Leo's Desire

by Sundari Venkatraman

  Suddenly, he felt tired, more than before. He raised a feeble hand to touch his son’s head. “You go on and get some rest, Nishaan. Did you meet your Mom? I’m beat. I think I’ll sleep for a while.”

  “Sure, Pop.” Nishaan got up immediately. “I haven’t met Mom yet. Will do that now. You go to sleep Pop. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He brushed back the hair from his father’s forehead affectionately. “Would you like me to call the nurse?”

  Aadarsh gave a weak laugh. “Don’t you worry about that, son. There are two of them that Rajat’s got on my case. They take turns in checking up on me every few minutes. You go on.” His eyelids fluttered closed as tiredness overtook him.

  Nishaan walked out from the ICU, reluctance in his step, as he went in search of his mother. A nurse directed him to the private room that wasn’t far away. He opened the door gently to find his mother lying on a bed, staring at the ceiling. “Mom?”

  Nalini turned with a jerk when she heard her son’s voice. “Nishaan!” She sat up on her bed, beckoning him to her side.

  “Mom.” Nishaan sat next to her, hugging her close, rubbing her back soothingly as her body shook with sobs. “Come on, Mom. Pop’s alright. There’s no need to cry.”

  “That’s all fine for you to say, Nishaan. You weren’t there when he had difficulty breathing. He held on to his chest and gasped. You don’t know how terrified I was. If not for Dayanand, I don’t think you would have seen your father alive.” Nalini had a tendency to dramatize issues.

  While he had waited at the airport for his flight to be called, Nishaan had had a long chat with Dr. Rajat Singhania. Aadarsh’s life had not been in danger because of the healthy lifestyle he led. He ate light meals, mostly home-cooked and at regular intervals, his last meal of the day not later than eight in the evening. He also was particular about having fruits and vegetable salads with every meal. He jogged every day, for six kilometres.

  “A lesser man would have succumbed maybe. But not your father, Nishaan. He also is particular about having a regular health check-up. This was just unfortunate. But well, we can only move forward. With some medicines and a lot of tender loving care, Aadarsh should be out of the woods pretty soon,” the doctor has assured Nishaan.

  Nishaan hugged his mother harder. “I know, Mom. You don’t worry anymore now. I’m here and I’ll take care of both of you.”

  Nalini sighed. “I am so glad about that. I’ll sleep better.”

  “Did you have something to eat?”

  “Yeah, I did. Sagar chacha had sent me a dubba.”

  “Would you like me to stay here? You can go home and rest better.”

  Nalini’s eyes welled again as tears flowed freely. She shook her head, saying, “I don’t want to sleep alone in that bed that I have shared with your father for twenty-eight years. I’ll stay here.”

  Nishaan chatted some more with her, doing his best to cheer his mother up, only she was determined to remain sad. He gave up after some time and tried to distract her with his stint at the farm. But he could see that she was totally distracted.

  Nishaan bit back the sigh that rose up his chest. “So, Mom, I’ll take myself home and get back in the morning. Are you sure you will be okay by yourself here?”

  Nalini gave her son a reproachful look, but didn’t say anything. Even if it was a private nursing home run by their family friend, she was aware that it wasn’t fair for two people to stay back along with one patient, especially when Aadarsh was on the road to recovery. She gave a nod. “You go on, then. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Nishaan got up, kissing his mother on her smooth cheek, before wishing her ‘goodnight’.

  He decided to jog the three kilometres to his house, needing to clear his mind. Rajat Uncle was the expert and he was convinced that his father wasn’t all that ill. But seeing Aadarsh on the ICU bed had shocked Nishaan to the core of his being. He had never seen his father sick, ever. His mother was the one who was fussy. She caught a cold or fever so often. If nothing else, she complained of stomach cramps and took to her bed. His father was always active and cheerful. Nishaan crossed his fingers surreptitiously, making a strong wish that his father got back on his feet as soon as possible.

  His cell rang just as Dayanand opened the door to his bungalow. Nishaan grinned on seeing Chirag’s face before picking up the call. “Hey Chirag, just the man I wanted to talk to. How have you been?” They had been in touch with each other on and off during Nishaan’s managing stint at Wadhwa Farm.

  “Nishaan, welcome back. I only wish it had been under happier circumstances. Where are you?” Chirag greeted his best friend equally enthusiastically.

  “Just got home after meeting Pop. Why don’t you come over?”

  “Exactly what I was thinking. I’ll see you then.”

  “Awesome! Join me for dinner.”

  “Done.”

  Nishaan disconnected the phone to smile at Dayanand, shaking his hand. “Kaise ho bhai?”

  “I’m fine. How are you Nishaan? Did you visit bade saab?”

  “Yes, I did. Pop is recovering and there’s no need to worry, says Rajat Uncle. Has Sagar chacha made dinner?”

  Dayanand nodded vigorously. “Haanji. Madam phoned to say that you would be coming for dinner.”

  “See if it can be stretched for two. Chirag will be joining me.”

  “Sure.”

  Nishaan jogged up the stairs to the first floor and directly to his room. It was exactly in the state he had left it a year and a half ago. He had a quick shower before pulling on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He stared into the mirror as he brushed back his thick hair and grinned at himself. He definitely looked older and wiser than the image that had looked back at him the last time. Thrusting his feet into a pair of rubber slippers, Nishaan rushed down the staircase just as Dayanand opened the door for Chirag.

  Chirag grinned broadly at his best friend, looking him up and down. “I don’t have to you ask you how you’ve been. You appear to be on top of the world.”

  Nishaan laughed, hugging Chirag. “That I am. How about you?”

  “Awesome, man. How’s Aadarsh uncle now? Dad and I went to see him in the afternoon and…”

  “He didn’t look all that good, right?” Nishaan grimaced. “I was also shocked to see Pop there in the ICU. But Rajat Uncle says that he’s out of the woods. No reason not to trust him as he really is damn good at his job.”

  “That’s so true.”

  “The usual for you?” Nishaan raised an eyebrow as he went to the bar to remove two glasses and a bottle of Black Label whiskey.

  “Yes. And you? Did you get to drink since you were living in the job?”

  Nishaan grinned. “Not really. And will you believe it when I say that I didn’t miss it? Not one little bit.”

  “So, how was it, managing flowers?” Chirag laughed outright.

  “You bastard. You know very well that I wasn’t exactly managing flowers, as you call it. Cheers!”

  The friends sat down on adjacent sofas to drink their whiskey on the rocks. “You said there was a wedding while you were there.”

  “Yeah, my boss, Dev Wadhwa, got married to his girlfriend Anya. Lovely couple, straightforward and down to earth. I really enjoyed my stint there. Dev has built a whole community around his farm. I really like the idea and am wondering if I can implement the basics when we construct homes for people.” He went on to discuss what he was thinking for a while before asking Chirag about his business.

  “It’s going well. We have added more clients to our list. I’ve been busy with work and fun. Been travelling a bit too.”

  Nishaan nodded, staring at Chirag unseeingly as his thoughts flitted to Chaahat. Chirag was in the advertising line. Maybe he would know how to launch a fashion model or at least someone who knew how to go about it. “Listen, how does one become a fashion model?”

  Chirag grinned. “Is that what you are planning to do next? Managing flowers, fashion modelling…I wonder what next.”

>   Nishaan threw a cushion at his friend. “Listen you SOB, it’s not for me, but for a friend.”

  “Would that be a male friend or female?”

  “From when have you become such a curious cat? Does it matter?”

  Chirag shrugged. “Of course, it does. But if you don’t want to tell…” he laughed.

  “Okay, it’s a woman I met. She wants to become a fashion model. She…”

  “Does this ‘woman’ have a name?” Chirag drew quotation marks in the air as he looked deeply into his friend’s glowing eyes.

  Nishaan gave him a mock glare, saying, “Chaahat. That’s her name.”

  “Is she as desirable as her name suggests?”

  “None of your business.”

  “So, that’s how the wind blows. Are you in love?” Chirag was grinning ear to ear as he got up to pour himself a second peg of whiskey.

  “How old were we when we last had a fist fight?” Nishaan gave the other man a sly look.

  Chirag placed his glass carefully on a side table before raising his hands in a gesture of peace. “No thanks. You almost broke my jaw then.”

  “Then buzz off.” Nishaan left his empty glass on the table before leaning back on the sofa.

  “Don’t tell me you’re done. One more peg? Shall I get it for you?”

  Nishaan shook his head. “Nope. Not really enjoying it.”

  “Missing her already?”

  Nishaan fisted his hand, studying it for a couple of seconds before raising his gaze to his friend’s. “I believe a broken nose attracts women. Do you wanna give it a try? I can help you.”

  Chirag guffawed. “You’ve got it bad, man, really bad. I need to meet this Chaahat of yours. Where does she live?”

  “In Mumbai, if it’s any business of yours. So, can you help her get into a modelling agency or whatever it takes?”

  Chirag nodded, sobering up. “Of course. It’s easier in Mumbai and I do have a few contacts.”

  “Great. Do you wanna drink more or can we have dinner? I’m famished.” Nishaan got up when he noticed his friend’s empty glass.

  “Let’s go eat Sagar chacha’s meal. I missed his cooking while you were away from home. Our cook at home isn’t as good.” Chirag got up too, taking both the glasses and leaving them on a tray at the bar.

  “Oh yeah, chacha makes the best tandoori chicken.” The two men went into the dining room to enjoy the elaborate meal the Ahujas’ cook had prepared, before settling down in the garden to chat through half the night.

  12

  Meena raised her head to look at the entrance to their home when she heard Anya’s shriek of joy as she welcomed Chaahat home after her six-week stay at Raheja Health Resort. “Chaahat, you simply look gorgeous.”

  The two young women walked in, bringing a smile to Meena’s face, with Dev following right behind. He had gone to pick his sister up after her extended stay at the resort. And yes, her granddaughter looked so lovely, unlike how she used to be, a sick little urchin.

  Meena got up to meet her granddaughter mid-corridor, giving her a tight hug. “Aajaa beta. I can see that the Ayurveda treatment has done you a lot of good. You shine like a newly minted gold coin, my dear Chaahat.” Daadima gave her a loving smile.

  “Don’t I, Daadima? I can’t believe it myself. Believe it or not, I was ready to run away from there after the first few days. Luckily for me, I have your determination to have my own way. That’s why I stuck on. And my health began to turn around after one whole week. My energy improved and then it all began to make sense.” Chaahat grinned at the three of them.

  “What you need is a new set of clothes,” Anya declared, eyeing her sister-in-law admiringly.

  “Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Why don’t I fly you girls to Mumbai tomorrow? You can both shop the day away,” said Dev.

  Chaahat laughed joyfully. In fact, she had never laughed as much as she had over the past few weeks. She had even made a lot of friends during her stay at the resort, her confidence having grown day by day. It had been her idea to spend an extra three weeks to get to her ideal weight and also get into the perfect fitness routine that would help her through life. “Actually, Dev, I don’t plan to buy too many clothes. I need to get a modelling job, like yesterday. They might have different ideas. Don’t you think it makes more sense to find out what I’d actually need before going shopping?” She wasn’t too keen on spending more of her brother’s money. She had already blown up so much.

  Jai walked into the house just then. Seeing him, Chaahat squealed, “Jai, what are you doing here?” She ran up to her twin and hugged him hard.

  At 6’4”, Jai was tall and lean, appearing a total nerd, what with the thick framed spectacles he wore and the longish hair that flopped on his face as well as trailed his narrow shoulders. He hugged Chaahat right back before pushing her to arms’ length and studying her from the top of her shining head to the tips of her dainty toes. “Wah! What brought about this transformation? You look fantastic.”

  Chaahat grinned from ear to ear. That was some compliment from her twin who spoke so less. He had his nose buried in books most of the time. Nowadays, he had added typing away on his laptop as one more activity that kept him aloof from everyone. “I thought you were living up the mountains in Shimla. What made you descend from your heaven?” she teased him.

  Jai smiled. “Aah! Nowadays I work with Dev, as his farm manager.”

  “Huh?!” Chaahat stared at him, dumbfounded, before turning around and gawking at Dev as if to check that she had heard right. Shaan had been Dev’s manager when she had left for the resort. If Jai had taken his place as the manager, where the hell was Shaan? “Dev? Now that you’ve hired Jai as your manager, what does Shaan do?”

  Dev shrugged, hiding his smile. “Shaan’s back in Delhi, running his family business.”

  “What?! Delhi? When?” Chaahat was ready to blow her top, her temper rising like a rocket. She had taken Shaan’s advice and gone to the retreat, and had been eagerly waiting to show off her newly acquired healthy body and looks to him. But the bastard had simply disappeared. So much for missing her. Didn’t the night they spent together mean anything to him at all?

  “Shaan left on the same day you went to the retreat. Some family emergency, he said.” No, Dev wasn’t going to share any extra information unless asked. Isn’t that what both of them had told him? Chaahat had been clear that she wouldn’t send Shaan a message through her brother. Shaan, okay Nishaan, had also insisted that Dev should share his details only if Chaahat asked directly.

  Chaahat felt terribly disappointed, no, heartbroken. Shaan had disappeared. She had his local number. But would it still work now? No, she didn’t care. He had her number. He could have called her any time during the past six weeks. Chaahat conveniently forgot that she had switched her cell off and left it in the resort office and as good as disappeared off the face of the earth herself.

  She straightened her shoulders valiantly, saying, “Forget it. But how did Mom and Dad agree to Jai working for you? And Dev, was there too much fuss about my not going back?”

  Dev grinned. “Nothing that I couldn’t deal with. Just now, both of you kids are in my charge. You’d better listen to everything I say unless you want me to throw you back into the lions’ cage.”

  Jai’s laughter was unexpected—not loud or raucous—but soft and wholehearted. “As if!” He both adored and admired his elder brother.

  But Chaahat didn’t pay any attention to Dev’s reply after having asked the question. What did anything matter now that Shaan had vanished from her life? The others didn’t stop her when she walked away to go up the stairs. She desperately needed to be alone as she was hurting deep within while tears threatened to overwhelm her. How could Shaan do this to her? She had but gone away for six weeks and the man had absconded from her life. She felt so betrayed, more than she had ever felt in her whole life.

  She had so looked forward to seeing the expression on his face when he looked at h
ow she had turned out. He had made love to her before, in the pathetic state she had been in. And Chaahat had been so sure that he would want to love her all the more now. But there was no Shaan to share her joy with. Had he been pretending to a non-existent concern when he spoke to her about leading a healthy lifestyle?

  Chaahat fell across the bed and buried her face in her pillow, crying silently into it. Her slender shoulders shook with grief, all her hopes and dreams dashed away in a single blow. Shaan wasn’t interested in her, not personally. She had been only a passing fancy, a one-night stand.

  Dev walked into his sister’s bedroom, not bothering to knock on her door and was not really surprised to see the state she was in. He went and sat next to Chaahat and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Chaahat, what’s wrong? Is it Shaan? Do you…”