The Unsaid Dreams . Truth . Desires

22

Rob was now opening up with Alina, he started talking about different things, they had their meals together frequently. But he was still keeping discussions away from his personal life. Alina didn't know who all lived in his place, his friends, or as a matter of fact, anything about him. On the contrary, Rob knew about her family, her work, her likes, dislikes. He now even knew that she never drink alcohol and that she couldn't dance. She wondered if she was doing things incorrectly, maybe she should talk less about her.

One such day, she was working from home when Rob dropped by. He was carrying take-out food packets with him and had a serious look on his face, lips clipped together in a straight line. 

'I got food for us'

'Great, just give me 10 minutes, I will be right there', Alina murmured while wrapping up her tasks.

Rob was unusually quiet today, normally, he had enough topics with him, but right now, there was an awkward silence. He cleared his throat before announcing,

'I would be leaving for Australia tomorrow.'

'Oh, work calls?'

'Sort of, and it's a pretty long outdoor shoot this time.'

'How long?'

'About a month, maybe more than that.'

'That's long, will you be in Australia for this entire duration?'

'Not exactly, there are a few other destinations as well.'

'Got it.'

She thought for a few moments before saying, 'Is there anything I can help you with? You look troubled.'

There was no reply.

'Rob, I will take care of the house and I won't forget about our agreement', she could not think of anything else.

He stood and started walking towards the door. 'Have a safe trip, take care!', Alina said loudly.

Without saying anything, he left.

The next few days were uneventful. Alina followed her usual schedule but now, she had friends in the city and she started hanging out with them often. Shelby was one of her girlfriends there and they used to spend quite a lot of time together. Alina knew Shelby's roommates and they were all super fun to be around. It was one day when she was having a sleepover at Shelby's place when she brought about the topic around her living arrangement.

'So, are you ever gonna invite us to your place?' Shelby asked casually.

'Umm..you know that I am living with a friend, it's not even my own place.'

'So, are you planning to stay there forever?'

'Of course not! I am not getting time to find a suitable place.'

'You mean to say, that there is no place of your liking in entire Los Angeles, USA, or that you haven't got time in almost 3 months?'

'Come on now, I will figure this out soon.'

The next day, she was determined to work in this direction, she discussed this with Jeanne and asked her to if she knew any listings. She spent days visiting apartments, discussing and negotiating rents. This has now become like a weekend ritual for her. After almost 3 weeks, she narrowed it down to 2 apartments, both of her liking, and made up her mind to shift into one of these. She had also taken Jeanne to these places to seek her opinion. 

She didn't receive any text or call from Rob for this entire duration. She wanted to update him but hesitantly, she never called him up. Occasionally, she saw some of his pictures on social media when the paparazzi clicked him while travelling or shooting, but she never tried to get in touch with him. 

It was almost October end, about 4 months of her coming to the USA and living in Los Angeles. And it was Diwali the next Thursday, an Indian festival of lights, where people decorate their homes with lights and candles, praying to Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh to fill their homes with happiness and prosperity. Alina was excited about Diwali shopping, she had this idea of decorating the place for the festival, before finally moving out. Her family couriered her a traditional Indian salwar suit, a charcoal grey and salmon coloured one for the festival. She was completely in a festive mood, arranging food and decorations.  She had not taken even a single day off from work for months now. So this time, from Thursday till Monday, she was officially on leave.

She was invited to Shiv's place for Diwali pooja, which she happily accepted, it's always fun to be around people and families during festivities, and for Friday, she planned to travel to Seattle to meet her friend Kriti, she was constantly whining of Alina not sparing time to meet her. Alina was looking forward to the next few days when she would finally be able to do some touristy things.