Pavan entered the house, took off his shoes, and placed them in the rack neatly. His face was beaming when he saw us both. Pavan had been too guilty for leaving Rupa alone at home while going to work. Rupa had told me the story of how they met only a month before their wedding and how they barely met in their courtship. Theirs was a typical Indian arranged marriage. A few days after the wedding, Rupa and Pavan flew off to London while she left her entire life behind but she never once regretted it. In due course, she even stopped thinking about them because she enjoyed living with Pavan. Every evening, she waits for him to come back home and talk about work and dally with Aira. She said that made her life complete and Pavan was grateful for her as well. Thus, their love never faltered.
His eyes quickly darted towards Aira. He lifted her and planted a kiss on her cheek. He held her in his arms as he turned back to us.
"What are you two gossiping about?"
"You!" we said synchronously.
"How interesting!". He looked at Aira's face and mimicked a childish voice ."Isn't papa interesting, Aira?"
Aira babbled and threw her arms around her father.
The whole scene reminded me of the home I always wanted. Their smiles and waves of laughter always seemed to echo through the walls of their home and I hoped for nothing more than that. I wanted my own happily ever after.
Pavan and Rupa had already made a reservation at a nearby restaurant. I sat by looking over Aira while they changed their clothes. We waited a few more minutes until the babysitter arrived and then departed.
We chattered all the way until we reached the place. It was a rooftop restaurant in Leichester Square that looked over the vibrant skyline of London.
"What do you want to order, Anu? Pavan asked handing the drinks menu to me.
"My usual. Long Island"
"We'll have two of those," he told the server who was waiting by our table.
"What about Rupa?"
He smiled and waved the server off. He stared at Rupa sheepishly and grinned widely. I wondered why they were grinning like idiots. Then I bumped into a realization.
"You pigs! Why haven't you told me already?" I jumped up and hugged Rupa. "How long were you going to keep it a secret?"
"We wanted to surprise you"
"I'm so happy for you both"
We ate and drank in so much cheer that I didn't how time had passed so fast. I excused myself to go to the loo. After I spent my pretty minutes in the washroom, I pulled the door open and I saw that familiar figure again. It was him in his wholesome standing right in front of me. Did I fall in the bathroom or was I dreaming?
He caught me immediately gaping in surprise.
"We can't be meeting like this" I muttered looking up at him.
"Surely not here"
I glanced at the signboards in front of the washroom doors.
We walked away in silence to find some clearing. She stopped near a railing with the London eye facing us.
"What are you doing here? Are you following me?"
"I must ask you that. I work right over there" he pointed to a building that appeared to be a block away from us. I wouldn't know if he was lying but I believed him anyway.
"Oh. I came with some friends from work" I said turning back to look at Rupa and Pavan seated far from us. I could faintly notice Rupa eyeing me suspiciously. I knew she would come roaring with just a twitch of my hand. My hands were shaking under the strong autumn wind. I have been imagining a confrontation all this time and when luck favoured me with it, I had no words.
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked staring at my hands.
"Yes! Yes!" I nodded with urgency. "Just cold," I said wriggling my fingers.
He looked around in dilemma. "Look! It was fun meeting you like this but I need to go now. When are you leaving?"
"Um! In an hour, maybe?"
He laughed. "I meant London"
"Oh!" I blushed "On Wednesday"
"Do you want to catch up sometime this weekend?"
Of course yes. "Sure", I answered casually.
"Are you still using the same number?"
I nodded.
"I'll call you," he said and darted past me.
I stood there watching him disappear from my sight while still trying to register everything that had just happened. This whole meeting felt surreal. Did he just ask me out?
I was meeting him over and over in accidental circumstances which made me suspect that he was actually following me around. But I brushed it off and went back to our table and explained everything that happened.
Rupa frowned in suspicion as I narrated while Pavan looked clueless without the back story. I thought she was going to react but she kept her calm and continued eating.
Soon after the goodbyes, I hailed a cab back to my hotel and crashed onto the thick bed. It felt peaceful physically to cancel out all that noise and focus on the voices in my head. It was a long day with overwhelming conversations and surprising events that my mind couldn't decide what to process first.
I turned the lights off and closed my eyes to take in the darkness and meditate one at a time. I could feel the chaos in my mind running around as images of dancing elephants and weaving lines as they bounced under my eye. I pressed on my mind harder and recollected every single dialogue since that morning.
"I want to smack his face"
"I think you should. He deserves that"
"Why are you defending him?"
"Do you want to catch up sometime?"
Every thought revolved around the same - him. It was concerning to think that he was still at the centre of all my conversations.
Why did I have to meet him? Why is this happening again and again? I had no answers. Maybe it is destiny, after all.
I turned to my side and switched on a playlist on my phone to try and take my mind off it. Though it was difficult to fully sleep, I had something to dream about.
It was the day of my presentation and I reached the office in time fully prepared. Pavan and I entered the conference room with abundant confidence and walked out in triumph. Everything went exactly as we planned and I sighed in relief as a major part of my trip was complete. I sat at my desk and opened my planner to tick off the boxes I finished.
I began staring at the sheet in front of me. The meticulous planner in me wanted to add another box in the end with 'tentative' in parentheses, but the realist in me didn't want to believe that he was going to call me. He was only being polite! He couldn't have been serious, I thought.
The day was almost over, the weekend was right in front of me and I didn't have any plans. He hadn't called yet. The night passed as I curled into my bed waiting endlessly. I slept well that day but I desired the phone call every minute I was up.
The next morning, I woke up and I knew I had no plans. I decided to spend the day lazing around the hotel, probably using the spa or the pool, and have some time to myself ordering room service. I opened my phone to check my notifications and saw some missed calls and messages on Whatsapp. I realized that my phone was on silent since the presentation yesterday. There was a message from Pavan and an unknown number and, calls from my mother. I could perceive who the unknown number was and I opened up the chat.
Hi, Anu. Call me
I didn't deliberate any longer, I added the number to my contacts and gave him a ring. He answered.
"Tell me you don't have plans today," he asked without even a Hi.
"I don't have plans today" I repeated without much thought.
"Where are you staying?"
"The Mondrian"
"I'll be there in an hour. Be ready"
"What? Where are we going?" "Hello" I was only talking to myself because he had already hung up. Should I trust him or would this be another trap? I hated to think the latter.
I quickened my pace and took a nice warm bath, put on my perfume, nude lipstick, and some eyeliner that people considered to be makeup, and walked to the wardrobe. I noticed that I didn't carry anything suitable for a date. I grabbed a pair of jeans and a blouse that I had packed as a spare and threw them on along with a black jacket.
As I walked out of my room to the lobby, I tried to ring him only to find him waiting near the entrance leaning on a red convertible. My eyes froze upon him, observing every piece of clothing on his body. He was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans with a fur-lined blue denim jacket on top. He looked hot as ever wearing a dark blue cap on his head.
When I walked closer to him, he opened the door for me and rushed to the other side to get into the driver's seat. I have never been on a convertible before and I've heard it to be super romantic and not so comfortable but I wouldn't expect anything more. The chilly yet sunny weather, the open roof, and him - it was beyond perfection. I haven't even dreamed of a scene like that.
"Nice car", I smiled at him.
He gave a slight nod. "I'm glad you like it, madam. Are you comfortable?"
"Yes"
"Shall we go?", he said turning the engine on.
"Where are we going?"
"Right now. A detour. We're going shopping"
"Shopping? For who?"
"I'm not taking you out wearing that" he eyed me annoyingly.
We drove a few blocks and stopped at a small quirky store in Shoreditch. He held my hand and pulled me into the women's section. He grabbed a short maroon polka dress that was ruffled at the hip. He was about to get me another jacket but I pleaded to keep the one I was wearing. Soon after changing my outfits in the trial room, he handed me a cup of delicious-looking latte that was served inside the store.
"Are you hungry?" he asked as we walked outside the store.
"Not really"
"But you need to eat something. We have a long way to go"
"Where?"
"Just follow me. I know a little Indian restaurant nearby" he said walking ahead of me along the pavement.
"I asked where we are going after this"
"Don't worry. It's somewhere safe and public"
I couldn't guess what he had planned but I followed him into the restaurant. We grabbed some Roomali rotis to take for the drive. He was being very secretive and I didn't know if I can trust him again. I was taken away by the moment but I never stopped to think about why we were acting as if nothing had happened. I stopped in the middle of the pavement with a jerk.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Can I trust you, after what happened?"
"What do you think?"
"I want to but I'm also scared"
"Just do what feels right to you. I'm not forcing you into anything"
"I know. I really want to trust you but there's so much between us"
"Wait," he said throwing his hands forward. "I know what I've done and we'll talk about it. Just not now. I will give you all your answers tonight. Will you trust me till then?"
"I'll try" I stepped behind him. I wanted to believe that he was not a monster and that he had reasons for his actions. Maybe he is still that child who watched his father walk away. Though he never spoke of it, I could see his suffering every time he spoke about his mother. He couldn't forgive his father and maybe he's been scared of losing people since then.
We got into the car and drove away.