Suarvna's POV.
I clutched tightly on the gear and changed it with more force than required.
"That is not my head you know." Came the humour laced voice from beside me.
I decided to ignore him. Pink teddy for Pinky! And he had the audacity to make me chose it, I fumed and darted a glare outside my window.
To let him drive my car after this was out of the question. And now there he sat, grinning from ear to ear!
I ignored him for the remaining drive and as soon as I reached home snatched the bags from the back seat.
I saw him smile as he typed away on his mobile. No, of course he will not offer to carry the bags in.
Pompous jerk!.
Suddenly I had an idea. "My friend will, I am sure love this cake that I will bake." I said eyeing him as I waited for his response.
He gave me a bright smile as he glanced up from the mobile for a nanosecond. "That is good."
Good??
I got down from the car and slammed the door shut.
"Pinky says 'hi' to you." Shishir's voice rang out from behind me as he stepped out of the car.
That does not deserve a response!
I entered the house followed by him. Why is he still here? Why is he not going away?
"Oh Shishir! How are you?" Anju Aunty asked, sounding pleased to see him.
I did not bother to hear his response and went straight away into the kitchen.
"So what flavour cake are we baking?"
We??
"What are you doing in the kitchen, Mr. Lawyer?"
"Helping you bake a cake, Miss. Would be lawyer."
"You know?" I turned to face him in surprise.
I saw his face go serious and he shrugged looking away.
He knows! He knows I am studying to be a lawyer, like my mother.
And just like that, my anger towards him evaporated, once again.
"A mixed flavoured cake." I said quietly.
"Okay. So what should I do first?" Shishir asked eying the ingrediants lined on the counter sceptically.
I hid a smile. He was clueless how to make a cake and still he is taking the effort to help me.
Damn this guy! Why must he launch these confusing emotions in me? One minute I want to strangle him with my bare hands and the next he makes my heart all warm and fuzzy with his words and efforts.
Shishir's POV.
Mad. Yes she is full on crazy! I eyed the four batters in front of me.
"Suvi, are you sure you told me the right colours."
"Shishir stop asking lame questions and just add the colours."
Lame questions? Pink Pineapple, green strawberry , yellow chocolate and blue vanilla cake is her plan and I am the one being unreasonable?
Surprise element according to her! No one will guess what flavour they are taking a bite of till they actually sink their teeth into it.
Why would someone want to sink their teeth into a blue cake is another thing altogether of course
Cake was never before such a complicated business! Right from buying ingredients to baking to actually eating it, I mused to myself as I reached for the pink colour.
But then, nothing can be normal with Suvi! I know I surprised her by telling her I know about her studying law.
I know she is planning to reopen the restaurant that her father used to own. I hate to admit it to her, or even to myself that I had tried to keep up with whatever she had been doing in the last ten years.
I had been furious with her, still am. But somehow when we met after so long that anger did not seem as important.
"Mmmph-Whha-Shuvi-" I sutured as I felt my mouth stuffed with cake. I smiled as I chewed. Chocolate. I looked at her as she stood with a smile and raised eyebrow, wanting to know how it is. I shrugged, attempting to tease her. "It is okay." In fact it was amazing!
"Ha! You love it, the way you are licking your lips." She said looking smug.
I smiled. "Over confident as always. At least you could not mess with the cake colour."
"Don't worry, the icing will be brightest yellow with green and red polka dots." She said as she placed the green batter in the oven next.
Oh horrors! Polka dots?? On a cake?
Thankfully the icing she would do later. I doubt I could actually stand and witness that colour scheme on something as heavenly as cake I thought as I reached to break a piece of the mouth watering chocolate cake. "Aoow.. Suvi one piece." I pleaded as she batted my hand away even before my fingers could reach the chocolate goodness.
"Absolutely not. You can have tomorrow, after it is completed."
I shudder at the completed image as it formed in my mind. Yellow with those polka dots.
"Shishir, remember you cannot give out the details to anyone. It is a surprise. Okay?" She warned.
I snorted as I took out a bottle of water from the fridge. "Big deal." I muttered.
"I always surprise them." She said sounding indignant. "Like last time I chose nature as my theme for cake."
"Going by your obvious eccentric sense of eating a cake, what did you make? A green sunflower or blue apple?" I asked sarcastically as I took a big gulp of water.
"No, a Yellow and black python, eating a red frog."
Nothing had prepared me for this. The water I had gulped forgot the correct route to take and invaded my respiratory track instead.
It spluttered out from my mouth and nose landing on the kitchen counter.
"Shishir! Careful. The cake." Suvi screamed as she rescued the cake and it's components out of the way from this unexpected and not so pleasing water sprout.
But seriously, first she half chokes me to death with her taste in cake designing and then she is more worried about saving the cake and not a half dead friend!
"What is wrong with you?" She said, without a trace of sympathy as I leaned on the counter wheezing for breath and beating my chest for some air to go down. My face must be resembling the colour of that frog by now.
Yuck! Wrong thought.
"Did anyone even eat it?" I asked once oxygen supply was working better in my body.
"Of course. I mean initially they were surprised and slightly – er hesitant. But once I convinced them to have it they loved it."
"Has it ever occurred to you bake something normal, more human related?"
"What is so abnormal about it? Besides it gave such a nice message. Strong oppressing the weak." She said defiantly.
Are we really taking about cake?
"In fact, initially I had thought about a crocodile or spider, you know unique-"
"Stop!" I barked out, suddenly feeling queasy in the stomach.
"I am going home. I don't feel so well right now." I said as I walked out.
"Yeah right. Innovative cake designing is not your cup of tea." Her voice rang out from behind.
That brought back memories of the tea flavoured Ice cream she had made me eat years back. The memory of the taste still gives me nightmares. To think I had taken a bite thinking it was chocolate ice cream.
She always has been this eccentric with her experiments in cooking!
I decided to visit my father's office as I stepped out of the Tiwari residence.
***
"He is not in." The receptionist told me as I entered the office. I smiled. It felt good to be recognised even though I had come here after so many years.
"It's Okay. I will wait for him." I said.
I took the opportunity to walk around the premises. It was a mixed feeling. Nostalgia of memories of happy childhood years when I visited with my mother, and also the sad reminder, our family was no longer the happy family it used to be.
I pushed those thoughts away and looked around. Many old faces were there along with quite a few new ones. I felt a familiar feeling of pride towards my father, a very successful lawyer.
After about half an hour I decided to check if he was back.
"Papa? Are you back?" I asked as I walked inside his room in office. He was not in. I looked around the room. It was still the same. I smiled as my eyes fell on his awards and certificates cabinet.
This was his prized possession and he did not let anyone touch it. Other than me his son of course I thought with a smile, as I proudly looked at all the appreciations and awards my father had received over the years.
As I lifted one, a package behind it caught my eye. I picked it up and saw it was a bundle of old looking envelopes. I reached out to place it back, wondering why had my father kept these here? Suddenly the handwriting caught my eyes. I read it and realised it was Sumo's handwriting. The envelope had my name and my old address. Sumo had written to me? My heart racing, I looked at other similar bundles kept there.
I stepped back stunned. There were scores of letters from Suvi to me. She had written to me, constantly. Why did I never get them?
In a daze I moved away the trophies and certificates as I collected the letters. Each and every one of them.
I spotted a bag near the file cabinet and did not hesitate to empty it's contents. I filled it with the letters and stepped out.
"Sir, I was just coming to tell you, your father called to say he will not be coming back to office today. He said he will meet you at home later."
I barely managed to acknowledge with a nod before rushing out.
I don't really remember this trip to home.
As soon as I reached my room I emptied the contents of the bag on my bed.
I fingered the bundles softly, trying to capture the feeling buried in them. I closed my eyes as I remembered how angry and hurt I had been over the years at her lack of interest in keeping our friendship alive. How wrong I had been!
I opened my eyes and looked at the bundles. The envelopes were proof enough, someone had been reposting them to my father's office, over the years.
But why?
I smiled sadly as I saw the ink colours. Red, green, yellow- Suddenly I sat upright and arranged the various bundles as a thought occurred to me.
Yes. The colours of rainbow! I felt my throat clog at this sight in front of me. Seven years of the colours of rainbow, one for each year. Then, it was all gloomy black ink.
Her hurt seemed to each out to me from the black colour. She was hurt at my lack of response, but she never gave up on me.
Pain seared through my heart as I remembered my unfounded anger towards her over the years.
I gazed at the letters, my precious treasure of life. I am almost scared to open them. a lifetime of memories and I was deprived of it!
&&&
Shishir is in pain. Immense pain and hurt. He needs to know why this was done ! Or he will keep suffering.
By the way, cake anyone? Suvi is one of her kind! LOL.
And yes Suvi is also studying to be a lawyer. A lot of you have asked me about my choice of the book title. Hope this makes more sense now. There will be not one but two lawyers in the kitchen. :)
Yes this was a surprise and a sort of twist of course.*winks*
Would love to see Suvi assisting Shishir sometime in future, what say?
Do try out my other on going works guys. You may like them too.
1 Love, Anticlockwise.
2 Dancing Dolphin on the blue grass.
3 Castaway –Marooned with a billionaire.
4. Flip side of the coin.
Please vote and comment dears. It will make me so happy.:)
Love, from me to you.:)
Pre cap Chapter 10.
Suvarna's POV
I jumped out of my skin, startled as I heard a loud crack on my window pane. What the hell is that?
Then it sounded again, as though someone was hitting it from outside.
Shishir! No it can't be him. I thought as I stared at the closed window. That was our childhood when we did these crazy things.
"Suvi." I heard the soft, muffled but unmistakable voice.
I gasped and rushed to open the window.
"Have you lost your mind? If someone would have seen you?" I hissed at him, in a whisper.
But one look at his blood shot eyes any further words that might have left my mouth dried out.
I helped him in and my nose twitched at the odour from him. "Shishir, have you been drinking?" I asked in shock.
He did not reply but pulled me in a hug. "I am sorry Suvi. So so sorry."
Somehow I felt he was not apologising for drinking.
"You know I had also written you letters, but angry ones." My head snapped towards him. "Just never posted them." He said ever so softly and fell heavily on my bed.
I stared at his form, his sleeping form. Too stunned to react right now.
&&&
Till the next chapter guys, buh buy.
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