Hair/Fur cut
"Food world was crowded" she said short and sweet
He waited for the long story that other guy seemed to have got
None came
Chirag appeared "what konkani snack do you make without burning yourself"
She paused for a minute thinking seriously on that question before the humor hit her
"Nothing" she said embarrassed
"Oh teri" Chirag shook with laughter
"I am a very bad cook" she said firmly
"Theek hai I wont ask you to cook for me" Chirag nodded with a pretend shiver
"I made upma" she said hurt
"Sorry yaar" he waved towards her
"Chal chalten hain" Chirag urged Ashvin
Ashvin turned to him "Sure" he nodded
"You dont want coffee?" Trisha asked sadly
"Isko bol. Yeh rukega to" he said
"Its almost done" she mumbled to Ashvin.
"ok" nodded ashvin, the first ever permission question he received from his wife
She poured some coffee for him as courtesy for that kindness
Too unsure if she shud push the cup towards him
He reached for it and took it from the counter
Chirag and him talked about a Saturday league tennis game
Her friend Nirupama texted her
"he is still in MU" on snapchat
Her heart sank to receive that email about Jayadeva
she walked back to her room shut the door leaned on it and distressed
"Who saw him, did you?" she asked
"No, Mukesh did" "sharad also saw him in Prof Mule's class" Niru wrote
she began to cry
Weeks had gone by without them seeing each other
She was ina strange house living like a guest
The sights and sounds of Ullal, the bus ride, Madani Nagar, Ambedkar Ngr, Asaigoli flit through her mind the colorful buses.
The stunning Ullal coastline plagued her already shattered heart
"Can Mukesh ask him if I can call him?" she begged
"Its the same Mukesh only no?"
They knew a guy that was doing Masters in Physics
"yes"
"i dont know Trishu, just leave it"
NOW Nirupama wanted her to leave it
"How can I ? I cheated him to help my father. Now my father wont touch the money"
"just return it na and come back"
"He will lose everything. We dont make much money" she said
She didnt know the numbers exactly but things were in the red
"Trishu you gave him up already. Dont you see it?"
"No... no... I didnt I dont belong to any other man" she was adamant
Her coffee went cold on the kitchen counter
The men left for their evening
She went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and went to bed
He found her asleep in her red outfit when he returned at midnight
He shut the light out
A organic chemistry journal lay open on the bed the pages flapping in the air from the ceiling fan.
She talked with young mothers, cooed to babies and held them, she asked about nearby places, she talked about her town
He noticed while coming and going
She had three kids she was close to that played tennis near the bldg at the court
She paused and chatted with them
She showed them her Udupi pendant bending down when they wanted to see it.
At home she was almost invisible
The cook sometimes asked her if she will eat dinner or lunch
Ashvin tried his best not to notice what she was wearing
It was hard. She had a distinct style and loved colors.
He hadnt spoken with his Mom or grandpa in a couple weeks
His sister texted him warning him not to hurt "the poor girl"
"its men like you that completely throw me off the marriage idea. Congrats!! I hope you are happy. Your screwed up life has effectively destroyed my hope that I will ever find a good man"
He had called her but she wouldnt answer
"Its not about YOU Lee. This is my life, in case the bubble you live in didnt have windows" he shot back
"You PIG You married a poor broke girl. Men disgust me"
Some mornings he noticed her eyes were puffy and tired
He was hoping she would talk about the house key soon
Prasad showed up one morning with his cat
"Hows it going?" Ashvin nodded coolly
"can I talk to trisha?" he asked politely
"Umm, not sure if she is home" Ashvin declared
He went in and found her doing her hair
She stopped abruptly to stare at him through the bathroom mirror
"someone here to see you" he said
She dropped her arms and turned
"For me?" she asked shocked
He nodded reluctantly.
"hi trisha.I am going to be gone for a couple days, can you feed my cat?" he asked earnestly
The cat purred and leaped into her arms
It was a giant ball of silky fur
"Mike hates to eat at night so can you check on him in the evenings?" he handed her a paper
She nodded tentatvely
"What was the name again? Michael Bolton?" asked Ashvin
"No, its Michael JACKSON" trisha said passionately
As if he had gotten HER name all wrong
Prasad chuckled
"She is awfully young to be a MJ fan" he smiled
"I like his songs" she said
"Here is my keys" he handed her
"You can take him back when you are done. He loves staying in the arms" Prasad told her
She took him to her room he purred and circled the bed
She didnt have any toys
She sat on the floor and tried to look for stuff
"You like socks?" she giggled pulling out a sock from her drawer
Her little pin cushion from her sewing kit fell off
She watched the cat roll it across the room as she lay by it
"You like cats?" Ashvin asked surprised
She sat up in shock
Nodded child like
"He is very beautiful" she gushed
"Males arent beautiful" he said
She looked up at him
"Handsome? sexy maybe.. not beautiful" he coached
The cat sat on her lap and purred
"I like to call him beautiful" she sighed, in awe.
She reached for her hairbrush on the bed and began brushing the surprised fatso
"He needs a fur cut or grooming as they call it" Ashvin said bluntly
"No" "He is fine". "He is so pretty" she held him
"I hate cats" he said firmly as if that was going to make her throw the feline over the balcony.
"Shooo shweeet" she coed
"His hair must weigh 20 lbs" he said mocking the cat intentionally as it scowled at Trisha for brushing him
"He cant get a hair cut every week like some people" Trisha cooed to him not even looking at Ashvin's face
"You think I get a weekly haircut?" he asked.. surprised
She blushed when she realized he had found out, let the cat out of the lap that is...