I had this part ready, so am posting it, may have another one for tonight, as long as I get comments on this one. The following is part 8A to show continuity into the weekend. I know I may get some major chappals for this part, but please be patient, just as you have all been so far. This is and will always remain a SAIRAT LOVE story and the good news is this will go beyond 10 parts - I hope that’s good news. I am missing @rekha_crn.
Part 8A
Her father calls out, “Kaun hai? Arre ACP Virat, ya ya ..” she moves aside and lets him in and leaves them alone. Her father has opened his laptop and is showing Virat certain files and documents, she can’t really make out, but all she can see is Virat standing respectfully, having removed his cap and put it on the dining table. Sai shakes her head when she automatically imagines herself wearing the cap and poking her tongue out. She tells herself she is thinking these things because she is going to miss her father. She begins to get her suitcase to the living room when her phone rings, it’s Shilpa who is supposed to drop her at the bus station. She announces, “Shilpa ka hai” and she hits enter, “Hello..kaha hai tu? Pandhra minute mei nikalna hai..oh!!..it’s ok...Nahi nahi...all the best!” She hangs up, two pairs of eyes stare at her from the dining table.
“Voh nahi aa sakti, Pune hospital ka phone hai uske liye, interview hai lagta hai”. Her father immediately says, “Arrr tu rukk main abhi ready hoke chodh deta hun” she makes a face, “Abba, please, aap Kuch kaam kar rahe ho na, aur aap puri raat soye bhi nahi thik se, bus stand hi toh hai, Mai chali jaungi” Virat pipes in, “constable bahar jeep ke saath hai, voh chodh sakta hai”. Before she can answer, her father says, “very good! Hamara kaam bhi baaki hai, tumhe drop karke vaapas aane ko bol dena.” Her father gets up from the table and comes and hugs her, she bends to touch his feet but he stops her and kisses her on her forehead, muttering, “savkaash” Virat leaves them alone and steps out to instruct the constable. She comes out and he helps her with the suitcase, she waves to her dad and Virat shuts the jeep door when she is seated inside and whispers “See you soon, Just Sai” she rolls her eyes and says “hum ek hi city mei hone vale hai, iska matlab yeh nahi ki we will see each other” and his response is his smirk which just irritates her to no end.
She is seated on the bus, next to an elderly gentleman, right upfront, she wanted to actually sit in the first seat, but the driver stopped her saying it’s reserved. She looks around and realizes all the window seats were taken, better sit in front then behind. She sits next to the old uncle, calling him uncle twice while settling down so that he knows his place. Someone yells to start the bus, she is hoping the person in front seat is not going to turn up and she can sit there, the driver yells back that he is moving in five minutes. The bus starts to move, and she sighs in relief thinking she can move up, only for her to be able to see shoes running along the bus and Virat jump into the bus, in all his police finery and a satchel under his arm. The driver grins and says “Kya saheb, main darwaza band karne vaala thaa, mujhe lagaa ki aap miss karoge” Virat grins and turns and looks at Sai straight in the eye and says “Miss karne ka sawal hi paida nahi hota”. He starts to sit in front of her, his hand on the back of the seat, so close to her, she looks away and the driver pipes in, “Voh madam vaha baithna chahti thi, Maine kaha reserved hai” Virat looks at her with a serious face and says, “Aap baithna chahte ho, toh baith sakte ho” she tightens her jaw, looks straight at him and says, “No thank you” He has a huge grin and says plonking himself in between the two seater, “Thank you toh Vaise mujhe kehna chahiye” she glares at him through the seat gap and looks away. No way is she going to open her varan bhaat and share it with him. The uncle next to her also grins exposing his silver teeth, she shudders and curses her life.
It’s more than an hour later, she has been reading her book in the back seat, glancing at him through the front seat gaps once in a while, he has not turned at all to look at her. He is looking at his documents and keeps messaging and checking his phone. In some time, she herself nods off, the bus goes over a bump and the uncle next to her lands his face halfway down her shoulder and chest, she yelps and wakes up. She automatically stands up, looks around. It seems like the bus has made a pit stop, she realizes in her half sleep half disgusted state that Virat isn’t on his seat, she clutches her bag and her book and moves into his seat, leaning to the window. This is where he finds her, when he enters the bus, on his seat near the window fast asleep. He climbs into the bus and the old man in the back seat grunts loudly and he cleans his snort with his hand and wipes it down on the seat, Virat gags and immediately sits down next to her.
With half an hour away from Nagpur, she wakes up to find herself half on his shoulder and his forehead on her head. The bus has made the last pit stop and she immediately shifts, he moves and puts his head on top of the seat, she gets up gingerly and makes her way to the bathrooms at the pit stop. As she washes her face, a lady from the bus is washing her hands, looks at her in the reflection and giggles, “Kitna handsome hai tujha navra” she is shocked, her hands shake under the water. She returns to the bus, he is awake and almost has a sigh of relief seeing her, and a small smile. He immediately moves his legs to make way for her, she instead walks and sits next to the uncle in her original seat. He shakes his head and exhales exasperated and sits back in his chair. They reach Nagpur within the next half hour, in fact she is surprised when he gets down the bus along with her in front of the medical camp. He waits at one end, while she fetches her suitcase and this bus drives away to the next stop before the final destination of Nagpur station.
She rolls her suitcase on the road leading to inside the camp hq and registration, and he seems to be following her. She is irritated to no end, she suddenly turns and says “Aap kya kar rahe ho?” He looks at her in seriousness, “Chal raha hun” she rolls her eyes, “Mera matlab hai yahaa kyu mere peeche” he looks at her and before he can say anything, a young man with a doctor’s coat comes rushing to him, “ACP Virat Sir, hum aapko kal expect kar rahe the, Senior doctor ne phone karke bola tha ki police inspection hogi har hafte, kya yeh gang crime ka problem bahut serious hai kya?” Virat glances at Sai who is now visibly embarrassed at her outburst, and then looks at the young man and says, “Hi Dr.Aniket, haan mujhe kal aana thaa, but mujhe Bandhara se aate der ho gayi, aur phir aaj savere Chandrapur jaana thaa, so here I am. Hum baaki baatei andar jaake karei?” Dr. Aniket nods and then looks at her, “I am sorry Dr. Sai Joshi?” She smiles and nods, Aniket grins, “Aap ko bhi expect kar rahe the, welcome. Registration uss taraf hai, Mai just Sir ko milke aapko join karta hun, vahan ek madam hogi, head nurse, Ms. Abigail, voh sab Kuch samjha degi,” Sai nods and the three of them make their way into the heart of the camp. Sai, sheepishly walks way ahead of the men and Virat looks at her back while Aniket keeps chattering away.
“Aap pehli madam doctor hai iss camp mei” Abigail says, “baaki dono male doctors, senior doctor Pulkit, phir aapke jaisa Dr Aniket, Main head nurse aur do nurses hai jo shifts pe rehti hai, aapko mere saath room share karna padega, voh kya hai, sirf vohi room attached bath ke saath aata hai. Do bed hai aur ek sofa, kaafi comfortable hai. Single room chahiye toh bathroom Dr Aniket ke saath share karna padega, bolo kya mangtai?” . Sai without hesitation says, “Aapke saath share kar lungi, ladke ke saath bathroom share karne ke liye ...jitney bhi paise mil rahe hai, kaam hai” the ladies laugh. Just then Virat and Aniket join them, and Abigail announces to Sai, “Vaise aur Kuch chahiye toh, ACP saab ka ghar paas mei hi hai, aur unki family har Wednesday ko camp ke workers ke liye Khana bhejte hai, ACP aapka weekly check in late ho gaya, not good ACP!” Virat grins and says, “Sister Abigail, aap bataya punishment, Mai haste haste seh lunga” and there is that wink, which has Abigail completely overjoyed and Sai slightly uneasy. Abigail replies, “punishment yeh hai ki aap Dr. Sai Joshi ko mera kamra dikha dijiye, Dr. Aniket aap chaliye mere saath, voh rotavirus ka patient ka blood count dodgy hai”
Sai’s uneasiness travels like a heat wave that can’t be missed, it quietens Virat who looks at her and walks ahead of her, she follows dragging her suitcase on its rollers, it’s a short walk to a 3 storey building which has a huge covered hall on the ground floors and storage rooms on the second floor. The third floor has four doors, Virat carries her suitcase which she doesn’t argue about and he points to the other three doors stating, “common bath, male dorm, nurses dorm” and pulls out the keys and opens the door closest to the stairs, “Yeh hai Sister Abigail ka kamra jo share karne vaali ho, voh hai attached bath aur ..baaki details unse puch sakti ho” . She comes forward looking at everything around her, neat and tidy. There is a sofa with some chairs and a small attached kitchenette. There are two tiny rooms which barely have space for a bed and one side table, the godrej cupboard in the rooms forces one to walk sideways in the room. He walks around in the sofa area and opens the curtains allowing the sun to fill up the room, she comes out and smiles at that, while he wants to tell her that she is the only sunshine he wants in his life.
He is about to say something, when she says “Mai aapse Kuch kehna chahti hun” he is taken aback, it’s not her words, it’s her tone and thank god for it, because there in the back of his mind, he knows exactly what is coming and the front where his heart is slowing down fears it too, “Kahiye” she is taken aback at him being respectful, almost like he is ready to put some distance, and funnily without his intention, it gives her strength albeit with some hesitation, to say, “Mai...Mai aapke family ko bahut respect karti hun aur Mai unko galat impression nahi dena chahti” she pauses, hoping he will get it, he is not letting her off so easy, he tilts his body slightly while putting his hands in his pockets and casually states, “Mai samjha nahi, unhe galat impression kyu hoga?” she stares back at him slightly peeved that he is acting like he doesn’t know what he is talking about, “ Aap jaante hai Mai kya kehna chahti hun” Virat shakes his head and says flatly, “Nahi Mai nahi jaanta” they stare at each other, he challenging her, she accepting it and replies flatly back, “I am not interested, Mai aap mei interested nahi hun, so please aap mujhe....” He stares at her, she is unable to complete her sentence, she looks down, and she can’t see the hurt in his eyes, he takes one of his hand out of his pocket, turns and keeps the keys on the small table, opens the door and walks out, shutting the door on her face, she sighs and plonks down on her sofa and finds her hands shaking, she puts them under her thighs over the sofa she is seated on to calm herself down, only to realize her legs are shaking, she bends and takes the varan bhat dabba from her bag and for the first time in her life, her favorite varan bhaat is tasteless.
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Edited by columbia - 3 years ago
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