Chapter 3 : The Ride
They dined in silence until he began coughing, his face turning a shade of crimson. When the coughing persisted, he unfastened the top button of his shirt. Ruhaani quickly picked the jug and poured some water in his glass. "Here, take this and look up."
He shook his head taking the glass from her hand, his fingers brushing over hers. "I think I ate a chilly," he uttered in between his coughs and quickly drank the water she had poured into his glass.
"Feeling better?" She asked as he blew air out, like his mouth was on fire.
"Yes," he muttered, embarrassed. His intolerance to chillies always left him a him in a embarrassing situation.
"Are you allergic to it?"
"Uh, not per se. But I have pretty low tolerance to them. I uh," he looked at her to see if she was still interested to know or had just asked that out of politeness. He had her complete attention. He swallowed and continued, "it leaves me with a rash on the tongue or mouth. I am fine."
She nodded. "You can have my coke if that helps. It's cold and sweet. I am not particular about not sharing food and drinks."
"No, thanks. I am fine."
She nodded. "Do you want to order something else?"
"No, I am quite full actually."
"Okay," she said although unconvinced. His plate was empty. He had eaten a little bit of rice and half the roti after the starters.
She wiped her fingers and placed the dirty tissue on the plate to give him the hint that she was done.
He instantly took the cue, "shall I call for the check?"
"Yes, we can split the bill."
"Please, allow me." He said gesturing to the waiter. The waiter didn't have to be told in particular, he simply brought the bill quickly.
In minutes they were out of the restaurant.
"How do you plan to go home?" He asked turning to her as they reached the valet desk.
"I uh, I will take a cab. Actually my car ran out of battery today so it's still parked at my office."
"I can drop you, it won't be a problem." He said looking at her.
She hesitated but didn't reject the offer. It was past ten and she didn't want to take a cab, it was an hour's drive. "It's an hour's drive from here."
"My driver will drive, so I don't have a problem."
"Okay, if you insist." She said diplomatically, really wanting to take the offer.
Ruhaani passed him a smile as he shut the door of the car immediately as she sat in. He then walked around and got on from the other side. She gave his driver the address and he put the location on to navigator. After confirmation of the correctness he started the car. The car was well maintained, had a pleasant fragrance and the air was maintained at a cool temperature.
The driver perhaps sensed the heavy silence and asked if he should turn on the radio. Aadarsh turned to her, expecting an answer.
"Sure," she said softly.
The driver turned on the radio keeping the volume at a decent level such that they could still converse if required.
"How long have you been working for Womanica?" He asked to kill the difficult silence that was building.
"Three." She answered.
He nodded briefly.
"How far from here do you stay?" She asked.
"Within an hour's drive." Was his modest reply. "So, what do you think about this?" He asked curiously. Frankly, he liked her. She was exactly what he was looking for. He could imagine her to be there for Nirvan and Mukti as a mother figure. Something so far no woman seemed to be promising about.
"I think it's going to be odd, honestly. Like I said, there is a stark difference in our ways of life."
"Fair point. But you always start somewhere. Anyways, tell me what you want from a husband?"
She looked into his curious eyes. "That he lives long enough, so that people don't call me bad omen." She chuckled.
He managed a smile, but didn't say anything. Was that supposed to be funny now?
"It was a joke. A bad one perhaps." She sighed. "Look Aadarsh, you're a great guy. But I am not sure. I mean... you have expectations and I am not sure if I would ever come close to fulfilling them exactly as you want. My priority will always be Pari."
"Think over it. Because honestly, I think we'll make a perfect team."
She stared at him. Something about his comment bothered her. He was right in a way, they had a lot in common. But still she wasn't convinced. "What about love and romance?"
He rolled his eyes and looked away, letting out a sharp exhale. "I feel those two things are blown out of proportion. TV, movies, books, they have spoiled the mind of people. They think love and romance is all there is about life. But that's not right. There is more to life than just that. The obsession for love and romance makes people useless, it ruins them."
"Wow," she uttered. "Deep thoughts."
"You don't agree?" He asked raising an eyebrow looking at her.
"I don't know, I guess. I don't think about it that much."
"Did you love your late husband?"
She smiled. His straightforward attitude was refreshing. "I liked him. Didn't get enough time to fall in love. It was all so rushed, his priority was going back to his posting. He was pretty excited for his new posting, LOC. I was young and like you said...corrupted by fiction. I thought maybe eventually we'd have a love story, one that we'd tell our grandkids. That we'd write letters to each other be inseparable during the times he was back. But life had different plans, it always has." She let out a sigh, adding a barely audible, "at least for me".
Then gaining her voice back she looked at him again, " Our courtship was very brief, in his one vacation we met, our engagement was done and we were married off. I still try to figure out what it all meant to me."
A silence fell. A contemplative silence.
"I love Pari though." She added looking at him.
Aadarsh could somehow understand where she came from. She was exactly what he needed in a partner. They were quite similar if he saw from some angles. They both were sorted in life and knew what they needed. They both had responsibilities of other people as their priority. They were both realists. They didn't have foolish expectations.
He wouldn't have to pretend to be someone else. She could handle his straightforward attitude. Most women would lose interest by now. There couldn't be better match for him.
"Did you like the food?" She spoke up after sometime of the silence.
"Yes, it was good." He answered.
She wondered if it was the truth. He had barely eaten anything. "Do you cook?" She asked.
"The essentials yes."
"Essentials?" She asked curiously turning to him.
"Rice, Khichdi, Dal and so on. You?"
"Almost everything. But I have been told I am not that great at it."
"Well, we have cooks at home, if you're worried about that."
Ruhaani's lips curved into a smile. He was honest but somehow that came across as a hint of uncommon humor She was almost tempted to give this man a chance, it would be an interestingexperiment.. Life with him would sure be funny at least.
But somewhere deep down she wanted that spark, that tiny bit of magic. She wanted a man who was caring, who would stay stupid things to make her laugh, who would smile at her like she was the prettiest woman he'd ever seen. Harsh was all that. Just that she didn't get enough time with him. Maybe she was subconsciously looking for another Harsh. And Aadarsh was no where near the ballpark.
Conversation ceased and she looked out of the window as they got closer to her place. The closer she reached home, the closer her reality began hitting her. Aadarsh may not be someone like Harsh, but he could give her and Pari the life of comforts and security that they had never got. He could give them a name, that would get them respect in the society. He could make their lives very easy.
"Is this the right lane?" He asked as they drove into one of the parallel lanes of a residential area.
"Yes, take the third right from here and then the immediate left. Don't follow the Maps, the lane it's showing has construction work going on, it's almost blocked." She instructed the driver watching the navigation screen.
"You can take my number, if you make up your mind." He spoke up finally when she said nothing. "Or you can always tell your Chachi and she can tell my Bua and it will reach me."
She unlocked her phone. He noticed the picture of a little girl in white t-shirt as her wallpaper. She opened the keypad quickly and passed him her smartphone. He took it from her and entered his private number. He then saved it.
She glanced at her phone screen. Aadarsh Sehgal, the contact name read.
"You spell your name with a double A, is that for prosperity?" She asked with the hint of an amused smile.
"No, that's how my mother wrote my name for the first time." His answer was plain.
She passed him a smile. One thing was sure, this guy had a negative score in humor. "Bhaiya, you can pull the car to a halt here." She told the driver and he immediately did as he was told.
She quickly dialed the number he had saved on her phone. His phone buzzed with an unknown number displayed on the screen. "I spell my name with a double A as well, R-U-H-A-A-N-I. I don't know why."
He nodded. "It was nice meeting you Ruhaani."
"Likewise Mr Sehgal." She smiled and got off the car. "Goodnight and thank you for the dinner and the ride. "
He nodded his head. "Pleasure."
"Bye," she said raising her hand to wave.
"Bye," he said tapping his driver's shoulder to sign him to move on. Ruhaani looked at the retreating car. Her gut didn't give her a good feeling about this entire thing. But somewhere in her mind those eyes left an umprint. The way those dark eyes looked at her was registered in her memory very vividly.
* * *
Aadarsh had barely made it to his room when Abhi and Ashvi stormed through the doorway.
"You went for a date wearing that!" Ashvi exclaimed disappointed.
"And that's what was so important!" Abhi exclaimed dramatically, looking at his sister with disappointment. He then turned to his brother, "How did it go?"
"Why didn't you tell me about it? And why did you only tell him?" Ashvi asked.
"Ashvi, Shh. Bhai, how did it go?" Abhi attempted to silence his sister. Poor girl was always told the important things after he was informed.
"What sshh? I am an adult too. Why doesn't anyone tell me anything?" She complained.
"Don't make that monkey face. It was supposed to be a bro thing. Don't cry over it like a baby and move aside." Abhi said pushing his sister to the side in order to stand before his brother. "Knock knock, I am waiting for an answer."
Aadarsh took a deep breath and perched on the edge of the bed. He was clearly not ready for these questions. He had been thinking about Ruhaani throughout the drive. He hadn't expected his siblings to pounce on him this late at night.
"Don't be a hooligan," Ashvi muttered, as she quickly sat herself beside her elder brother. "Bhaiya, don't listen to him, tell me how was your date?"
"I said the exact same thing!" Abhi exclaimed sitting on the other side of Aadarsh.
"Timeout guys!" Aadarsh muttered. "Let me breathe please. And I need some silence. Stop being at each other's throats."
The other two exchanged looks.
"So bad, huh?" Ashvi asked softly.
Abhimanyu wore a smile but quickly brought it down. He didn't want his brother to feel bad but he was glad the date didn't work in his brother's favor.
"The date went well."
Abhimanyu wore a frown. His brother had a track record of saying phrases like — the date was okay, the date was horrible, the date was a waste of time, the girl was crazy, I am never doing it again, I hate going on dates and so on. But tonight was a shocker. He said it went well.
"Wow, so are you going to say yes to marry her?" Ashvi asked excitedly.
"They just met," Abhi remarked glaring at her.
"But that's what happens in arranged marriages, right? You meet, if you like each other, you say yes. You prepare for the wedding and get hitched. Right Bhaiya?" Ashvi turned to her brother for a confirmation.
"Not so fast. What's the damn hurry? We are in a generation where people court for like years. Right bro?" Abhi looked at his brother to side with him.
"I haven't got the time to think of all this, because since the minute I have returned you two are keeping me occupied with this interrogation."
"Fine. Fair enough." Ashvi said turning to him. "But Bhaiya, please tell me also next time. I am not a teenager anymore."
"But you act like one," Abhi quipped only to get a glare each from both his siblings. He raised his hands in surrender.
"Fine, Ashvi. I will fill you in next time. Alright?" He said turning to his sister.
She quickly wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. "I love you. And I will be the happiest when you get hitched. I am leaving you now to contemplate about your date, but I am going to be back in the morning with my questions."
"Okay. By the way, how did your assignment submission go, it was due today right?"
"Yes," she smiled. "It went well. The reviews will come in next week and I really hope they turn out well. You know..." and she went on filling him about the unnecessary details. He listened patiently, while her brother Abhimanyu yawned. Once she had said goodnight and left the room Abhi let out a sharp exhale and slumped back on the bed.
Aadarsh turned to look at his brother.
"She's naive, I am not." He said. "Not leaving until I get whatever first impression you have in your mind. I don't trust you in these matters. Not even a bit."
Aadarsh sighed and reclined back on the bed, beside his brother.
"How good was your date on a scale of ten?" Abhi asked.
"A seven."
"And what's her rating on the scale?"
"I don't know. An eight."
Abhi's eyes widened and he turned to his brother, supporting his head on his elbow. "You liked her that much?"
"She ticked all the boxes on the list."
"Like?" Abhi asked curiously.
"She didn't talk about wedding, honeymoon or hobbies. She didn't insist on taking a selfie or a picture with me. She didn't say yes I would want to marry you. She seemed honest. She didn't persistently insist on paying the bill. She didn't fuss over anything."
"Wow, rich! So you basically don't want a real woman, you want a puppet."
"It's not like that, Abhi. You know for the first time, I didn't have to pretend to be someone I am not before a woman. And for the record, she isn't too keen on saying a yes."
"What!" This time Abhi sat up looking down at his brother. "You mean she wanted to say a no?"
"Yeah, sort of. I told her to think it over."
"That means you said a yes." Abhi breathed.
"No, I didn't."
"If you told her to think over it, it means it's a yes from your side, to go ahead. A green flag."
"Well, now that you put it that way..."
"Oh my God. Did you fall in love or something?"
"No way. It's just that I finally found a person who agrees that love and romance is not what life is about. She's had a share of troubles and that makes her...
"...a stoic like you. Fuck! This is a red flag. A big bright red flag. A relationship is better with two people who are different from each other because they can balance the relationship. Two idiots in a boat will make it drown."
"Shut the F up!"
"Kids are not around bro. You can say fuck."
"Abhi just get lost."
"No way, not till I plant doubts in your head."
"Don't bother. I think I am not going to hear from her. I think I didn't tick the boxes on her list. So you can save your efforts and go sleep."
"No way!" Abhi remarked loudly. "Don't you see it? She's playing 'the game' with you. She's making it like she doesn't want you so that you start wanting her."
"What are you even saying?" This time Aadarsh sat up.
"She's not confused. It's a tactic. If she says yes too quickly then she becomes easy and it's a general rule that most alpha males don't like easy. So she's making herself hard to get, so that you'll chase her and an alpha male only stops after conquering. She's playing you."
"Okay, timeout. That's enough crap for today. Go sleep. Your brain needs a recharge."
"How did she look?"
"You saw her photograph."
"No in person... how did she look?"
"She looked pleasant to the eyes," Aadarsh said diplomatically, shrugging to make it seem like he didn't care.
"What did she wear?"
"A dress,"
"Western dress or Indian?"
"Are you out of your mind, Abhi?"
"Bro..."
"Okay, that's enough." Aadarsh said getting off the bed. His brother followed his suit. "Get out of my room right now or I will shove your ass out."
Abhimanyu stared at his brother and then blinked. Wearing a look of confusion he walked out. He knew his brother enough to know that it was the last warning. "Good night brother. Happy nightmares."
Aadarsh rolled his eyes and shut the door of his room. Out of all his siblings Abhimanyu was the hardest to handle. The man could get to his nerves pretty easily and fast. He laid back on the bed closing his eyes. It had been a long day. He should probably consider taking a nice warm shower before changing.
How did she look?
Out of nowhere, in his mind was her image. The light pink dress she wore. The round cut of her neckline that drew attention to her long neck. The way a few strands of her almost straight brown hair dangled on the right side of her face. Those dangling peacocks earrings that were hard to miss. And the many rings on her sleek fingers except the ringer finger. The way her lips curved into a smile and she looked at him.
His eyes shot open. He stared at the tray ceiling from where the golden light evenly colored the room. He blinked a couple of times. It was just his mind answering Abhi's questions. Nothing more. He momentarily shut his eyes and there was that smile again.
"Fuck!" He muttered getting off the bed. "Stupid Abhi!"
I don't think it will work out.
He sighed covering his face with his hands. For the first time in his life he had found a woman's company bearable and she didn't think it would work out. He got off the bed and walked to the washroom.
Only when the droplets of water from the shower hit his face, he felt lighter. He could finally think clearly without replaying the evening in his mind. Perhaps she was playing hard to get, after all. Maybe Abhi was right?
But then Abhi hadn't interacted with her. He had. There was a raw honesty in her eyes. Abhi wasn't there to look into those light brown eyes that reminded him of his own mother's hazel eyes. And somewhere beneath her layers of humor was someone who had been hurt and forsaken. Just like he was.
* * *
Ruhaani settled on the bed beside the sleeping figure of her little angel. Her aunt had persuaded her to say yes. Ruhaani had told her that she wasn't really sure if she liked the guy enough to go ahead with the proposal. Her uncle had listed all her shortcomings and why she'd be a fool if she said no to such a guy. He had even gone as far as to telling her aunt to consider talking about Arti if they didn't say a yes for Ruhaani.
Ruhaani held the cup of chocolate she made for herself in both her hands thinking about the evening. Everyone at home was asleep thus the house was quiet. It was November and the winters were ready to come in. The night was pleasantly cold. She glanced at Pari. She had always wanted her to have both her parents. Something she had missed out on.
She unlocked her phone staring at the Aadarsh's contact. She was tempted to take up the offer. He seemed interested in her. He must be a young woman's dream man based on materialistic features but he wasn't an ideal man. That repulsed her but that was also one factor where they were same. She wasn't an ideal choice too.
Texting right now wouldn't be a great option. She decided to wait until the morning. Keeping her phone aside she drank from her cup. The silence of the night only made the noise in her head louder. It didn't scare her, she had grown immune to it or at least told herself that.
She wondered if Pari would like him. She wondered if he'd make a good father. What would his family be like? What was their life like? Would it be the best choice for Pari? Would it be the best choice for her? She had a lot of questions but the answers were missing.
• — • — •
Looking forward to your comments.
—Anami!♡