Falling In Love With You

Chapter -15

Pallavan's mind was vaguely clear about what to do with his new wife. Now that he had some idea on how to go about his plan , he pushed away all the tantalizing thoughts about his wife and concentrated on his work. His mind was completely engrossed in his work that he didn't have any notion about time. The morning elapsed by but his hands never stopped their rhythmic staccato on the keyboard.
            A knocking sound came from the other side of the door. " Come in..." Pallavan said without looking up from his monitor but the knocking continued , this irritated Pallavan and he thought
" Why is the person on the other side  still knocking on my door , haven't I already asked the person to come inside?" but what really happened was that , Pallavan was so absorbed in his work that although the words were formed in his mind it never left his mouth and he didn't realise that he hadn't actually said the words out aloud. When the knocking became a mild pounding he called out once again ( in his mind he believed he had already called out to the person to come inside) for the person to come inside in an extremely annoyed tone.
          The door was burst opened  with so much force that it banged slightly against the wall with a loud noise and in came Saravana . Pallavan  dropped his head down into his hands and shouted at his cousin for he knew he's the only one person other than his Amma who would have the nerve to irate and irritate him.
" Shit ...man!  Why do you have to be so loud. You're not some Tamil cinema hero to have a blasting entry with booming background music along with buildings tumbling down and rowdies falling to their knees around you . Now what's the matter da? Don't you have any work to do? What happened to the query I've asked you to consult with our IT tech huh? " Pallavan shouted at Saravanan and held his head firmly between his  hands. He closed his eyes tightly as if the mere effort to look up was painful for him.
        Saravana didn't even flinch at his cousin's display of anger , instead he just went and sat in the visitor's chair in front of Pallavan . His face didn't even show  the slightest hint of disdain towards his cousin instead a sly smile played across his lips. Saravana let the silence of the moment  stretch for a few seconds between them and he said " You're hungry..." in a playfully serious tone. Pallavan neither looked up nor did he acknowledge his cousin's statement , but Saravanan went on " You have a splitting headache now don't you? This is what happens when you go on without food up until late in the afternoon!". Pallavan raised his head ever so lightly and quirked an eyebrow at his cousin who just sat in front of him with his hands folded and staring right at him with the smile still in place.
          "Pffftt..." Pallavan huffed out his exasperation and sat up straight in his chair. He widened his eyes and looked around his cabin as if he was seeing it for the first time. " Really !  It's half past one for God's sake Pallava...! How could someone forget to have their meal ? Why do you forget the world around you when you're working ? I really pity the girl who marries you.... Ohh! Wait a minute ! I nearly  forgot that  you're already married. Pardon me for that Pallava! I really feel sorry for Vasudha who ended up marrying a guy like you!" Saravana declared the last part with his both hands holding tightly onto his chest as if the thought was disheartening in a dramatic gesture .
          Pallavan threw a glare at his cousin which clearly meant that he doesn't welcome Saravanan's comment about his wife. Pallavan outright ignored anything regarding his marriage or his wife and asked Saravana " What happened to the matter I asked you to clarify with Shiva Anna? What did he say about the WBS issue ? " in a sharp tone. Saravanan understood the warning in his cousin's sharp tone and realised that it was not the right time either to poke fun at his cousin or taunt him about his marriage so he got down to business and said
" Shiva Anna said that the breaking down of the components were fine but he said that he likes to have a word with you about the details and sequencing of the tasks. He was so busy that it took me the entire morning to chase him down to ask about this query. Shiva Anna asked me to tell you that he will discuss about the details with you over lunch around 2:00 pm this afternoon."
              When Pallavan checked his watch it was mere fifteen minutes to 2 o' clock. " Why do you always end up conveying the important messages at the very last minute Saravana?"  He once again chided Saravanan and rose from his chair. " So you're gonna take a break just because Shiva Anna asked for you to meet with him over lunch and not because you're hungry. Isn't it Pallava ?"  Saravanan asked Pallavan in an accusatory tone. But Pallavan just stood there and smiled at his cousin for it made him to remember the times when his cousin would drag him from his room  to have his lunch and dinner as he would completely forget about everything when he prepares for exams or interviews and Pallavan felt blessed that he has someone like him to have his back. He realised nothing hasn't changed much over the years between them except  they grew up so fast and reached adulthood to deal with the complexities of the world. Pallavan shook his head slightly to ward off the memories and told his cousin " Ofcourse I'm hungry da ! But work is important too. Now come along Saravana !  I know that even you haven't had your meal , let's get going so we don't have to listen to Shiva Anna mocking us about not being punctual."
            After making sure that Saravana was following him Pallavan opened the door and went outside . He didn't want to think about Vasudha for he couldn't understand the emotions that would start brimming within him when he saw her , but his eyes on their own accord  looked in the direction of the cubicles where his wife would be most probably sitting while his legs took him past those cubicles in the direction of the elevator . In the few seconds that he crossed the cubicles his eyes couldn't find Vasudha there or any of his other team members except for two new people whom he hasn't seen before , a burly man with a beard that covered most of his face and a woman in an orange coloured chudidar sitting on either side the station panel in their cubicles intensely typing away in their computers.
             By the time they reached the elevator Pallavan was thinking about her   " Where did she go ? Shouldn't she be at her cubicle doing her task that was assigned to her ?  Where  would she have possibly gone...?" Pallavan abruptly cut down his trail of thoughts as it was astonishing and irritating at the same time for him to realise that his wife of a single day could permeate his thoughts so easily. As the elevator doors opened, both him and his cousin stepped inside and Saravanan pushed on the button to the third floor. Although the building was constructed only a few years back the elevators had some problems that at times it took a few minutes for it to even reach the next floor.  " Maybe we should've taken up the stairs." Saravanan told Pallavan. But before Pallavan could say anything the elevator dinged and announced their arrival at the third floor.
               As they stepped into the cafeteria their nostrils were hit with the aromas of fresh food and caffeine in the air. Only then Pallavan realised how hungry he was for he could hear the grumbling of his stomach in his ears. Saravana reached a round table with three chairs and sat down . Pallavan followed suit and sat down opposite his cousin. He looked down at his watch and saw that there were still a few minutes left untill 2 o'clock. Pallavan looked around him but couldn't find their IT tech , Pallavan's eyes wandered around the room to search for Shiva but instead he sensed some movements in the area straight ahead of him. His eyes darted  in that direction and they widened in surprise. He saw his wife sitting  with two other of his team members and they had an incredulous reaction on their faces.
           Pallavan saw that Vasudha was leaning in and saying something to a woman in a lilac coloured dress . Pallavan couldn't  see the woman's face from where he was sitting but he thought that the woman's posture and her stature was somewhat familiar.  Saravanan looked at his cousin and saw him looking intently at something so he turned around and saw the woman in the lilac coloured dress raising from the metal chair so suddenly that it screeched the tiled floor so loudly which caused a few people around them to look in that direction , the woman walked away with her head bowed from that very place leaving behind only the clicking sound of her stillettos.
           Saravanan turned around and looked at his cousin with his eyes full of mirth. " Looks like your wife and your lover have become thick 'friends' Pallava!"  Saravanan said to his cousin emphasizing the word 'friends' with his voice that was laced with laughter. Pallavan didn't say anything but just stared at his cousin, however he felt an emotion very similar to uneasiness settle in the depths of his heart and it bothered him.