Chaotic Tangles!

8|| The First Confrontation

And now, she wasn't sure if that was true. He was a great teacher, one of the best clinicians she had met, and well, not a bad person per se. Which was also why, she was being attracted to this mystery about him.

Was he or was he not guilty?

What was that actually happened with Aadhya Verma?

Was it medical negligence, or was it something else?

Her trance broke again with Meera's loud laughter, and she blinked to come back to where she was sitting. Putting up a smile, she gulped down her drink and tried to focus on the petty argument between her mad friends, but her focus immediately shifted to a few tables across when she saw Dr. Malik join Dr. Manik and Dr. Simran. She noticed another round of drinks served for them, and some more laughter and probably teasing. After a few minutes, she also saw Dr. Simran leave.

As much as it was unethical, Nandini wanted to know what Dr. Malik and Dr. Manik was talking about, because without a doubt the old man was the closest to Manik here. Nandini stood up, and asked Dev and Meera if they wanted another refill. Both nodded, so she proposed to bring their drinks, and moved clsoer to the counter that was next to their table. The crowd was enough to not draw attention to her, anyway.

"Manik, you are turning 33 soon, why don't you settle down now?", Dr. Malik asked, and Manik smiled before shaking his head.

" I am settled, ain't I?", Manik chuckled, raising his glass and Dr. Malik shook his head.

"All lame girl excuses! You need someone to understand you, hold you through this journey we call life. It can get tiresome alone Manik", Dr. Malik kept his hand over Manik's hand resting on the table, trying to explain him.

"Then why are you here wasting your time, rather than taking Smita Aunty on a date?", Manik teased him, wanting to dodge the topic, though it didn't work at all. Dr. Malik knew him a bit too well. He made a stern face and glared at him, and that made Manik keep his drink back and sigh.

" I don't want to settle, I don't know if I can settle. What fun will you have ruining someone's life, tell me? I tried, didn't I? Four years of a relationship, and what did it end for? Palak and I were together for so long, but we did drift apart. I don't want to take a chance again, I have grown habitual to this bachelor life I think. And about old age, I have thought of it already-", he continued to talk, but Nandini who had been served the drinks had to move away to her table, where her friends were swaying their hands frantically at her.

"How much time does it take to bring a drink man?", Meera pouted, and asked. Nandini shrugged at the question with a guilty smile, and just kept the drinks down. Her eyes kept drifting to the other table, watching the seriousness of the discussion going on. Everything she had heard, only confused her more.

Eventually, Meera got a little dizzy with all the drinks and both Dev and Nandini decided it was better to leave, so they stood up and were about to leave when Nandini heard her name being called. She turned to find Dr. Malik smiling at her, with Manik standing behind him. Dev nodded at her as said he would Meera off and Nandini walked back in, carrying her usual smile.

"So your group discovered this bar too?",Dr. Malik inquired, with a tease and Nandini broke into school girl giggles, a little embarrassed and a little shy.

They had a small conversation, and Nandini didn't miss the frown lines on the doctor's forehead. She tried to take a look or more at the younger man behind him, but Manik didn't exactly meet her eye a lot. Both Nandini and Dr. Malik noticed the same.

"Forgive this idiot Nandini, I can see he is ignoring you", Dr. Malik's straight words embarrassed Manik and Nandini immediately got all flushed, as she forced a polite smile like it was okay, "He just takes some time to open up. And that needs spending time together, so Manik drop Nandini off, because I saw her friends leave and she will need a ride".

"No Dr. Malik, that's okay-", Nandini's reflex refusal was cut down by Dr. Malik's persistent words.

Ten minutes later she was in Manik's car, driving towards her apartment, which she knew was hardly five-seven minutes away.

"Dr. Manik, may I ask you something?", Nandini turned towards him and Manik, surprised, looked at her once before nodding in approval.

"You know, a year or so ago, in that conference, it was all childish. Me, my friends, the tease. You don't need to be so uncomfortable around me for the same", her words were soft, and she thought they quivered a little but she wasn't so sure. She looked at Manik, for some reaction, and wasn't sure if she got what she was expecting.

A chuckle.

She could not decide if it was humourous or bitter.

When she kept on looking at him furrowing her eyes, he offered an explanation.

"I am not uncomfortable around you because you might have had a silly little crush on me a year ago Dr. Murthy. We have crush on so many people, people we don't know. Not a big deal", he spoke, his eyes focused on the road, avoiding hers.

"Why then? You talk so freely around Shweta and other PGs. And the air between us is so awkward that even they notice", Nandini pressed, wanting answers. She wanted to know why was he never sparing a second glance at her.

" We are mature adults Nandini. We don't have to pretend", Manik's voice made her snap her head to him. He had called her by her name, and more than that, his voice wasn't as robotic he always maintained.

When Nandini didn't speak, Manik had to look at her and see her confused face. He shook his head and turned his focus back on roads.

" You have just started Nandini, in a field that I have been in for the past seven years. I am uncomfortable around you for your prying eyes, for the way you always want to find something that would answer your questions. I am uncomfortable because you aren't good at deceiving, when you see me as guilty, I feel like a criminal. I love my department, they respect me but your respect always has a nagging 'if he is worth it?' and that makes me highly uncomfortable ".

Nandini was shocked, was seriously an understatement. She never knew he knew of her doubts, of her actions so well. But now she realised how foolish she had acted. He was a psychiatrist, a renowned one at that. Of course he would understand.

Before she could clarify anything, the car stopped. Manik didn't say anything, just pointed to her left, the entry gate of her colony. Nandini opened her mouth to say something and then shut it off, moving out of the car.

Manik waited till she walked inside and then zoomed off. Nandini turned to see his car racing past her, and stood still for sometime.

She didn't know what to make of anything that happened since the evening. Knowing about Manik's said relationship, and his perspective about settling down and then him knowing about her doubts, it has been an exhausting evening.

And the one thing that hit her the worst was the realisation that if knowing about Manik's predicament of her hurt her that bad, how might he be feeling taking so many so called prejudices around him?