The Beloved

A romantic day off ?

Arohi had dozed off. She was not sure if it was the sleeping pill or the trauma of reliving the past but when she woke up at 4am, she found herself in the bedroom covered in a blanket. The room temperature had been adjusted to feel just right. The light of the night lamp gave her ample vision of the, reasonably large, room. There was a reading table and chair on the other end. She slowly sat up and looked around. That when she say a figure curled up on the dhiwan (day bed) adjacent to the wall.

She couldn't help but smile. She snapped out of her thought when she realized that she had to get to work. She had not planned this. She was expecting to have a nice romantic dinner date and head back home. She needs to get home by 5am so that she could get ready and get to work. She sneaked out of bed and tiptoed, not wanting to wake him up. As she slowly walked past the day bed, she felt her wrist being held. She gasped.

"Daily ippidi thaan 4am ku ezhundhupiya maa?" She smiled to herself but whispered, "Shhhh... Neenga thoongunga. I have to get back home." He sat up, looked at her and smiled. His ruffled hair and sleepy eyes looked so adorable, like a baby. She smiled and released her wrist from his grip but he pouted saying, "Oru naal leave podalaame. Inniki enakku classes kedayadhu. I know this is too much to ask and might also be inappropriate but why don't you spend the day with me?"

She stared at him like she had seen a ghost, "Enna veladareengala? Idhu enna college aa cut adikkardhukku? Adhellam mudiyadhu. Enakku neraya velai irukku. Indha 4 years later naan oru naal kooda leave pottadhu kedayadhu theriyuma? Naan office pogalena Joe ku heart attack e vandhudum. No no. No way." SK's face dropped, "Seri maa. Sorry I shouldn't have asked. Cupboard la Pudhu toothbrush irukku. Naanum ready aagaren Unna drop pannaren. Indha time la Uber is not safe." He sat up.

His sulky face melted her heart. It was very hard to say no to him so, for the very first time, Arohi decided to do something out of the ordinary. She ruffled his hair and said with a twinkle in her eyes, "You know what, I am going to do it." She sent a quick message to Joe saying she will not be in the office due to a personal emergency. She did not need to give him instructions on what to do. She trusted Joe completely and this was an opportunity to show him that." SK was thrilled and he hugged her and said, "Great. Unakku inniki ennenna pannanum nu thonudho pannalaam. Enge poganum nu thonudho polaam. We have the entire day." She smiled and pinched his cheeks. Just then they heard the sound of the downpour outside. Arohi said, "the weather is turning out to be romantic."

She then looked at him yearningly and said, "SK I want this day to be special and unforgettable. I have been able to buy all that money can possibly buy except love. Just for today, can we pretend to be lovers? I don't know where this relationship is going especially after you hear the rest of my story but today, just today, I want to be loved. Will you?" SK was heartbroken to hear those words from her. He cupped her face and kissed her forehead. He then met her eyes and said, "Ruhi today will be all about you, I promise."

As SK was in the kitchen making hot chocolate, he heard footsteps behind him but before he could turn around, he felt her arms wrapped around his waist. His heart rate increased at her proximity. He blushed but cleared his throat saying, "here...here you go. Nice hot chocolate. Perfect for the weather." Before he realized it, she pecked his cheek saying, "Thank you." That's when he turned to look at her and he held his breath. She smiled and said, "I hope it is ok. I needed to change into something so unga shirt eduthu potukitten. He nodded saying, "Yeaaaaa... yesss... yaaa that's ok." She giggled saying, "Yen ippidi olarareenga. Chillaaa irunga chillaaa irunga." He nodded but muttered to himself, "Enna ippidi kollaraale."

Arohi had the perfect hourglass figure. Although she was petite, she was extremely attractive. She had removed her clothes and was wearing just his shirt. He could see the silhouette of her body and he couldn't help but admire her. She had her hair left open and her eyes looked inviting. He knew that she had made up her mind today. She was trying to seduce him but SK had to be careful. Of course, they were both adults and anything consensual was ok with him but he was worried.

Arohi seemed like a very different person. He needs to observe her carefully. He was not sure if she was acting this way because she wanted to experience something different of if there was an underlying problem of a multiple personality disorder. Sometime this gets triggered when patients relive their trauma. It is a way of protecting themselves. Although a very sensuous side of Arohi was coming out SK knew that he had to be kind, sensitive, accommodating but at the same time, not loose control of himself. She was still his patient.

Also, he liked her. He really, really liked her.

Brinda Subramanian