Sanjana’s throat choked with unshed tears. “Did he recognise you?”
“I will never forget the way he ran towards me when I called out to him. It was as if he knew I would come for him. That moment when he yelped and jumped into my arms, I knew I had to take him home or be damned forever. There was no way I could betray his trust.”
Ash gulped and reached out for her hands, grasping them as if he would never let go. “The thing is that I had planned to remove the stash before the party but things got so hectic, I completely forgot about it. I swear if Dumbass comes out of this, I’ll throw out every hookah, everything. I’ll quit smoking.”
She smiled at him, trying to lighten the mood. “Dumbass will make sure you keep your word.”
The hours passed slowly and while the hospital staff checked constantly on Dumbass, there was nothing they could do but wait. With every passing hour, Ash became only more tense, pacing the floor of the waiting room.
“Let’s go for a drive and come back in an hour,” she suggested.
“I’ll drop you home; you don’t need to wait here with me.”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I said.”
Ash’s face broke into a small smile. “Okay. Let’s get some air.”
He held his hand out to her and she put hers in his trustingly. Driving out of the small parking lot of the hospital, Ash drove to Worli Sea Face. The windows were down and the cool, salty breeze with the hint of its Mumbai scent, had a calming effect on Ash. The traffic had eased to a trickle and the city looked enticing in the night lights.
There was something about the city that was seductive—despite the crush of population, the humid weather and stressful conditions. She often tried to describe the allure of Mumbai to her friends back in Nagpur but she never could. It was something you could only feel…like she did right now. Mumbai was a city that needed to be felt, experienced, with all your senses.
“A penny for your thoughts?”
Ash’s voice cut through the dream like haze she was in.
“Just thinking about this city and how it holds everyone in its sway.”
Ash smiled. “Doesn’t it remind you of the song Hotel California?”
“Yeah…you can check out any time you like. But you can never leave,” said Sanjana.
Sanjana got out of the car. They strolled down the promenade. The sea crashed on to the rocks creating a harmonious background score.
“So, you have always lived in Mumbai?” she asked Ash.
“Yeah, I’m your true blue Mumbaikar,” Ash intoned.
His voice though was quiet and didn’t have the amused tone that it normally did.
“And your parents? Siblings?”
He shrugged. “No siblings. Mum passed away years ago. My father? God bless him wherever he is. I stopped keeping track after I turned 18. Dumbass and I, it’s just the two of us now.”
She could hear the loneliness in his voice even though his words were almost dismissive. His devil-may-care attitude seemed a little bruised. She didn’t know what to say or even if she should.
He sat down on the wall that ringed the promenade. Down below the waves surged, crashed against the rocks, occasionally showering them with a few drops of salt spray. Sanjana perched next to him.
“You just destroyed my theory,” she sighed.
“What theory?”
“That, extroverts are generally people who have large families while introverts are, mostly, the only child in the family.”
“Come to think of it, you’re half-right.”
“I am?”
“I have worked very hard to acquire the extrovert image.”
She grinned, “I’d never have guessed.”
He laughed and the sound of his voice resonated somewhere deep within her.
“And you’re a single child?” he asked.
“No, the youngest of three sisters.”
“By your theory, you should be an out and out extrovert.”
“I read somewhere the average size of the Indian family is 4.8. Dad and three of us… we still don’t fall into the average sized family unit.”
His smile was infectious and she smiled back at him.
“So what makes an introvert like you leave your average sized family unit and land in this overcrowded city?” he asked.
She surprised herself by replying, “I ran away….Now please don’t make some cheesy comment about losing myself in the crowds!”
“You’re not a mind reader, yet.” Ash gave her an incisive look. “I was about to ask if you were running away from Chetan?”
“Well, in a way, you could say I was.”
She paused, expecting a smart comeback from him but there was none.
“I really haven’t figured it out yet. I thought I knew Chetan better than most people. After all, we had practically grown up together. His dad and mine had at some point worked at the same office. Our families would often meet up and as I grew up, Chetan and I drifted into a relationship—it was not like we were consciously dating each other but it kind of worked out that way. Everyone simply assumed we would get married and we went along with it. Funny thing is I don’t ever remember him proposing to me.”
Taking a deep breath of the sea air she continued, “My family was happy with whatever I chose to do. But I guess, they were happier that it was Chetan I’d be settling down with.”
“Why was that?”
“Well, my middle sister Meghna… She had a whirlwind affair with a guy she met in college and they were married within three months. A year after marriage, she came home crying—beaten black and blue by her husband’s mother for not bringing a dowry. My father was devastated. At some level he probably held himself responsible for the whole sorry mess.”
“And he now wants you to settle down with someone familiar?”
“Yes, but the strange part is that we never…” She gulped back the bitterness that welled up like bile. “I found him in bed with another girl, three days after our families had decided on a marriage date.”
“The thought of telling my father and sisters about the whole sordid episode scared me. Chetan’s betrayal would hit them hard and I didn’t want to deal with that. I guess I took the coward’s way out by running away.”
A self-deprecating laugh escaped her lips.
Ash took her hand in both his and planted a soft kiss on her palm. “You haven’t told them about Chetan yet, have you?”
She shook her head and gazed into his eyes. The empathy she saw in them made her react impulsively. She leaned into him and kissed his stubbled cheek.
He gingerly took her face in his palms and kissed her lips tenderly, gently, as if he wanted to savour the softness of them and embed their memory deep in his soul.
Sanjana gave in to the taste of salt spray on his lips, to the feelings swirling like an ocean within her, to the tumultuous tide of passion rising in her heart.
The sudden swell and crash of a huge wave on the rocks beneath them drenched them thoroughly and they pulled apart, laughing.
“You, spoilsport.” Ash shook a clenched fist mock-angrily at the sea.
“Come on, we need to check on Dumbass!”
She pulled at his arm and they went running back to the car, dripping from head to toe.
Parking the car in the hospital’s driveway, Ash turned to her and took her hand in his. “Tell me, he will be fine.”
Her heart squeezed and in a choked voice she said, “Don’t worry, he will be fine.”
He simply nodded, pressed her fingers tightly before pulling away.
Inside the hospital the staff were busy attending to another emergency patient and they were directed to another room.
A makeshift bed had been made for Dumbass on the floor and he was lying there. The tubes were gone and he looked like he was taking a nap.
Ash felt a wave of relief sweep through him. He dropped down on his knees and picked Dumbass in his arms. The dog opened his eyes and gave him a quick lick on
his nose.
“Bloody mutt,” Ash said with feeling. “You gave me a scare!”
The vet joined them. “He is fine now. But it will take him another few hours to be up and about. Thankfully, he hadn’t ingested much of that dope.”
“Thank you, Doctor. This should never have happened in the first place. And I promise it won’t ever again.”
The vet smiled and gave him a consoling pat on his back. “You saved his life by bringing him on time.”
Sanjana ran gentle fingers over Dumbass’ coat, “What did I tell you? He is a fighter.”
As the vet rushed away, Ash said, “And you’re a saviour. Thank you!”
Sanjana tried to hide the blush that crept unbidden and turned her cheeks warm at his words. She hurried off on the pretext of calling Pinky and letting her know that all was well with Dumbass. She sent her a quick text, “Dumbass is fine. Will be home soon.”
Chapter Ten
The drive back home was accomplished in companionable silence. Dumbass lay peacefully in her lap and she shuddered at the memory of him wheezing and whining on the way to the hospital. In just the few days that she had known the dog, he had been involved in two near-fatal mishaps. She hoped for his sake and that of the sanity of his parent, there would not be another!
She sneaked a glance at the said parent. Gone was the tight-jawed expression he sported on the drive to the hospital. He was humming along with the Ghulam Ali ghazal that played on the stereo. Her eyes moved to those sexy lips she had kissed only a while back and something stirred inside her. Would she have let him go beyond the light kisses and petting? Her heart did a little flip and she knew the answer—she’d dive into the deep end in the blink of an eye. The realization nearly made her gasp out loud. God, was she falling for him?
Right at that moment he looked across at her and gave her a salacious wink as if he knew exactly what was running through her mind.
“Why so quiet, Lara?”
She pretended to stifle a yawn. “It’s way past my bedtime and I’m totally whacked out.”
“Why don’t you put Dumbass in the back seat and be a little more comfortable?”
She shook her head. “It’s okay. We’ll be home soon.”
She saw him reach for his cigarette pack and pulled away at the last minute.
“You want a cigarette?”
“Just do me a favour, will you? Throw it out of the window.”
She was stunned. “Really?”
“I meant what I said about quitting smoking if Dumbass got well.”
She was taken aback by the fierce determination in his voice.
“You don’t believe me?” he asked, a little piqued.
“I’ve no reason not to.”
He laughed. “You have to give it to the mutt; he has a wicked sense of humour. A kick in my butt to make me kick the butt!”
She stroked the sleeping dog’s head and savoured the sound of Ash’s deep laughter.
“Life does have a way of making you realize what’s important,” he added. “And if I may offer a piece of advice—as a friend—it’s time you had a talk with your family about Chetan.”
She crushed the cigarette pack in her hand and balled it up before casting it out of the window. She saw it being carried away by the breeze towards the sea before disappearing out of sight.
“It’s time I stopped running.”
The sky had begun to change its hues from the deepest darkest black to the grey-blue horizons of pre-dawn. A sleepy security guard opened the gates to the building. Dumbass was still fast asleep as Ash carried him to his apartment and settled him on the couch.
Glasses of wine and plates with remnants of food were lying around and Sanjana automatically started clearing them.
Ash took them away from her and set them on a side table. His eyes blazed with some indescribable emotion as he caressed her lips with his long fingers. The throb in her heart became painful. She felt herself drowning in the piercing intensity of his gaze.
“Am I wrong to think that we shared something special tonight?” he asked hoarsely.
She knew he would find the answer in her eyes but her lips refused to speak.
He wouldn’t let her have the easy way out. “Tell me you’re attracted to me. That you want me to kiss you senseless. That you want me as much as I want you.”
His lips skimmed the edge of her eyebrow and she felt her body jerk closer to his. His lips journeyed down a sensuous trail, touching her cheekbones, moving lower to her jawline, making her go wild with desire. Her breath hitched and she angled her face so that his warm breath fell on her lips.
“Please, kiss me.” She heard herself beg but she was beyond caring.
His mouth swooped down as hers opened to let his tongue in. She felt his hand creep under her shirt and cup her breast in his warm palm. Sensation zinged through her as she clung to him, kissing him back with a ferocity that stunned her. His thumb was playing havoc with her nipple and she let out a moan of sheer delight.
“You can drive any man insane,” he murmured in her hair.
He buried his face into her neck and nipped it lightly with his teeth.
She had never felt anything like this ever with Chetan but why then was she imagining that he was in the room?
“Sanjana!”
The shocked voice broke through her lust-induced senses and her heart nearly ripped out of her chest.
She wasn’t imagining him. Chetan was standing right there at the half-ajar door. She wriggled in Ash’s arms as he loosened his hold on her and turned around. Pulling her shirt down, she tried to gather some of her scrambled wits together.
Chetan was spluttering with rage. “Have you gone totally mad? Spending the night with this…this…”
Ash folded his arms across his chest and raised an imperious eyebrow. “Bastard.”
Instantly, Chetan’s focus turned to Ash. “What did you say?”
Ash shrugged. “I was just trying to be helpful, since you couldn’t find an appropriate word to describe me.”
“F--- you,” Chetan screamed.
Sanjana was propelled into action. She hurried out of Ash’s apartment without looking at either of the two men.
“Right back at you, dude.”
She heard the laughter in Ash’s voice as Chetan followed her out.
A barrage of emotions pounded inside her. From incredulity at Chetan’s totally unwelcome appearance to annoyance and finally embarrassment to be caught in flagrante. Much as she tried to justify her actions to herself, she couldn’t miss the irony of the situation. A smile rose unbidden to lips at the thought that she couldn’t have planned a better revenge on him even if she had tried to.
Chetan who had not stopped ranting even for a second, while she unlocked the door of her apartment, came to a dead halt in the middle of the living room. His words dried up as he spied the smile on her face.
“What the heck are you grinning about?”
“Nothing,” she said nonchalantly. “If you’ve finished ranting about me and my ‘whorish’ behaviour, let me point out one small fact to you. You’re not my fiancé. You are not my boyfriend. You’re nobody. Period.”
She was calm, and it felt so good to finally let it out. Without emotion. It felt like she had crossed an invisible boundary.
He looked at her, momentarily stumped.
“Listen to me,” he said.
“No,” she shook her head vigorously. “You listen to me. Please leave. And don’t come back. I will let my father know…”
He jumped in before she could finish. “Let him know that you’re sleeping with a man you barely know?”
“You—”
He wouldn’t let her get a word in edgewise. “You will tell your father who had a silent heart attack three days ago that you have decided to ditch me.”
The words ‘silent heart attack’ made her head whirl. “What—”
“I’m sure you won’t think twice about spoiling his surprise gift for you?”<
br />
“What are you talking about?”
“His wedding gift for us. To send us to the United States, so that you can pursue a degree in museology and I can do my MBA.”
It was her turn to be totally stumped—yo-yoing between incredulity and disappointment and worry for her father. This was a total disaster. She’d no idea that Pappaji had had a silent heart attack or that he’d been planning to throw away all his savings on this ridiculous wedding gift!
Chetan stood there waiting for her reaction. And then it dawned on her—the reason why he’d been hounding her day and night, pretending to apologise for his ‘mistakes’. Her eyes blazed fire while her voice remained cold as stone. “Oh, so that’s the real reason you want me back in your life? The prospect of getting a free ride to the US was too good to give up?”
“Sanju, believe me, from the moment I…I went out with Sheela, I have regretted it.”
“No, I made the blunder… of believing in you. How could I even think of marrying an opportunistic monster like you? After reaching the US, you plan to dump me as well?”
“How can you say that?” Chetan stuttered.
The more she thought about it, the more she was agitated.
“I don’t want to see your dirty lying face ever again, Chetan. Just get out of my house.”
“You need to think about this calmly, Sanju. You can’t take out your anger on your father. It will kill him.”
That was the last straw. “Now, you’re down to blackmail, you despicable bastard!”
She had not raised her voice but the intensity of her emotions made Chetan step back from her, turn around and leave.
She collapsed into the chair and sank her face into her palms. She just sat there—her head as blank as a page; her emotions churning like the sea. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Pinky.
“What will you do, Sanjana?”
It was a million dollar question and she didn’t have a clue!
Chapter Eleven
Life had never been as chaotic or sleep-deprived for Sanjana. A quick shut-eye was all she had managed before she had to dash for work. She was determined to put Chetan and his slimy-ness out of her mind and concentrate on getting the sketches done. She’d barely settled into her workspace and powered her laptop when the phone on her desk buzzed. It was Sir – his terse ‘Come into my office please’ had an ominous ring to it.
Bombay Heights- Sleepless in the City of Dreams Page 9
