. Her face was looking more appealing to him with each passing day. He had to mentally pinch himself to look away from her. He also had to make sure no one caught him staring at her. Most importantly, he had to make sure she didn't catch him. The kurtis were accentuating every curve in her body, and her long legs were looking longer. Her hair was still the same length, but she had dome something to them. He couldn't place it, and didn't dare ask. Even the bangles and earrings she was wearing clinked differently nowadays. He didn't know what brought upon this change in her, but he was glad. It proved to him what he already knew in his heart "This is the most beautiful woman in the world, both inside and outside. I am just lucky that she chose to show both her beautiful heart and mesmerising appearance to me, in that order." He wanted to hold her, show her off and hide her. He was never so conflicted in life before.
One night when his parents and in-laws were all out visiting friends, he had nowhere to hide and came to their room earlier than usual. He saw her looking at her phone questioningly, and then a slight smile touched her lips. He kept looking at her for some time, and she was oblivious to his presence. After some time of reading and typing something on the phone, she finally switched it off and then looked up to see him on the bed. "Arre aap kab aaye, sorry maine notice nahin kiya" she said casually. His pride wouldn't let him answer her, so he just made a grunting noise and then said "Good Night". She lied down on the sofa and almost immediately went to sleep. He had the whole bed to himself but couldnt sleep. He wanted to find out what was so interesting that she didn't even look at him. He couldn't ask her and he wouldn't steal her phone and invade her privacy. The best case scenario was that she was reading some forwarded email, or some jokes on some websites. The worst case scenario was she was chatting with someone. He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't be flirting with anyone, but the smile she had was certainly not innocent. That angered him more. He was reminded of a few weeks ago when Subbu had called, and she'd lied about it. So there was no point asking her this time too. He was certain, however, that it was not Subbu she would have been talking to. He had understood that Ishita had reconciled her feelings about her past, and any relation she had with Subbu now was via Bala and that was about it.
"Then who would could she be talking to?, cant be Mihika. Saamne hi rehti hai aur waise bhi din raat yahi pe rehti hai mini-madrasan. Vandu aur Bala hote to Jhansi ki rani phone pe zor zor se baat kar rahi hoti, yeh kya naya natak hai SMS aur email ka? kal subah shower ke liye jaayegi to pakka phone check karoonga uska. Bhaad mein gaye manners. I have to nip this in the bud"
The next morning, she asked him to take a shower first, since thats how their routing usually worked. But he was extra nice to her "No Ishita, tum jaao, waise bhi main aaj office late jaane waala hoon. Meri meeting cancel hogayi hai." Which reminded him, he had to call Mihir and cancel the 9:00 am meeting. Once she went into the bathroom, he cleverly waited till he heard the sound of water. He dashed to the sofa and picked up the phone. "Darn, she has the lock on. Last time Param ke incident ke baad maine hi usko advice di thi. ab mujhpe hi bhari pad gaya." He tried the only 4 digit combination he could think of. It was Ruhi date of birth and month. Nope, this woman had become smarter. He was afraid to try it a couple of times more, so he gave up. As soon as she came out he started muttering
"andar so gayi thi kya? some people have to work you know? I was waiting for so long, I had to get to the office for a meeting".
"Arre Raman, aapne to bola ki meeting cancel, and aap late jaaoge?". Like he had an answer. He just went into the bathroom and banged the door shut.
It was one of the longest days of his life, and to add fuel to the fire, Mihir had arranged for a dinner meeting with some foreign delegates. By the time he went home, it would be around midnight. She would be sleeping. He was trying to participate in the dinner conversation when his phone buzzed. It was around 10:00 PM, she had texted him "Hi, I heard you are out for dinner. A couple of emergency appointments came in after I was already home, so I had to come to the clinic again. I don't know what time I will get in. I thought I should inform you." He banged the phone down so hard on the table, that water spilled from a couple of glasses.
Mihir asked "Bhai, all OK na ? Ghar pe sab theek to hai? Bhabhi ka text tha kya?"
"Kyon, meri life mein koi aur nahin hai kya? kya hamesha bhabhi bhabhi karta rehta hai. Kaam sambhal apna" he said and loosened his tie, desperately wishing for a drink.
While driving back from dinner, he deliberately took the long route home, and drove past her clinic. Her red box of a car wasn't parked where it usually was. He drove home faster, and was relieved when he saw her car in the parking lot. For no reason he could think of, he ran up the stairs 2 steps at a time. His mom opened the door for him. "Arre ma, aapne kyon darwaaza khola, Ishita aa jaati na?" he worried his mother was up so late.
"Nahi Puttar, woh to clinic gayi hai na." his mom said not noticing the change in his expressions. He went into their dark room, no sign of her or her purse. The room looked exactly as it was in the morning. He changed into his night clothes, and sat on the bed playing with the phone. He had just dialled her number, when she walked in casually.
She was still on the phone. "Haan, pahunch gayi main theek thaak. Don't worry. Good nite, see you tomorrow" She turned around and looked surprised "aa gaye aap? I didn't think you would reach before me" Again with the casual tone. He bit his tongue and said nothing except "Good night". As sleep eluded him again, he started thinking like a CEO.
"Soch Raman soch. After the roller coaster ride, she has been acting strange. First she wanted to talk to me, then she had a makeover, and now she is pretending as if she has someone special in her life, and she;s actually ignoring me. I think yeh sab Madrasan ki chaal hai, to trap me into revealing the truth about that kiss. acchha bacchha, yeh chal raha hai tumhaare dimaag mein. Koi txt aur emails nahin hai, bas nautanki chal rahi hai yahaan free mein. Ruko, kal se madam ko main apna CEO waala roop dikhaata hoon"
He obviously wasnt prepared for what Mihir told him the next day during lunch. "Arre Raman Bhai, woh kal raat ko Ishita bhabhi kahin gayi thi kya?" Raman jumped at that. He looked at Mihir questioningly "Kya hua? she said she was going to the clinic, some emergency appointments".
"Oh OK... maybe her car wasnt working or something" Mihir said, growing uncomfortable with what he had just stumbled upon.
"seedhe seedhe poori baat bolega ki chaar thappad aur khaayega? bhool gaya kya ?" Raman ordered him to speak up.
"Bhai, woh kal jab main dinner se ghar jaa raha tha, tab mujhe MIhika ka phone aaya. She asked me to come meet her, because she had a craving to go on a long drive. aap jaante ho na uske baare mein. dimmag mein ek baar kucch baat aa gayi to woh na time dekhti hai na situation" Mihir said, still stammering.
"Arre tu teri waali ki story leke baitha hai ? Ishita ke baare mein kya bol raha tha tu?" Raman was getting more impatient now.
"Woh Bhai, I saw her on a bike riding with someone. First I thought it was Romi dropping her home, but i recognise his bike. It wasnt him, and bhaiyya, she had her hands around the driver. Waise normal hota hai, but i couldn't visualise Bhabhi like that with someone. Heck, i cant even imagine her like that with you. Leave it maybe it was some patient's relative or something"
Raman's lunch was threatening to come back up the same way it had gone down. He stood up, drank some water and went to her clinic without telling Mihir anything. She had left for home early, and he had to come back to his office with disappointment. He was glad he did though, the afternoon calmed him down a bit.
He made it a point to leave early that evening and drove home like a maniac. He started helping Ruhi with her homework, when Ishita was busy preparing dinner.
"Arre beta Ruhi, tumhari Ishima ka phone leke aana please. Mujhe ek call karna hai, and mere phone ka battery off hai. Mujhe Bala ka phone number chaahiye" He hated lying to his daughter, but this was for everyone's good. Ruhi got Ishita's phone, and gave it to him. To his surprise, it was unlocked. He looked at it questioningly when his daughter proudly said "Main ON kiya papa. Ishima ne mujhe bola tha ki kaunse numbers use karne hai and mujhe yaad tha". "Bless this girl" he thought, more ashamed at how he was using his own daughter for spying on his wife. A few mins later, he was glad he spied.
There were a bunch of messages from a phone number that didn't have any contact information associated with it. The messages started from more than a week ago. The ones in the beginning were very vague, the later ones slowly started getting comfortable. It didn't look like they had crossed any line, but it seems they were overtly familiar with each other. He saw a few calls too, and the call durations were always more than 10 mins. Only the presence of his daughter made him keep quiet. He gave the phone back to her and asked her to keep it back. The rest of the evening, culminating with the dinner was uneventful. But his mind was playing all kinds of tricks on him. "No, she wouldn't. She couldn't. Maybe its an old friend. For all I know it could be a girl. there are no indications of anything." After dinner, Ruhi, as usual wanted to come sleep with them. But he quietly carried Ruhi to the Iyers, and requested Mihika to take care of the kid "Ishita has a headache, so if you dont mind, could Ruhi sleep with you here please?" Mihika would never say no, and he knew that. He went back home, and she was the only one left in the kitchen. SHe was cleaning up after everyone.
"Ishita, andar chalo please"
"Raman, ruko na. Abhi kaam khatam nahin kiya to Mummyji ko subah subah problem hogi. Bas 15 mins. Aap jaao, so jaao na"
She wasn't going to leave the kitchen, so he had to drag her into their room. And for the first time, he locked the door from inside. He handed her the phone and asked her to unlock it. She was questioning him with her eyes, but not saying anything really. He showed her the messages and phone calls and asked her "What is this Ishita? who is this person?"
"Raman, why are you assuming the worst? and how did you know what is on the phone? My phone was locked" she accused him.
"Ishita, do you really think that is the important question right now? Please tell me what is going on, and dont tell me there is nothing"
"Raman, seriously. Its all innocent. Someone emailed me a few weeks ago. I first thought it was a prank that someone from my clinic was playing on me. But this person said they were from my college batch and spoke to me about several fond memories. I got a text from him too, and thats when I realised who it was. It was a nerdy kid from my class. We used to have a couple of labs together. But he was always shy to talk to me, i dont know how he got the courage to talk to me now, and i dont know who gave him my number. May be it was Subbu." She looked at him innocently
"What is the need to talk to him so much, you dont talk to any of your old friends. And itna to bilkul nahi ki you dont even realise what is happening around you"
She started laughing then, and said "Come on Raman, The colour green doesn't suit you"
"I am not jealous Ishita. But I am telling you now, I don't like the signs of this 'friendship' of yours. Please stop it for everyone's sake"
She started shaking her head, looking like she was about to tell him it was not a big deal. He wasn't going to let her talk him out of this.
He pulled her close to him, and kissed her. This was completely different from their first kiss. This one wasn't waiting for approval or even permission. This kiss was a declaration of passion and belonging. His hands were not just around her, but were holding her firmly. She observed every minute gesture, he was registering it too.
But both of them liked that pose too much to let go of each other. Finally when they needed some oxygen, they stopped kissing, but he still did not let go. This time, there was no hesitation, no stolen glances, no avoiding eye contact. He looked at her with a piercing gaze, She was in his arms, their hands together, and they were standing by the window. After a couple of minutes she quietly said
"Raman, please buy a new bike for Romi"
"Ishita, paagal ho gayi ho kya tum? What are you talking about? I am trying to tell you something here and Romi kahaan se aa gaya beech mein?"
"I know, but that was my deal with him. He wouldn't risk participating in my plan unless he was well compensated for. As it is, he was afraid he'd lose the skin on his cheeks when you found out. So it was either the new bike or no deal" He looked at her in awe, with respect, with pride. All he could do was nod.
"So Mr CEO, I hope I dont have to keep promising more bikes to others for you to tell me how you feel?"
"Love and War are the same thing, and stratagems and policy are as allowable in the one as in the other." - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
*** So how was it??? wasnt too cheesy no?
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