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Chapter 15:
“What do we do now?” Kathy asked Ronnie, worry written on her face.
“I don’t know…maybe we can try to get a lift?” Ronnie said.
“Sahib, highway pe Kisi par bhi yakeen nahi karna chahiye! (Don’t trust anyone passing by this highway!)” The driver warned them.
“Shankar, tumhe pata h yaha pe Kisi mechanic ke bare me? (Do you know if there’s any mechanic over here?)” Kathy asked him.
“Ek hai par kaafi time lagega usko yaha lane Mein! Apko yaha uss hotel me Jana padega aaj raat ke liye! (It’ll take a lot of time to get him here! You both should go and spend the night at that motel over there!” the driver suggested.
“Tumhara dimaag kharab ho Gaya hai Shankar? (Have you lost your mind, Shankar?)” Ronnie yelled and Kathy tried to calm him down.
“Gaadi check karni chahiye thi pehle! (You should’ve checked the car before!)” Ronnie told the driver.
“Sahib, memsaab ne aaj subah hi kaha mujse ki aap dono ko Goa le Jana hai…to Mein kya karta? (Ma’am informed me about your trip to Goa only today afternoon, how am I wrong in this?)” The driver told him and he sighed; he was really frustrated then.
“It’s okay Mr. Shenoy, I think we should go and rest in that motel tonight. It’s fine!” Kathy said.
“Are you crazy? Its looks like a piece of shit! I’m sure that place isn’t good enough!” Ronnie told her. Kathy walked out of the car and started walking in the direction of that motel. ‘Swagat Lodge’ it read and was written in huge red color font with lights around the board. Anybody could see from a distance that it was really small and looked like it hardly had about 10-15 rooms there and it wasn’t maintained properly.
“Where are you going?” Ronnie yelled as he saw her walking away.
“I’ll stay there tonight. You can come there if you want to! It’s better than sleeping inside the car!” she replied and started walking again. Ronnie took a deep breath and looked at her with anger. ‘She never listens to me’ he thought and walked behind her.
“FINE! Let’s go!” he said. Kathy smiled at that.
They both walked towards the small place they called a hotel. Ronnie scrunched his nose as he looked around. The reception like thing was right next to the entrance with an old man sitting there. There were a few chairs, a vase with some dead flowers in it, it had a telephone that looked like it was broken, and the place had some strange kind of smell which wasn’t exactly foul but not good either. Next to the counter/desk/reception were spiral stairs that probably led to the rooms. On the other side of that small space was a passage kind of thing which mostly led to rooms like the kitchen, laundry, etc. Ronnie made a face at Kathy.
“You sure you want to stay here? I don’t think this place is safe! And look at the oldie sitting there, he looks like a villain!” Ronnie asked her, ready to take a U-turn.
“Are you scared Mr. Shenoy?” Kathy asked him, a smile playing on her lips at that thought.
“Of course not! I’ve to look after you!” he said and Kathy choked on her spit.
“Did you just say that?” she asked, not believing a word he said.
“Let’s get over with this!” he said, ignoring her comments and walking towards the counter.
“We want two rooms for a night! What’s the tariff here?” Ronnie asked the man.
“You’re so polite!” Kathy mumbled.
“Heard that!” Ronnie told her.
“Sorry, there’s only one room left!” the old replied after clearing his throat.
“Yeah it’s okay. What’s the rent?” Kathy asked, not letting Ronnie open his mouth.
“It’s rs.500 for a day!” he replied.
“500 for a piece of shit! Wow! Here… Take this!” Ronnie said and turned around.
“Have a good night sleep!” the man said.
“Listen! My driver’s waiting outside! Just inform us when he comes here!” Ronnie told the man and the man nodded his head.
“I’ll message Shankar!” Ronnie said to no one in particular as they both got the keys and walked towards their room.
They opened the door and entered their room. Ronnie snorted as he looked around. The room was very small. It had a double bed with bed sheets that needed a wash, there was a small cupboard like thing in the corner of the room, next to it was a small dressing table with a mirror on the wall. On the other side of the room, was the bathroom. There was a lamp on both the side of the bed and a small 3 sitter sofa and a TV in front of the bed.
“I’m tired! I’ll sleep!” Kathy said as she sat on the bed.
“Sleep here? Do you smell something? This room stinks!” Ronnie said.
“Do you want a 5-star treatment in such a small place? Why can’t you just smile and thank your stars for this! I mean, our car broke in the middle of nowhere, thank God for this hotel or we would be sleeping inside that car!” Kathy said.
“You can smile in any situation, can’t you? I mean aren’t you pissed that things went so wrong on the very first day of our trip?” Ronnie asked with a surprised look in his eyes.
“I enjoy every moment in life! This is how I’m! There’s always something good in every bad that happens!” Kathy replied.
“Really now? You think so?” Ronnie asked her.
“I know so!” Kathy replied.
“So what’s so good about coming on a ‘honeymoon’ with your so-called ‘husband’? Or even better, what’s so good about this contract marriage?” he asked her.
“Come on…we got married so that nothing goes wrong in our lives! Remember about the situation in which we got married? And about coming on a ‘honeymoon’…we know that it’s not that, I’m happy because at least we’re getting a break. We can relax and enjoy this holiday!” she smiled.
“You’re impossible!” Ronnie said.
“I’m just me!” Kathy winked.
“Go to sleep Ms. Dutta!” Ronnie sighed.
“You’re not sleeping?” she asked him.
“I hope I can sleep here! It’s so hot in here!”
“Stop complaining and just go to sleep!” she said and lay down on the bed. She was already in her shorts and a comfortable T-shirt when she left her house, so she did not change in that ‘not so safe’ hotel room. Ronnie was sitting on the sofa and thinking about how to spend that night in such a small sofa where he couldn’t even lie down properly and in a very irritated mood.
“Mr. Shenoy, do you know that it’s not possible to sleep there properly?” Kathy asked him, Ronnie looked at her with a ‘what do I do’ look.
“We can share this bed!” Kathy told him in a ‘duh’ tone.
“But-” Ronnie said.
“Oh just come and sleep here! I don’t bite!” she said laughing.
“Well, I don’t mind if you do!” Ronnie said cockily.
“Fine! Stay there!” Kathy said, turning around to hide that blush rising on her cheeks. ‘Traitor!’ she thought.
“Shift a little and let me get in!” Ronnie said and Kathy turned around to look at him. He joined her on the bed as she made space for him. It was a double bed, but it suddenly looked small when the two of them actually sleeping there. They maintained a distance as they tried to sleep there.
“Good night!” Kathy smiled.
“Good night to you too!” Ronnie replied after he switched off the lights and both fell asleep.
It rained heavily at night which made the place a lot cooler and that made Kathy shiver a bit. She turned around on her side and faced Ronnie unconsciously. The body heat coming from his body made her feel a little better and her fingers wrapped around his shirt and gripped it tightly as if it was a comforter. Her head was now resting on his chest as she snuggled into him. Ronnie’s hands flew around her waist and rested there securely. It was very comfortable sleeping like this and both looked very peaceful, and relaxed in their sleep. If only this was possible when they were awake!
The vibrating sound from the table woke Ronnie up. He opened his eyes and looked around and analyzed his surroundings that’s sudden realization hit him. He looked at his arms that were placed around her waist and her fingers pulling him closer to him in her sleep. He pulled back his hands and tried to move away from her without making any sound. He got up and checked his phone. He’d a missed call from his driver. He called back to ask him if the car was working smoothly now to which he got a positive reply. He looked at Kathy and saw her sleeping peacefully. There was a small smile playing on her lips which Ronnie returned back unconsciously. He thought about the position in which he got up this morning and felt a little guilty even thought nothing happened between them that night. But it was the soundest sleep he had in a long time. He could get used to cuddling with her. He shook his head and tried to push such thoughts away. He didn’t want to wake her up but he knew that he had to.
“Ms. Dutta, wake up!” he said as he shook her.
“Go away mom! Let me sleep!” Kathy said pushing his hand away. Ronnie laughed at this.
“I’m not your mom. Wake up sleeping beauty!” Ronnie tried again.
“Please let me sleep for 5 more minutes!” she said and he let out a breath, shaking his head at her ‘matured’ behavior.
“Okay, that’s it!” he said as he emptied a glass of water on her and laughed an evil laugh. Kathy woke up with a start then.
“You better run because you’re dead now!” she screamed and ran behind him when he ran away from her. He used the furniture as a shield from her and laughed on her angry face which made her go even more red. She ran behind him and got hold of his shirt when he was on the other side of the small sofa. She smiled now as she kept her grip on his shirt and stood up on the sofa and tried to jump on his side but he was fast and started to run away making her lose her balance and fall on his side. His hands went instantly and took hold of her before she fell on her butt. She had a startled expression on her face as her eyes were tightly shut and a very tight grip on his shirt as she waited for an impact from falling down. He looked down at her, panic in his eyes but he smiled as soon as he saw the look on her face. She opened her eyes when nothing happened and found herself in his arms. She looked up at him in his eyes that were already looking at her. He looked away after a while and she stood up on her feet, none of them saying anything.
“We should leave now! The car’s repaired.” Ronnie said after a while. Kathy cleared her throat and nodded.
“Give me 15minutes! I’ll take a bath and get ready!” she said.
“No, you’re not taking a bath in this hell of a place because I don’t think that this place is safe!” Ronnie said and she rolled her eyes.
“Yeah whatever! At least let me brush my teeth and freshen up a bit!” she told him and he nodded. She went inside the bathroom which looked like it was broken. There was a basin, a few buckets, a tap that had leakage, the shower seemed like it was broken. She made a face when she saw this; nonetheless she went to the sink and brushed her teeth and then washed her face.
“I’m ready Mr. Shenoy! Let’s leave now!” she said coming out of the bathroom. She saw that the room was now empty. ‘Jerk’ she thought. She was pissed with him for walking out like this. She packed her bag and walked out of the room after locking it. Ronnie was on the desk, talking to that old man when she walked out.
“Here are the keys!” Kathy said giving it to the old man.
“I hope you both had a great time! You do look fine!” he commented. Kathy’s face flushed and she hid behind Ronnie.
“Mind your own business! And don’t look at her!” Ronnie warned the old man and walked out of there, taking Kathy hand in his. Kathy followed him.
“Sahib Gaadi thik hai ab… Chalo chale! (The car’s working now… let’s goes!)” The driver said.
“Aap ko aaram nahi karna thode time? (Don’t you want to rest for some time?)” Kathy asked him.
“Nahi thik hai, ab 2ghante me hum pahuch jayenge! (No, it’s okay! We’ll reach there in 2 hours!)” The driver replied.
“Now let’s leave!” Ronnie said sitting in his car. He only noticed now that he was still holding Kathy’s hands, he pulled it away immediately. Kathy looked awkward too and sat inside the car. The next two hours went fast and soon they reached their hotel. Now this was a hotel not like that stupid warehouse thingy. This place was huge, there was a staff waiting for the two of them, as the bookings were already made and instructions were given to them.
Kathy’s jaws dropped when she looked at the hotel. She’d seen this hotel many times when came to Goa but it was a seven star hotel and they couldn’t afford staying in such a hotel. The staff greeted them with a broad smile on their face, they were a given a boutique of flowers and a tender coconut with a big heart shaped straw that had two openings for them to sip on. One of the waiters took their bags and took them to their room and the other waiter helped them with the way towards the room. Kathy looked at the huge sitting area with many big and fancy couches where a few people sat, either reading papers or talking to their partners. There was a reception area after the sitting area which had about 4-5 attendants. She looked at the map of the hotel which was next to the counter. It was a sea-facing hotel, they had various water sports facilities in here, and there was a gym, a spa, Jacuzzi, garden area, huge suits and duplex rooms inside. She looked through the glass window and saw that there were a few people playing in the swimming pool, a few kids were running here there, they was a banquet area and a small dine-in place, along with a conference room in the side. They entered the lift and reached to the third floor which had an open space, she wondered why that was like that but questions were answered when they walked through that empty space and saw that there were suits in there. The waiter unlocked their room and Kathy cringed when she noticed a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the handle of the door. The waiter left after Ronnie tipped him for showing them around.
“Wow…” Kathy said as they entered inside.
“Now this is what you call a hotel!” Ronnie said and Kathy gave him a look but turned around to see the room. It was huge. There was a living room that had a huge couch, a small bar, a mini-refrigerator, dining table with all those fancy lightings that were dimmed, a few photo frames, a few vases with fresh flowers in it. Behind the living room was a small terrace that had a sea view to it. She walked up the stairs to see that there were two doors going towards rooms. She entered the first room to see that it had a few gym equipments and was most likely the TV room; then there was a common bathroom after that and even here things were so romantically set up, the bath tub filled with amazing smelling candles, lotions, body wash, soft towels, bath robes, rose petals. The air had a sweet smell of roses. She walked in to the second room and saw that the bed was very soft, the sheets white and silky and was decorated with rose petals; there were aromatic candles everywhere that lit up the room, a bottle of champagne at the side of the bed. There was glass window which gave a sea view there; the curtains were white just like the entire room that had decent, calming color combination.
“Wow!” she said
“Oh Crap!” Ronnie said when he walked behind.
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-Hemii :)