The powerful Yougal Lucas felt an unknown fear at the thought of possibility of the past returning to his life. Nirvana was his lost dream. Nia was a dream he could not imagine losing ever. But he understood that the time had come to face what he had been avoiding like a coward.
Yougal Lucas opened the door and stepped in. He felt two pairs of eyes on him and looked up. Yougal Lucas found himself facing a pair of sharp eyes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After the end of the first class of the day as she was walking to the second class, Nia's phone rang with the familiar ringtone she had set for her mom and grandma. She stopped in her track and walked to the side of the veranda. It was her mom, she sounded frantic and lost like a person who was about to be drowned. Nia understood that the tragic events still had her mom in their claws and she had yet to heal completely.
"Mooom...relax. Mom, please slow down and breathe." Nia said in a low, soothing tone and waited for her mom to relax and catch her breath. Her mom was going so fast without stopping between words, she could make out only a few words. The first word to catch her attention was grandma.
Her heart jumped and landed with a dull thud. Then she caught words like old ladies, drink, club, police. They did not make sense. But her fast working brain quickly deduced that nothing bad had happened to grandma.
Her mom breathed deep a few times as she had instructed and seemed relaxed a lot when she spoke again. Listening to what made her mom sound so freaked out and frightened, Nia did not know whether she should laugh loudly at her grandma's antics or cry because her mom acted like she was worried about her teenage daughter's rebellious act.
From what her mom had told, Nia learned that last night her grandma had what grandma and her group of friends termed as one of their old girls' night out at their private club. They usually played cards, listened to music, sang karaoke and of course there would be wine.
Last night was no different, only those old girls had too much wine. Later some of them forced the drivers to drive them around the town. They shouted from the car at the top of their voices, sticking out necks from the car windows.
The end result was, police brought them to the station and informed the families. When the family members, including her mom reached the police station, they were left open mouthed by the scene that greeted their sight.
If one of the old dame was singing in a drunken voice, the other was shooting at the policemen with her hand pointed as a gun. A third was laughing like a maniac, a fourth lectured on politics. Her grandma who was once a renowned lawyer, was enacting a court drama.
The station was in pandemonium. The station chief was clutching at his hair waiting for the families. All the families felt shame at the matriarchs being dragged to the police station. But the culprits were unconcerned about the whole honour thing. When the station chief reasoned with the ladies that they should behave their age, Nia's grandma slurred proudly,
"Young man, age is just a number."
Her mom's voice came through the phone, "Nia, tell your grandma not to act like a teenager the next time. The whole town is talking about it and hooting with laughter."
Nia suppressed the chuckle rising from her throat and replied in the serious tone of a great sage, "It's no big deal, mom. My only regret, I missed the show."
"Nia, you have not learned to drink, have you? Don't take after her. Drinking and driving a car in a drunken state, I won't be able to live. You know that, don't you?" Her mom sounded worried.
"Relax mom, worrying isn't good for your high blood pressure. I don't drink, not a drop. About grandma, let her be. She only tries to ease the pain. You need not bother about what people have to say, they always talk about others."
Nia's mom let out a long sigh before replying, "I know, Nia. After a long time she drank like that. She was not her cool self after she had met Lucinda Sinha at the hospital. She met her best friend after five long years. So much of your grandma's memory is connected with that woman." Her mom paused. "She did not say anything about her meeting, except that she also met Yougal Lucas there at the hospital."
After promising to her mom that she would talk with her grandma, Nia hung up. She had another class and she was late because of her mom's phone call. She would be going to home tomorrow for the weekend.
As she walked towards the classroom Nia decided to bring her grandma with her to spend a few days in the city. In their home town bars were for men. She would take grandma to Zubeen's night club, to bars and take her on a drive around the city. She need not tell her mom about the plan. Even the old needed excitement. Maybe her grandma reconnecting with Lucinda Fiona Sinha was good for both the women, only she did not want any reconnection with Yougal Lucas.