Lucky continued the conversation, eager to learn more about KK.
"Do you hail from Palampur itself? I mean, do you live here alone?" Lucky finally asked.
"My wife was from Palampur."
The coffee almost got stuck in Lucky's throat. She coughed lightly but quickly composed herself. She had guessed right. KK was certainly not single.
"Was? She is..." Lucky looked at him, confused.
"She is no more... She died in an accident a few years ago." KK replied, emptying his coffee mug.
"Oh... I am really sorry," Lucky said with regret.
"It's okay... Would you like some more coffee?" he asked, moving towards the coffee machine, but Lucky immediately declined.
"No... I should be going now. I have to take Tuffy for his exercise," Lucky said, quickly pouring her coffee mug into the sink.
"Oh yes... Did Mrs. Vadola make your job permanent?"
"Not yet. I just hope I get positive feedback from Tuffy today."
By now, they had both reached the living room. Tuffy was sitting on the floor, pawing at his fur. Lucky once again took hold of his leash.
"By the way, if you had to walk two doggies instead of one, would you mind?" KK's sudden question stopped Lucky in her tracks.
"You have a dog too?" she asked, looking around in surprise. Seeing this, KK smiled.
"No, but I am thinking of getting one."
Lucky's mind went into alert mode. Is this man trying to hit on her? But she replied with a smile,
"Sure... Why would I mind. But I really have to go now. It's getting late." she said, holding Tuffy's leash and quickly leaving. KK stood there, hand in his trouser pocket, watching her leave. Tuffy was not as playful as before and was calmly heading home. Perhaps it was his feeding time, so he was in a hurry to get home. As soon as he got home, he jumped up to his 'mommy,' Mrs. Vadola.
"Awww... my baby. He didn't trouble you, did he?" She asked while coaxing him.
This time, Tuffy didn't react in a way that went against Lucky.
"You're lucky that Tuffy hasn't given you any negative feedback. From today, your job is permanent," Mrs. Vadola said, stroking Tuffy's fur, and finally, Lucky breathed a sigh of relief. But the relief was short-lived.
"How do you know KK?"
"W... what?" Lucky jumped on the spot when she heard the question.
"There's no need to be surprised. He recommended you. He told me how you risked your life today to save Tuffy," Mrs. Vadola said, looking at her appreciatively.
For a moment, Lucky was confused. But then she realized that perhaps KK had lied to Mrs. Vadola to make her job permanent. In reality, it was KK who had saved Lucky's life. Otherwise, she would have been run over by his car.
"I'll have someone take you to your room. From tomorrow, all of Tuffy's responsibilities are yours," Mrs. Vadola said, getting up. She called a boy working there to show Lucky her room. Lucky followed him quietly. Outside the bungalow was a small garden, and on the other side were rows of rooms for the workers. The boy brought her to one of the rooms and then left. Lucky looked around the room. It was a small, clean room with a tidy bed and a small wardrobe to keep her belongings. Lucky didn't have much anyway. She locked the door after entering the room and literally collapsed on the bed. So much had happened during the day that she just wanted to sleep for a long time. She had barely closed her eyes for a few minutes when the sound of her phone ringing made her open them again. That was enough fir irritating her. Anyways She forced herself to took the phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen. But seeing the name flashing on her phone screen make her sat up with a jolt.
"Holly crap...! I'm definitely going to get a scolding today..." she took a deep breath to calm herself and than swipe the screen to answer the call.
"Hey Sweetie... What a perfect timing for a call. I was just thinking about you.
You're going to live for over a hundred years, I bet."
"Stop buttering me up. Where are you? You always disappear without a word. Do you even realize how worried Auntie has been since yesterday?" She blurted out angrily. Lucky had no other option but to bear this.
"Umm... I... had come to a friend's house in emergency. I was just about to inform you but..." She replied with nervousness.
"And where is this your friend's house?" Sweety immediately interrupted her.
"Palam...pur.." Lucky stammered in response and tightly closed her eyes, bracing for the explosion. As she had expected, it happened just like that. Aunt Neelam snatched the phone from Sweety's hand and scolded Lucky, "Palampur? You didn't think it necessary to tell anyone before going so far away? Why do you do this, Lucky? Do you even realize how bad the times are? Wandering alone like this can be so dangerous for a girl. What would I do if something happened to you?"
Now, who would explain to Aunt Neelam that the very era she was trying to protect Lucky from was itself troubled by this lone girl. Lucky also knew that Chaddha, to vent his spite, must have placed his men everywhere looking for her, so it was best to stay away from there for some time. And ofcourse, what place could be more safer and beautiful than Palampur?
"I will be fine, Auntie. Don't worry about me. Just after finishing my work here, I will come to see you very soon."
"You always do what you want anyway. Alright... but come home soon," Auntie warned her sternly. A victorious smile appeared on Lucky's face. She had full confidence No matter how angry Neelam pretended to be, in the end, she will always support her. Neelam was a doctor by profession. There was no one else in her family, so she had always considered her patients as her family. Lucky and Sweety had also been her patients at one time. Later, when no one from their family could be found, they were sent to an orphanage. But Neelam had grown quite fond of both girls. So, she supported them in every way and also helped them stand on their own feet. Whether they lived together or not, all three filled the void of family for each other.
---
As time passed, about a week went by. Lucky had completely blended into the local environment. Although there was still a rift between Tuffy and her, Lucky had now learned to handle him. The biggest problem in this entire area was that everyone here was rich. Because of this, it was very difficult to find people for work. Most of the workers here were people who had come from far-flung areas to work. Just as contagious diseases spread rapidly in the slums, the rich people's hobbies spread quickly in the affluent neighborhoods. So suddenly everyone living in the bungalows of that colony started to feeling the need for a dog walker just like Mrs Vadola. But There was no dogwalker available in the entire area except lucky so suddenly she became in high demand. One by one, she got the task of walking about 7 dogs in a row. But instead of being happy She started feeling frustrated internally. She was already troubled by only one dog, now she was forced to walk seven dogs together like a herd of sheep. When she took them out for a walk, the entire road would get jammed because of all these dogs.