Part 6
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées
“Wow, that’s an extremely well-prepared itinerary Ishita” said an amazed Raman as he looked at the sheet of paper, he had taken from a visibly hesitant Ishita.
“Thanks…I guess”
Yes, she had prepared a detailed itinerary for her holiday, all the places she will visit, all the things she’ll do, food she’ll eat and even the photos she’ll click. What she hadn’t prepared was this chance encounter with Raman and now him being her travel mate. The other thing which she hasn’t expected was this camaraderie that had developed between Raman and her and how they gone from being ‘Mr. Bhalla’ and ‘Dr. Iyer’ to ‘Raman’ and ‘Ishita’.
Earlier in the afternoon
Ishita was finally done with the dental conference. She had checked out of the hotel and just boarded the taxi to move to her accommodation when she received a call from Raman.
“Hi Dr Iyer! Are you available to talk right now?”
“Yes Mr.Bhalla, I had just boarded the taxi to my accommodation.’
“Actually…the thing is….there is a problem…” Raman continued hesitatingly “My team in India hasn’t been able to arrange a hotel for me yet. So, my luggage is still there and I was wondering if I could stay there for one more night. If it’s okay with you?”
Ishita was taken aback by what Raman she had heard. How could she share her tiny 1 BHK holiday stay with Raman. She didn’t know him well plus the idea of sharing living space with a man wasn’t pleasing to her to say the least. But he must genuinely be in a problem as he was hesitant and pleasant to her on the phone; the cold commanding voice gone. It was only humane to help him. She was pondering over what to say when she heard his voice again on the phone.
“Dr Iyer! Are you there on the line? Hello?”
“Yes, yes Mr.Bhalla” but her voice was drowned by his voice again.
“Actually don’t worry, I don’t want to cause you any trouble. These damn idiots of my office who can’t arrange a decent hotel for him; they are going to be fired.” Raman was in a fix here. The stress of meetings and frustration his living situation was getting to him. Had he been in India, he would’ve done the required shouting, bribing, anything necessary to get the things done per his wish. But he was in Paris and he had no control here which had made him resort to pleading to his Madrasi neighbour. His behaviour was shocking even to himself. He was about to drop the call when he heard her voice from the other side.
“It’s alright Mr Bhalla. I think we can manage to share the place for one day. I am reaching the place in a while, you can come whenever you want.”
“I’ll be there in an hour” and he dropped the call.
“He hung up! No thanks, nothing. No manners at all. I made such a big compromise and he is just so ungrateful. No basic human decency. Praanth” murmured Ishita.
She had settled in her Airbnb and was out of shower when Raman returned from his meeting. He was a little surprised by the sight before him. Ishita was dressed in a pale blue sun dress extending a little below her knees and white ballerinas. Her long hair tied in a ponytail swaying on her waist, little hoop earrings dangling her ears and a sleek wrist watch on her left hand; and she smelled like a meadow. Raman quickly gathered his thoughts before giving one last glance at her and said “Ummm…thanks Dr Iyer for letting me stay here”
Ishita became conscious by his lingering gaze. She knew her daily outfits of salwar kurtas and churidars wasn’t ideal for her Parisian holiday so she had gone shopping with Mihika before leaving for Paris. While all Ishita had planned to purchase was some pair of jeans and modest tops, Mihika had quickly dismissed her idea and taken the reign for shopping in her hands. The final products of shopping being some stylish tops and dresses.
She became nervous by Raman’s reaction but she was Dr. Ishita Iyer afterall so she retorted
“See that wasn’t so hard. Was it?” Ishita was still a little miffed with his behaviour.
Raman took a deep breath lest he came up with an angry retort and ruin his chance of his staying here. Afterall, he was at her mercy. So, he only passed a fleeting, forced smile to her. This woman always had to get on his nerves.
“What…What are your plans for later today?” Ishita asked hesitatingly. She was trying to salvage the situation. She did not mean to be rude but this man always brought extreme reactions out of her.
“I…I wanted to walk around the area a bit.” He had made no plans about what he would do. He had thought once he was done with the meetings, he would spend some time in the city at leisure, do some shopping for ladies back at home and purchase lots of gifts for Ruhi but all the mess of his living situation had left him extremely annoyed and now he wasn’t sure anymore about what to do.
“If you don’t mind, you can join me. I have planned some sight-seeing for the day Mr Bhalla.”
“Please call me Raman and yes I’ll join you Doc”
“It’s Ishita and please get changed so that we can get going quickly.”
Back to present
After their lunch at a local deli, they had walked to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and clicked some photos of the place. Then Raman had asked for further plans and Ishita quickly fished out her hand written itinerary from her bag. Raman was surprised by the fact that even in this age some people made hand written itinerary so he had chuckled and tried to snatch the sheet of paper from her.
They had continued as per the itinerary and visited Notre Dame which had left them in awe with its imposing architecture. They had hired a guide there to learn more about the history of the place. They had surprisingly got in sync with each other, both enjoying the places they visited at a leisurely place, not rushing for anything, just living in the moment. They had both noticed that they love history of these tourist attractions though Raman kept dropping his witty one-liners in between, which now Ishita noticed were quite funny, as they were not borne out of anger. Next, they went around to the lovely park behind the church, named John XXXlll to rest their feet and soak in the atmosphere. They sat still in complete silence just trying to absorb the beauty around. The place was filled with people due to peak tourist season but they paid no attention to it; they sat there enjoying the blissful silence of each other’s company.
“Thanks for letting me join you Ishita! I would never have been able to plan a trip so meticulously and I would’ve missed all of this” Raman told Ishita in the sincerest words as they side somewhere in Ile Pont Saint-Louis and took in the panoramic view of the beautiful city of Paris.
All retorts and anger that Ishita held subsided in that moment. Maybe it was the glorious environment of the city or the honest and sombre tone of Raman’s words but Ishita decided to let go of her anger and replied honestly “No need to thank me Raman, honestly, I would’ve never enjoyed these as much as I did so I should thank you.”
“Not just for today but for letting me stay with you. I was really in a fix and based on our past experiences, I would’ve never thought that you could help me”
“To be honest, I was also surprised when I agreed to help you but what I did was basic humanity. I’m sure you would’ve done the same if you were in my place.”
“Come on let’s go now, we have a lot to do” added Ishita as they headed for a leisurely boat ride on river Seine. The cruise was spent mostly enjoying the boat ride, passing by attractions they’ll see in coming days and reflect on the magical day in Paris.
“Wow! It’s amazing how these magnificent structures can belittle you in their comparison. Suddenly all your problems and worries seem so insignificant, hai na?” Ishita said amusedly.
“Right!” Raman had exact same thoughts but he was unable to say them out loud. After the Shagun incident, Raman had closed himself to the world. He would mostly keep his feelings to himself. The only emotion one can get out of him was anger. He thought he was safe this way but somehow this woman had always managed to get different reactions from him. He had never thought he could enjoy the company of some beautiful woman in a non-sexual way, ever. But now here with her on this boat ride, everything seemed….right. This thought baffled him and he quickly snapped out of it as the ride came to end and they headed to a local bistro (which Ishita had picked of course).
The dinner was such a jolly affair. Raman teasing Ishita that being a vegetarian and teetotaller she can’t enjoy the authentic Parisian meal. Ishita sniggered at the alcohol in his hand but he assured her he won’t get drunk.
“It’s just one glass of wine to go with the meal Ishita.”
And again they had fallen into a light-hearted conversation about plans for next day; Raman told Ishita about different countries he had been to and Ishita disclosing about her bucket list and so they had returned to their Airbnb.
“I’ll settle on the sofa in the hall, you take the bedroom. Do you mind if I use the bathroom first?” asked Raman.
Ishita nodded in affirmative and then settled on the carpeted floor to sort out the little knick-knacks she had purchased that day.
“Post cards! Where did you get these Ishita and who will you send these to?” chuckled Raman.
“I got these from a vendor when we taking a stroll by the riverside. I’ll send one to amma-appa, one to Shravu and one to Ruhi. May I know what’s so funny about these postcards?” asked Ishita.
“Who sends postcards in this day and age?” asked Raman even as the mention of her daughter caused a little pain in his heart “Are you really going to send one to Ruhi too?” he added.
“Hand written letters and cards have a lot of sentimental value. Maybe you won’t understand. And why won’t Ruhi get one, after all I am her best friend.”
“’You should get changed Ishita, it’s getting late”
Sometime later Ishita emerged into the hall. She had given a lot of thought and she had decided that she’ll ask Raman to accompany her tomorrow for the tour too. She had fun today and he also seemed relaxed and calmer than she had ever seen him in Delhi and maybe then she can discuss about Ruhi with him. But her face scrunched at the sight before her. Raman sat there nursing a drink in his hand and she moved back to her bedroom.
“Can’t he live a day without drinking and can’t he respect the boundaries of other person living with him. Idiot! I was a fool to think about him otherwise.” With that thought Ishita went to sleep.
The inability to express his love for her daughter had saddened him when he saw the affection for his little girl in Ishita’s eyes. He cursed himself for not being able to express his love to Ruhi and then his thoughts wandered towards Adi, his first born who now hated him so. So, he cursed himself, his destiny and Shagun again and he drank some more.
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