A Glimpse Of Paradise
"There is lust and then there is love. They are related, but still very different things. To indulge in one requires little but honeyed speech and a change of clothes; to obtain the other, by contrast, a man must give up his rib. In return, his woman will undo the sin of Eve, and bring him back into Paradise."
Anne Fortier, Juliet
Her husband can be the strangest of creatures sometimes, she thinks with amusement as a small smile lights up her face.
Strange how being in love with him even his oddities are endearing to her now, she thinks to herself as she knocks on the door of the suite Raman had informed her was to be the place where his associates and their wives gathered before the dinner at the rooftop restaurant.
A second round of knocks goes unanswered as well making her wonder has Raman been mistaken about the suite number and wonders if she should wait for him just here. Wryly it occurs to her she should have brought her clutch with her, at least she would have had her mobile at hand in the moment.
It strikes her then perhaps there is no one immediately in the vicinity of the suite' main door and hence her knocks went unheard, if that is the case Raman would taunt her again for being foolish and waiting outside a door for him. Not to mention the staff passing by has already noticed her standing outside this door for the past two minutes and it makes her feel weird to be under their scrutiny, as if she is some page three wife who is here to catch her husband red-handed in the act with some dumb socialite.
Shaking her head to ride the thought from her head, she takes a deep breath and enters the suite.
True to her thoughts, the living room is empty; she scans around the place and finds it eerily quiet when her eyes fall upon the candles lit in elegant candleholders throughout the room. The fragrance of jasmine greeting her senses as she looks upon a pathway made up of jasmine flowers stretching from the lobby of the living room towards the bedroom.
She cannot contain the smile that breaks across her lips at the thought put behind the dcor of the room.
Unable to contain her curiosity she follows the trail of the jasmine path and turns the knob of the master bedroom, to find it similarly decorated.
The four-poster king size bed dominating the bedroom gains her attention as she notices a huge card with the words - Welcome Mr. & Mrs. Bhalla placed upon it.
It strikes her then it was all a ruse, Raman planned this surprise for her, this evening just for the two of them and her heart soars with the thought that her husband took all this effort just for her. she falls a little more in love with him in the moment, picking the card up she holds it close to her heart.
"Oh god, Raman...he planned to surprise me all along! How dumb could I be to not realize it...official dinner...sneaky devil, oh how did I not think of this?"
She giggles to herself as her heart thunders in her chest, threatening to leap out of it.
It is when her eyes fall upon the heart made of petals of white roses, the theme of the room' dcor that it occurs to her...this night could be momentous for her in more ways than one.
"Raman..." His name escapes her lips as goosebumps erupt on her arms at the thought of all that he could have planned for her, them tonight.
With a dry throat and jittery heart, she closes her eyes as she sends across prayers to every god she has ever known that things go well. The number of times they have hugged, she can easily count them, on the fingers of her single hand, if Raman wants more tonight...she does not know how she would react or proceed much less participate. They have found themselves in moments where she has felt the attraction simmering between the two, but ...without so much as having shared a kiss, how could...
"Oh god..." She mutters to herself.
They have found their rhythm in this marriage; in this relationship with time...she reasons with herself...they would in conjugal matters too as husband and wife...no one aces things without practice as it is.
The thought races her heart as a blush spreads across her cheeks and her eyes close on their own as she imagines what it would feel like - to be loved by Raman...to love him.
She hugs herself as the onslaught of feelings take over her mind and is so lost in her head she does not realize when her husband arrives in the room. Only when he places a hand on her shoulder does she learn of his presence.
His touch overwhelms her mind already overtaken by the thoughts of him, them...finally donning the role of spouses, lovers. Even as he turns her around holding her shoulders she can't bring herself to look at him, afraid her eyes might give her away to him, spell the secrets she hasn't dared voiced out to even herself to him without so much as a word. Afraid he may read the longing she feels for him, his touches and his love, afraid of what he would do to rectify just that.
She can't look him in the eye but when she feels his hand tucking away her locks behind her ear she can't help but seek out more of his touch, lean into it as if she could encapsulate the moment forever, as if the spell would break if he lets go. It is when she feels the lightest of touch upon her chin as he lifts it that she cannot help but open her eyes and look at him.
"So you found the room?"
He questions her, his voice low and hoarse. A dimpled smirk lighting up her husband' face.
"I did...but ..."
"But...?"
"I couldn't find any Mr. Agrawal or Mrs. Malhotra or anyone else here from your associates."
Noticing the impish smile on his wife' face her husband decides to play along and closes the distance between them as he stands toe to toe with her before replying,
"You see they all had to leave."
"Leave...so soon?"
"Yes you see...the women didn't want to stay anymore and their husbands possibly couldn't do a thing about it...you after all do know how wives can get and us poor husbands, we have to comply to their wishes."
"But whatever caused them to want to do that, may I know Mr. Bhalla?"
"Of course you may, Mrs. Bhalla, I have to accept the blame for that, after all I can't deny the truth."
"Whatever did you do to make them run away? Did you unleash your charming Raavan Kumar mode on them husband?"
Shaking his head, he scrunches up his nose as he looks at his wife,
"Wife, only you exclusively bring out the charming Raavan Kumar mode in me...so sadly no...all I did was state a fact to those ladies and they chose to leave along with their husbands."
"And pray what did you tell them?"
"Nothing but the truth."
"Which is...?"
"That my wife outshines each and every one of them and one look at her and their husbands would forget everything in existence but her. What wife could possibly want that right? So they left."
Her cheeks flush scarlet and she cannot decide if it's the words, the proximity or the look in his eyes that does that to her.
"Is it Mr. Bhalla, you really believe your wife is that beautiful?"
"I could be lying but..."
With the words, he takes her hand in his as he places it above his heart and completes...
"My elevated heartbeat couldn't possibly be a lie or a manipulation right doctor?"
"I have to say I am pleasantly surprised Mr. Bhalla to see this version of you."
"All credit goes to my wife. You see when you have a hellcat for a wife, its better you learn to behave otherwise she may thrash you even in public, especially in public."
She bites her lip to contain the laugh threatening to explode and reigns herself in before replying cheekily to him,
"Oh is that so? So are you implying you are on your best behavior because you are scared of her?"
"Oh I am...but the impetus behind the behavior isn't the fear as you suspect but something else."
"And what may I ask is it?"
"Why the fruits of labor I hope to reap."
"Oh and what are those fruits?"
"Don't worry I would get to that too."
"That isn't very nice of you Mr. Bhalla."
"Why do you say that?"
"Shouldn't it be your wife' decision about if and when she wants to reward you?"
Entangling their fingers as he holds her hand still placed over his heart he speaks up as he looks her in the eye,
"Oh it is entirely up to her how and when she wishes to reward me, I wouldn't rush her... I know very well the fruits of patience are the sweetest...I only wish to let her know what I think and feel...that is acceptable I suppose, isn't it."
She cannot reply to him, as her mind cannot think beyond the obvious, the way he has brought their hands entangled close to his face as he gently brushes his lips against each of her fingers with each word he husked out in his last sentence.
He lightly nips her index finger and has an infuriating smirk on his face as she yelps coming back to reality when he asks her,
"I asked you it is acceptable if I at least disclose what I feel and think, you didn't reply."
"It is...but your rewards depend on how good you are, I hope you are aware of that."
"Trust me; you won't have any complaints... I can assure you I am extremely good."
Releasing her hand from his hold she runs a thumb across her husband' cheek as she cups his face causing his eyes to close shut, to savor in her touch as he hears her whispering
"That would be for your wife to decide now...wouldn't it...exactly how good you are or have been?"
He is pleasantly surprised and shocked at his wife' boldness as it reflects clearly on his face, she is about to move back when he puts his arms around her waist bringing her even closer to him, as he murmurs,
"You have no cause to worry my lady let me assure you I aim to please and am not satisfied until I achieve my goal."
"Is that so?"
"It is..."
She snakes her arms around his neck as her voice drops to a barely audible husk,
"Good...I see your wife has trained you well."
"She has...like I said she is a hellcat I had no other option."
"But I have heard you Mr. Bhalla are no easy task...if she is a hellcat I am sure that is exactly what you needed too and I can imagine the poor thing must have been so patient too to train you so well, despite her being a hellcat like you said."
"Oh that she is...incredibly patient...I have mastered the art from her... to not rush things...she reminded me you see how the journey is more enjoyable than the arrival at the destination."
"Anything else she taught you?" She asks with the quirk of an eyebrow...
"Well there is one thing I hope I do learn from her...but for that I need to be sure she isn't all words in the department."
Her brows knit together in confusion and he can't help but find her absolutely adorable even when all he wants to do is kiss her senseless right here and now...but he is enjoying this way too much to end this so soon. He never knew verbal foreplay could be this titillating before and would loathe ending his maiden experience by his impatience.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"My wife once stated something to me while we were off on our first long road trip, when we got lost... just mentioning that."
"The trip to Sultanpuri, what about that. What are you getting at?"
"Don't you remember?"
When she shakes her head in the negative, he cannot help the smirk that appears on his face,
"My wife mentioned she is flexible...I am yet to find out how much you see...and..."
She does not let him finish as she places a hand over his mouth,
"You are such a shameless man."
He kisses her palm as he brings her close, something she didn't think was possible when his lips are a hair' breadth away from hers.
"Shame unfortunately becomes the last thing on my mind when I am with my wife you see."
He is about to close the distance between their lips when the ringing of his phone makes them jump apart.
Their little getaway from life and world ends when he notices his son' name flashing across the screen and upon answering finds himself rushing to his aid along with his wife, ruing the loss of another day and chance fate had instored for them.
7