Chapter 8
Goa
10 Years Ago
R achanna entered her room and looked around, impressed. The room was spacious and luxurious. It had a king-sized bed on one side and a luxurious leather couch on the other. But what impressed her most was the walk-in closet. It was huge. Even if she was not on vacation and had moved in here and filled it with all her stuff, there would still be plenty of space left over.
She opened the bathroom and did a cursory check. Wow! A bathtub. She grinned as she dumped her luggage in the walk-in closet and ran down. Bhanu had taken the room downstairs.
“My room is lovely,” said Rachanna happily as she entered Bhanu’s room. “How is yours? Wow! Nice. Do you have a bathtub?”
Bhanu walked out of her walk-in closet. “No. I know you have one, but you can’t use it now. We have to leave.”
“Now?” Rachanna asked, disappointed.
“Come on! We have only two days here. And I have two night clubs I want to visit. Today, we are going to a hi-fi one. They play Hindi and English songs, and we can dance like crazy. Tomorrow, we are going to another one. I have never been there, but it has some smashing reviews. It is quieter but it has some fantastic food. The photos look very appetising.”
“I am tired,” Rachanna pleaded with her.
“No time for that.”
“Can we at least sit down for half hour before leaving?” Rachanna asked. “I’ll make coffee.”
Bhanu smiled. “Fine. Half an hour. But that’s it.”
Soon, they were both sitting down with steaming cups of coffee in the living room of the guest house.
“I am so glad you were able to join me on this trip,” said Bhanu.
“Are you sure it is not a problem? This is after all an official trip for you…”
“The meeting is hardly for a couple of hours tomorrow. I have no other work. And I have this entire guest house to myself. What am I going to do? I am so very glad you came.”
“Thank you. I am glad too. Although I did not know till the very last moment if I’d be able to make it. Samay fell sick just when I was about to start. Severe vomiting…”
“Oh my God! Then?” Bhanu asked as she took a sip from her cup.
“He got better. I offered to stay back but he insisted that I go on this trip.”
“Really?” Bhanu asked, surprised.
“Yeah. His parents were also there…so he forced that I join you.”
“Hmm…”
After a couple of minutes of silence, Rachanna murmured, “We’ve been fighting a lot these days…”
“The strain must be getting on your nerves.”
“Yes. When we have death looming just around the corner…trust me…it gets a bit too much. And even though we love each other so very very much, we tend to take out our frustrations on each other.”
Bhanu shook her head. “I seriously don’t know how you put up with it.”
“I don’t either. I try and take it one day at a time. And Samay was feeling very guilty because he had been unreasonably hard on me for the last month or so. I have been crying almost every day. It gets a bit too much sometimes. Although it’s not like he can help it either. He is also scared. I understand but sometimes all common sense takes a time off and I see red. Most of the times, I keep quiet. But sometimes, I shout at him. And when I cannot take out my anger on him, I end up crying.”
Rachanna sighed before she continued, “Anyway, he was feeling guilty again. So, he wanted me to take some time for myself. And you told me about this trip at just that time.”
“I am glad I did. I am happy I was at least able to give you this break.”
“Truth be told, I did not want to come… But Samay insisted. ‘You have never dated anyone else. Go and flirt with some guys. Have drinks with strangers. Dance with them. I am all for it! For these two days, consider yourself as single. You are not married for these two days. Enjoy!’ Those were his exact words.”
“Ha-ha. Then we should make sure all his wishes come true. Come on, let’s go.”
“Alright!” Rachanna replied reluctantly as she got out of the couch with significant effort.
***
Romeo Street Club was situated on the side of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was arranged along the terrain of the cliff with the dance floor and a major part of the dining area on the lowest level, just above where the waves clashed against the rocks. As it was the eve of Valentine’s Day, the entire club was decorated with hearts, cupids and arrows.
Bhanu looked at the roses on their table and asked Rachanna, “I forgot about the Valentine’s Day! How come Samay let you go for a vacation on Valentine’s Day?”
Rachanna shrugged. “Frankly, we forgot about it too. Too much to occupy our minds to worry about celebrating this…”
A hookah was kept on the table where Rachanna and Bhanu were seated. Bhanu took a puff and nodded appreciatively. She explained, “It’s PMC. Paan, mint and cigar. Try it.”
Rachanna shook her head. “Oh no! I will give it a skip…”
Bhanu glared at her. “Come on! Samay asked you to enjoy. You have to.”
Rachanna laughed and looked hesitant for a moment. Then, she put the hookah pipe in her mouth and took it out immediately. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Take a puff, slowly and luxuriously. Let it fill your lungs, and then let it out, slowly.”
Rachanna took a tentative puff and coughed. Bhanu laughed and patted her gently on her back. “Don’t worry. You have the whole night to practice.”
Rachanna laughed so hard, she felt tears stinging her eyes. She nodded. She was really going to try.
***
A few drinks and numerous unsuccessful attempts at conversation later, Rachanna and Bhanu resigned to the fact that all they could do that night was listen to music and get drunk. The little conversation that they did manage to hold combined with the effect of the drinks and the hookah , made them laugh hysterically.
Neither knowing the reason for their laughter, they laughed even harder and had tears rolling down their cheeks. After a rather long bout of laughter, they both lay slumped in their chairs, watching the others on the dance floor.
“Okay, come on, let’s dance,” said Bhanu, getting up and pulling Rachanna up.
Rachanna got up hesitantly. “I have never really danced in public.”
“Today is a good time to start,” said Bhanu as they walked to the dance floor.
They managed to navigate the crowd of dancers to stand in the middle, which gave them a relative privacy from the dining area and yet made them feel like that were in the centre of the action. Jugnu was playing, and the crowd around them was dancing enthusiastically.
Bhanu started with the signature step of the song and Rachanna hesitantly joined her. However, the loud music eventually began to have its desired effect, waking her up from the inside, taking over her limbs. Rachanna felt like she had absolutely no control over herself. So, all she could do was forget about the crowd and do as the music bid her to.
She found herself slowly abandoning her excessive self-control. A slow exhilaration took over her. It was fun. And it was making her happy. Happy! It had been days since she had been happy. It had been years since she had had fun. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She pushed her thoughts aside. She was going to have fun today. And she was going to be happy.
Rachanna danced, and then in the middle of it, she took another startling decision. She was going to forget about Samay. Just for that night but she was going to forget she was married. She was going to forget her responsibilities. She was going to forget all of it. She was going to allow the music and the vibe to seep through the pores in her body and possess her. She’d obey the music. And dance. With absolute abandonment.
At midnight, a girl went on stage and lit a firecracker in her hand. She held it above her head, silver and golden streams of stars shooting out, making the entire space look magical. As if on cue, the firecrackers placed all around the club burst into golden streams of stars.
“Happy Valentine’s Day!” The girl screamed into the mic. Everyone joined in. The entire place shook with lights and sounds.
Rachanna and Bhanu laughed with happiness. A little while later, Bhanu excused herself and left the dance floor. Rachanna knew she had to follow. However, it was too difficult to will her feet to leave the dance floor. She was having way too much fun.
She was happy. She loved how it felt when she was happy. Her heart was not hurting as it always did. Her mind was not filled with reminders of doctor’s appointments, medicine schedules, and details of reports. Her heart was empty and light. Her mind was blank as she let her body move to the music. She loved the feeling a bit too much to follow her friend. And so, Rachanna continued to dance.
It was about twenty minutes before her limbs finally grew tired and she wondered of Bhanu’s whereabouts. When she returned to her table, Bhanu was sitting face down on the table.
“Hey! Are you okay?” Rachanna asked as she sat down, her heart beating fast and her breath coming out in gasps from exertion.
Bhanu lifted her head to reply, “I am not well.”
Concerned, Rachanna leaned over and felt Bhanu’s forehead. “Oh my God, you are burning!”
“Yeah, I thought so. Would you mind terribly if I left?”
“Of course not! Come on. Let’s go.”
“No, no. I’ll leave. But you stay. You are having too much fun.”
“I’ve had a lot of fun. Now, it is over. You are not well. I think you are the priority now. We will go home, and I will put some wet towels on your forehead. I will make you some soup…”
“Oh, shut up! Stop playing nurse all the time. You do it enough with Samay. You don’t have to do it with me. All I need is some sleep. I am going home.”
“But…”
“No buts! You are staying here. You are not leaving here until it is 2 o’clock, get it?”
“But you might need me.”
“I won’t. All I need is sleep. I’ll go to the guest house and sleep. Do not wake me up! Understood? You have a spare key, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. I am sorry to abandon you like this…but I want you to have fun. Like Samay said, you should spend some time with a guy. Look around. There’s lots of good-looking guys in here.”
“Nonsense. As if I would ever do that!”
“It’s what Samay ordered...”
“Ordered? Go home and sleep. Your head is all muddled up,” replied Rachanna, laughing.
Bhanu gave her a reluctant smile before she left. Rachanna ordered a drink and as she sipped on it, she looked longingly at the dance floor again. What magic it held!
***
Rachanna was sitting at her table and having her drink when a couple of guys came over. She spurned them away, but could not do the same when it came to Anirudh, who came later. Anirudh was handsome and funny. And very, very persistent.
She did not know how but they had soon ordered their drinks and were having an extraordinarily pleasant conversation. Rachanna remembered having an amazing time that night with him.
“So, you are here just for tonight?” Rachanna asked.
“Yeah,” nodded Anirudh. “The main HR office is here. I had a meeting today with them. That was when I got the promotion.”
“Congrats, by the way.”
He smiled broadly. “Thank you very much!”
She looked at his smile and asked curiously, “Was it everything you hoped for? Did the promotion bring you the happiness you expected?”
“Oh it did!” He said, nodding. Then he added, “The things I had to do for this…you won’t believe!”
“This is done. So, what’s next?”
Anirudh deflated. “I am still enjoying this win. I am not yet thinking about the next…”
“Think about it now. What is next?” Rachanna insisted.
“I don’t know. Maybe, I’ll start a company of my own.”
“Oh, thank God! I was afraid you were going to say the next target is your next promotion.”
“My eventual target is to be extremely wealthy.”
“Really? Why?” She asked.
Anirudh was surprised at the question. Could anyone really question the need for wealth? Wasn’t it self-explanatory?
After a pause, he went on, “Okay. Let me ask you something. What do you think is the most precious thing in the world?”
“Hmm… Family?”
He shook his head. “I think the most precious thing in the world is time. A person is truly wealthy only when he has the time to do what he wants. Only when a person has the freedom to do only what he likes without being encumbered by the pressure to earn a living. Only then is he truly wealthy. I want to become wealthy so I can do what I like.”
She laughed. “Well…you have something there…”
“Of course, I do.”
“But you are talking as a young, healthy person. I think the most precious thing in the world is good health.”
“Well…now you are talking like an old lady.”
She laughed. “Well, as they say…you will know the value of good health only when you lose it.”
He shook his head. “Still talking like an old lady…”
Rachanna laughed.
Anirudh asked, “What about you? What are you doing?”
“I work as an HR.”
“Good for you.”
Their drinks arrived and Rachanna almost gulped hers down. She kept her glass on the table and asked, “There! One drink done. Shall we call it a night?”
He grinned. “I said we both had to finish our drinks. I have not finished mine,” he said, tapping his glass on the rim.
Rachanna frowned. “Did you really say we both had to finish our drinks? I think it was only about you buying me a drink…”
Anirudh shook his head. “Not at all. I remember very clearly. I said we both had to finish our drinks. You really thought you could escape from me that easily, eh?”
She looked forlorn as she scrunched her nose.
He leaned forward, smiled and said, “Do you really think that it’s that simple?”
Rachanna stared at him and then, she laughed. “So, you heard?”
He shrugged. “I always evaluate competition. It’s my nature.”
“Hmm…” she replied, still laughing.
He said, “I will order you another drink.”
She shook her head. “I’ve already had too much. One more, I’ll be nursing a hangover.”
He grinned mischievously. “Let’s hope so.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You don’t know me. I am totally unmanageable when I am drunk. I have already had two different kinds of drinks…vodka and whiskey. Not to mention the hookah . I should stop.”
“No, of course not! The night has just begun. I have just begun to celebrate my promotion…”
She was surprised. “What about the celebration you had just now with your colleagues? Does that not count?”
He scoffed and waved his hand. “That bunch of idiots! I should have just dumped them and come to you in the first place.”
Rachanna laughed. “Yeah. Why didn’t you?”
“To tell you very frankly…I was scared of you.”
Her eyes widened. “Scared of me? Why ever?”
“Because you were alone and yet totally in control of yourself.”
“Hmm. I was not alone. I came with a friend. But she felt unwell and so she left early.”
“Irrespective of that, you were all alone when I saw you and you were totally enjoying yourself. I somehow just loved to see that. And it intimidated me. I mean, I don’t come across girls like you very often.”
“Hmm. You don’t know me. Maybe I have a husband who is dying and maybe I take care of him all the time. Maybe this is a rare break that I’ve got from the long, stressful drudgery that is my life. So, I may not really have a choice but to enjoy as much as I can…when I can...” She pointed a finger at him before she continued, “And with whoever I can. You really don’t know me at all.”
Anirudh laughed. “Ha-ha. Dying husband! What an imagination. You should be in advertisement instead of HR.”
“Aah! I like advertisement too. But…” she said and shrugged, “not everyone gets what they want. And not everyone gets promoted!”
He laughed and ordered another round of drinks.
“Hey! You said one drink!” Rachanna protested.
“Yeah! Look at my glass. I still have not finished my first drink. Come on! Let’s dance.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t dance with strangers.”
He scoffed. “If I recall correctly, a while ago you were doing exactly that. Or do you know all the people on the dance floor?”
She grinned and yet remained hesitant.
“Come on!” Anirudh said as he pulled her towards the dance floor.
***
After dancing for a long time, they made their way back to their table. They were laughing. Rachanna did not even know why she was laughing. But she knew she felt so very good. Maybe it was only because she was drunk. Or maybe it was because of him.
“My God! I am having so much fun!” Rachanna exclaimed, as she took her seat at the table. “Too bad the night is coming to an end.”
“It doesn’t have to. Let me order some dinner.”
“I am full already,” remonstrated Rachanna.
“You have to eat. You have had too much to drink.”
“I am not hungry.”
“You are eating!” Anirudh said sternly, before ordering dinner for the both of them. Rachanna was too drunk to choose what she wanted to eat.
“When are you leaving?” Rachanna asked.
“I leave for Mumbai tomorrow.”
“Hmm…too bad,” replied Rachanna, looking forlorn. She was surprised to realise that she was genuinely going to miss him.
Anirudh smiled. “I know. Maybe you can move to Mumbai too and look for a job there.”
“I totally could,” replied Rachanna thoughtfully. Then, she added, “But what about my dying husband?”
“Hmm…tricky,” he replied, nodding.
“I know,” said Rachanna, making a sad face.
He laughed. “My aunt is here. I keep visiting…”
She shook her head. “Oh! I don’t stay here.”
“You don’t. Where are you from?”
“Chennai.”
“Aah!” Anirudh said, disappointed.
“Maybe you should shift to Chennai.”
He nodded. “My grandmother lives there. I can come to visit her.”
“Hmm…Do you have a relative in every city?”
He laughed. “I do. And they all spoil me too. In fact, when I visited my aunt and told her about the promotion, she gave me this big box of homemade gulab jamun .”
“Oh! That’s sweet.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Gulab jamun s are generally very sweet.”
Rachanna laughed. “I meant her gesture.”
“Oh yeah, that too. No one’s denying that. But how will I carry it with me? All I have is cabin luggage and they won’t let me take it in there. I’ll have to abandon it, I guess.”
“Awww! That’s sad.”
Anirudh’s eyes suddenly brightened. “Hey! You take it.”
“Me? I am also leaving tomorrow for Chennai.”
His face fell. “That’s too bad. They taste awesome. I’ll guess I have no choice but to throw them away.”
“It has been a long time since I had homemade gulab jamun s. And to think you’ll be throwing them away just like that…” she said, shaking her head regretfully.
His eyes lit up as he suggested, “Hey! Why don’t you come to my place? We can finish it tonight between us.”
Rachanna looked thoughtful. “Sweets after alcohol will only aggravate the effects of the alcohol, won’t they?”
“Only people who are not already as high as you are should worry about that,” he remarked.
She giggled and shook her head. “That’s right. We don’t have that issue.”
“ You don’t have that issue. I don’t think you can get any more drunk.”
“I am drunk, aren’t I?” She asked, giggling again.
“You are.”
“Where do you stay?”
“I am staying at the Taj.”
“Aah! I saw it today. It is on the way to my guest house.”
“Where is your guest house?”
Rachanna frowned. Then, she shook her head and replied, “I have no clue.”
“Name of the guest house? Location? Anything?”
She shook her head. “No. I am not getting anything. But I did see your hotel on the way here…”
“Fine. Let’s go to my place after dinner. We will finish all gulab jamun s and then we can deal with that small matter of finding your accommodation.”
She giggled again. “That sounds like a plan.”
***
They entered the lift, laughing.
“I don’t know why I am laughing so much,” said Rachanna, shaking her head. “It has been so long since I laughed so much.”
“You are drunk!” Anirudh replied, as he caught her arm and steadied her.
“I am sorry. I just cannot help it.”
“Is this the hotel on the way to your guest house? Do you remember?” Anirudh asked earnestly.
She laughed as she shook her head. “I have no clue.”
“Can you call someone to come and pick you up?”
“My friend is not well. If I call her, she will kill me.”
“Do you have the details of your accommodation somewhere? WhatsApp? Or email?”
She laughed. “Why are you so worried? We will figure it out later. As of now, we have only one goal.”
They exited the lift and walked in the direction of his room. “What goal is that?”
“The gulab jamun s. We have to eat them to save them.”
“Don’t make promises you cannot keep. You don’t know how many my aunt’s made.”
“Irrespective. We are finishing them nonetheless!” She slurred as they made their way to his room.
They entered his room and Anirudh closed the door behind them.
Rachanna frowned. “Why are you closing the door? I’ll be leaving in five minutes.”
Anirudh looked between the door and her a few times. “It automatically closes. I cannot keep it open.”
Rachanna huffed. “Fine. Get those sweets out.”
“Do you actually think you can finish all of them in five minutes?” He asked as he took out a large glass jar full of the gulab jamun s out of a bag.
She gasped when she saw the jar. “My God! So many! Your aunt hates you!”
He laughed, placing the jar on the table and handing her a spoon.
Rachanna took the spoon and popped a gulab jamun into her mouth. “Oh my God! These are little bits of heaven.”
“Aren’t they?” He asked, having one.
Rachanna swallowed and said apologetically, “I was wrong. Your aunt loves you!”
He grinned. The next few minutes, they concentrated only on eating. But they were unable to finish even half of the gulab jamuns . Rachanna fell back on the sofa, clutching her stomach. “I can’t eat anymore. My stomach is about to burst…”
Anirudh sighed as he threw his spoon on the table. It fell down with a clatter. “God! Neither can I…”
She looked around the room. “You have a lovely room.”
“Hmm… I also have a beautiful girl in my lovely room,” said Anirudh as he threw a mischievous glance at her.
She looked at him and smiled. “You are very good-looking, too. Has anyone told you that?”
He laughed. “They have. But it has never made me half as happy as hearing you say it.”
She smiled.
Anirudh tapped the edge of his lips and said, “You have something there…”
She pouted at him. “Where?”
He smiled. He was about to wipe it off when, instead, he said, “I have a better idea.”
He moved closer to her, dipped his head and kissed her gently on her lips. Electricity coursed through her body, setting each and every nerve in her body on fire. Her heart thudded against her rib cage as she closed her eyes and held his shirt for support.
“Hmm…sweet,” he whispered when he was done kissing her.
She was unable to hold her head steady and she leaned on his shoulder for support. His shoulders were firm and strong. She bit her lip as emotions raged inside her. She murmured, “Kiss me again.”
He cupped her face, tilted it up and kissed her deeply. As his lips ravaged hers, her heart raced so fast that she was scared that it was going to stop.
When he paused, she whispered into his lips, “Oh God! Samay…”
“What?” Anirudh asked, leaning back, perplexed. He frowned as he looked into her face. Her eyes were still closed, and she looked ravishing. He could not believe she was stopping to ask for the time.
Rachanna did not answer and kept her eyes closed.
He whispered. “Why do you want to know the time? Your flight is tomorrow only anyway, right?”
She nodded. Her eyes were still closed. “Yeah…”
“Then you have all the time in the world,” he said persuasively as he pulled her towards him and kissed her again.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him as he kissed her. It was soft at first and then it deepened into something almost savage. He pulled her closer and she moved to straddle him even as they continued to kiss.
When it ended, they stayed in each other’s arms. Her eyes still closed, Rachanna whispered, “Oh God! That was…that was…amazing! How come you’ve never kissed like that before?”
Anirudh grazed his cheek against hers as he whispered into her ears, “I always kiss like that. You’ve learnt about it only now…”
“Will you promise to keep kissing me like that? Forever…”
Anirudh laughed, surprised. “Forever already?”
“Yeah. Why not?”
He looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, “Yeah. Why not?”
He pulled her in for another kiss, raining her with kisses as he left a trail on her cheeks, her neck and on her throat. She groaned but held on to him. Anirudh pushed away and took off his shirt in one swift movement.
Rachanna, who had been away from him for just that fraction of a moment, was already missing him. She was about to hug him again when she saw his bare hard chest and gasped. Then, slowly, she moved towards him and began to kiss his neck and chest.
“Take off your dress,” he said in a gruff voice as he buried his fingers in her hair.
Rachanna shook her head and her hair danced against his bare chest. She moved up, biting his ears playfully before whispering, “Nah! Isn’t that your job?”