Crush - KarEena

Chapter 24

"You don't like it?"

Karishma looked up from her plate, "Uh, yeah. It's great. Just... I think that potato-soup breakfast filled me up," she tried to smile but knew she failed

They'd taken their dinner trays out onto the patio behind the house and had watched the sunset while they ate, in silence for the most part. In fact, they hadn't exchanged more than a few inconsequential sentences since Karishma's telephone conversation with Santosh

She stood up with her tray and reached for Karishma's, "Finished, then?"

"I can carry in the tray"

"You shouldn't. Not with your back"

"It doesn't hurt anymore"

"Will you just give me the tray?"

Karishma gave up and Haseena took it into the house. Karishma heard her moving around in the kitchen, the water running, the fridge door being opened and closed. Background noise for Karishma's preoccupation

When Haseena returned, she brought with her a bottle of white wine and set it on the small table between their two teak chairs. Karishma said, "That'll hit the spot"

"You don't get any," Haseena poured wine for herself into the single glass she had brought out

"Why not?"

"The medication"

"You slipped me another tablet in my chicken breast? Or was it in the Jeera rice?"

"Neither. Because I don't know what you take"

"What do you mean?"

"For the panic attacks"

Karishma thought about playing dumb. She thought about flat-out denying it. But what would be the point? Haseena knew, "I don't take anything. Not anymore," Karishma turned away and stared across the landscape, "How'd you know?"

"I recognized the symptoms," Karishma's gaze moved back to Haseena and she softly confessed, "Borderline compulsive obsessive. Back, years ago. I never counted each heartbeat, or every footstep, nothing that extreme. But everything had to be just so, and to a great extent still does. It's all about being in control"

The topic under discussion made Karishma terribly uncomfortable, "I had a ... a few... what you'd call episodes, I guess. Rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath. That's all. A lot of shit happened to me all at once. Major life changes,' she gave an elaborate shrug, "The recoil seemed to think there was nothing to it"

"There's no reason to be ashamed, Karishma"

"I'm not ashamed," Karishma's harshness implied just the opposite

Haseena gave her a long look, then said, "Well, anyway, the drugs I gave you today would be compatible with anything you happened to be taking. Just so you know"

"Thanks, but as I said, I'm off that stuff"

"Maybe you should go back on it"

"Why's that, Doctor?"

"Because if you weighed five kgs less, I don't think the earth's gravity could keep you in that chair"

Karishma made a conscious effort to stop fidgeting.

"Why don't you just tell me what Santosh told you?" Karishma said

Again, Karishma turned her head aside and gazed out across the rear of the property. It was a pretty spread, the kind of place she'd love to have if she could ever afford it, which she never could. She wasn't, nor had she ever been, materialistic. Greed wasn't one of her flaws. But a place like this, this would be nice to have.