Chap 8 –Sorry always
Shravan did not find Suman at work when he entered the office the next day and Sash informed him that he had forced Suman to rest for a day before she got back to work. Suman hated most were such forced holidays when she has nothing to do but hover around her bed and her colleagues shared similar feelings. By noon she had put everybody on their toes with her questions, her theories and conclusions so during lunchtime everyone was starting to ignore her calls. Sash and his team were at lunch when Suman called again, and all gave a pleading look to Sash and he decided to take the call. He sternly told Suman to take rest and not disturb others at work. Suman could not ignore Sash so she had no choice but to obey his orders. Once she had disconnected all of them started rolling with laughter including Sash and Shravan as they realized that Sumanmust be itching to call but could not disobey Sash. Everybody had left as Shravan accompanied Sash for a puff when he mentioned to him that Suman was his and Subbu’s favourite because she was not like any other . All of us take this as a job but Suman puts her heart and soul into it and sometimes, she does take emotional decisions, but she is aware of her weakness and tries to work on it.Shravan figured out that Sash considered Suman like his family and is like a mentor to her.
It was late evening when Shravan finished his trip to the Greater Chennai Corporation to confirm that the next day they would demolish those ruined structures so that in future they could not be used for illegal activities. The only area where the evidences were found was kept sealed till the investigation was complete.He was hell tired and was about to hit the bed when he remembered that Suman had not called anybody since lunch post Sash gave her the warning. He wanted to hear her and see if she was fine and coming the next day. He called her and she did not pick up till he was about to give up when he heard her sigh as she picked up the call .
Shravan: Were you sleeping?
Suman : No
Shravan :Are you fine ?
Suman: Yes
Shravan :Are you going to come tomorrow ?
Suman : hmmm
Shravan did not know what more to ask as she was answering in mono syllables, he thought either she is angry or she is tired but thinking of their lunch convo he decided to try a little more.
Shravan: Don’t you want to know what happened at the GCC(Greater Chennai Corporation) office today?
Suman: Your wish if you want to tell me, I don’t want to interrupt your work. You are allbusy and I am the one disturbing you.
Shravan now understood she was hurt and he just did not know how to bring her out fromfeeling low, he was fine with a glaring Suman but not with an upset and low Suman. He tried to humour her a little.
Shravan : Actually there is a very rare occasion when you are not at work, that is what I learnt from your colleagues so apparently on those rare days Sash can puff as much ashe wants, Saheb can spent hours browsing matrimonial sites , Rajesh can talk to his multiple girlfriends as much as he wants.
Suman: Yes you all had fun at my expense but you did not mention what were you doing ?
Shravan smiled hearing Suman, at least she was better now and said “I was in my dream date with Katrina Kaif at least in my dreams”.
Suman laughed this time and Shravan smiled thinking how her smile must have stretched to her eyes and her face would have turned a little red and how the she must have tug the strands of her hair behind her ear as they would have fallen on her face while laughing. There was a silence when Shravan mentioned “ Go to sleep now, we have an early start tomorrow. I will pick up your car from the car wash and come down to Sash’s place and pick you up. Sharp at 8 am is it ok ?”
Suman : hmm…ok…………..Shravan…
Shravan :tell me…
Suman : Actually…I wanted to say thank you for …you know..the day before..u know
Shravan: Its ok Suman, I understood. Its nothing to be embarrassed about. It could have happened to any woman. Its just between you and me …now rest..Good Night
Suman: …..ok…GoodNight
Suman was expecting to talk probably a little more. She wanted to know so many things that happened at work. Last time she was on such a leave when she had a twisted knee it was Sash who she had tortured with her innumerable questions. She could not fathom why this time despite the fact that she was staying at Sash place she was more comfortable talking to Shravan..maybe because he was part of her team, maybe because their equation was different. Shravan noticed that the phone was not disconnected,and he could hear Suman sigh. Immediately he spoke “Suman”. Suman was about to disconnect when he heard Shravan calling out and she answered “hmmm”.
Shravan : I…I missed you today
Suman (witha blush and a smile ): Good Night
It was sharp 8 am when Shravan called Suman to inform that he was waiting. Although Kaveri insisted on breakfast, Suman was in a hurry as there were a lot of things to be done here before they shift for few months to Bangalore for the new assignment.Shravan was waiting at the corner of the road when Suman reached the end of the street. She saw him waiting outside the car looking handsome as usual in khaki trousers paired with a white t-shirt complete with a pair of sports shoes.Suman chided herself for checking out how handsome Shravan was looking but then thought he does look handsome and there is no denying of that fact. As if on cue , Shravan turned to look at Suman and smiled a bright wide one at that on seeing her. He felt glad Suman was back and in full spirits as she glided into the driver seat and plunged into details of the case. They had filed all the evidences from the site and their first stop is going to be the mortuary to checkon the post mortem outcome of the teens bodies followed by the demolition drive and finally to the archives in the police station and the newspaper office to search for clues. As they drove out on the streets of the city and turned overto the highway, Shravan asked Suman to stop the car. Suman was surprised and indicated why to which Shravan mentioned “Just 5minutes Suman , don’t worry I am not going to take a lot of your precious time . Please come with me “. Suman was curious but she complied and walked out of the car to stand on the side ofthe road as Shravan opened the backdoor of the car to reveal a fresh bouquet of yellow roses and white orchids and what he did next was beyond Suman’simagination. Shravan went down on his knees and handed her a card with a huge “IAM SORRY” written on it and then he said “Whenever I have demeaned you and hurt you , they don’t mean anything . The truth is I have with time started to respect you, adore you for the woman you are. As long as I am with you I will keep repenting what I have said to you. This sorry is just the beginning of my saying sorry which I will keep feeling and saying for all that I have said. Accept this little token as my journey of being sorry to you”. Suman was overwhelmed with what he did and she bent down to pull Shravan up and said “Shravan , this was not necessary , I know you did not mean it. I have seen how you have been in the last couple of days and I know who you are”. Shravan heard her voice quiver and eyes mist before she went ahead and gave a brief hug and said “Its ok Shravan , you need not say sorry , come let’s go we are getting late”. Shravan raised his hands to hold Suman and reciprocate the hug but Suman had detached herself by then but still Shravan was happy with Suman’s reaction and did a quick jump before he followed her to the car. He then realized he was still carrying the flowers and he quickly ran up to Suman and said “ Are yaar Suman ,I sacrificed my sleep to get these flowers for you , please take them and respect my sleep”. Hearing this Suman laughed and took the flowers and said “ A little sacrifice you should do right for a sorry “. Both drove away happy with the impending sorry behind them as they looked forward to new turns and twists intheir journey ahead
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