You and I, plus 2 years of marriage!

BREAK THE RULES

{5}

Arvind drove his car through the busy streets of the city, but kept stealing glances at Rutva surreptitiously. It was half past one and they had made no progress in finding Partha. She had called up many of his friends, but nobody could give her any information about him.

I should have taken Harini’s phone number from him.

Rutva fiercely regretted it because Harini would have given her the vital information about Partha. Moreover she was desperate to know what happened between the two last evening after she left. Now, she was clueless on where to find him. In the meantime, she also kept calling him on his mobile but it still remained switched off. She ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

‘Don’t worry, we will find him soon. He will be fine,’ said Arvind making a weak attempt to make her feel better. His voice sounded so unconvincing that she simply rolled her eyes at him.

‘He better be or else I am not going to spare that idiot!’ she rued and stared out of the window. Arvind couldn’t help smiling at her words. When she spoke over the phone with Partha’s friends, she sounded calm and casual, although she was distressed about him. She was handling the situation with an analytical mind rather than being emotional and Arvind found this attitude of hers very alluring. She was not the kind of girl that he got to meet often. They had already searched two of his favourite restaurants, one mall and his office. It was as if searching for a needle in a haystack! They had to come up with another plan to make some progress in gathering information about him.

‘Let’s go and check out the playground near his house, if he is not there, we will lodge a police complaint,’ she said flatly. He quietly nodded his head and took a right. After a few minutes her phone started ringing and she frowned at the unknown number.

‘Hello… hello…may I know who is calling?’ she said with some impatience. After a few seconds, she gasped loudly and froze. Arvind looked at her with concern.

‘Puttu… where are you… alright! Just stay there, I will be there in a few minutes…I am coming.’

She cut the call and let out a long drawn breath,

‘Was it Partha? Where is he?’ asked Arvind hurriedly.

‘Drive to the city market,’ she said in an expressionless tone.

‘What?!’

‘He is in the market,’ she said looking at him.

***

Partha was sitting on the couch in a pensive mood. He had bathed and changed into Arvind’s T-shirt and track pants. Rutva handed him a plate of biryani that she had ordered from his favourite hotel. She served Arvind and helped herself to some delicious biryani. Partha was exhausted and indeed starving, so he began eating hungrily. Neither Rutva nor Arvind had asked him anything about either the previous evening or his absence. They had picked him up from the city market where he was sitting on the steps which were overlooking the bustling market. Rutva drove with him in the car and Arvind rode Partha’s bike to his home. He stayed in a 1BHK house which was minimally furnished like any other bachelor’s house. After lunch, the three of them sat down in the living room. Rutva sat down next to Partha on the couch while Arvind sat on a chair facing them.

‘What happened, Puttu?’ asked Rutva softly. There was no answer from him. She placed her hand on his shoulder.

‘Aunty was very worried about you. I have already called her and told that you are with us. I have tried my best to make her feel better, but she is still anxious. What did Harini say?’

‘She broke up with me… she said that we could no longer share our future,’ he said with his voice breaking down on the last words. Tears streamed down his face and he shut his eyes in pain. Rutva wrapped her hand around his shoulder and let him cry. Neither did she stop him nor did she prod him further. A single tear trickled down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away. After some time, his sobbing ceased and he calmed down a little. She knelt down before him and took his face in her hands.

‘Hey, I can understand. We will sort this out, okay?’

Partha did not respond, but quietly looked into her eyes. That is what he did when she usually said those words because she made him believe that it was indeed possible to sort it out.

‘You are not alone, sweets. I am with you,’ she said softly and wiped his tears. He nodded his head meekly. She went into the kitchen and came back with a glass of lemonade.

‘Drink this. You will feel better.’

He quietly drank the glass of juice. Arvind watched their interaction in amused silence. They both were not speaking much but he could swear that there was some sort of a mute conversation going on between them. Their silence spoke volumes. After a few minutes she insisted Partha to get some rest and he retired to the bedroom.

***

Arvind gave Rutva a mug of coffee and sat down on the chair. He sipped his tea and watched her sitting deep in thought. She had untied her hair and it swayed lightly in the breeze. Partha was in deep sleep in the bedroom.

Arvind: I am impressed by the way you handled the situation.

Rutva [sigh]: Hmmm…

She sipped the coffee.

Rutva: Thank you for the coffee and also for helping us today.

Arvind: Please don’t thank me, Rutva. He is my friend too. Yet I did not know that he was going through so many problems off late. He never said anything about them to me.

Rutva [smiling wryly]: I would have been surprised if he had told you. I got to know about it only a few days ago. Back then, I did not expect it to spiral out of control in this manner. He has been so disturbed that he has not been sleeping properly for the past few nights. Last night also he has spent his time sitting alone in the market.

Arvind: Anyway he is at least sleeping now.

Rutva [sipping the coffee]: I slipped an anti-depressant into the lemonade. That is why he is sleeping otherwise I doubt that he would even try to close his eyes.

Arvind [gaping at her]: Really? But why?

Rutva: He is slowly slipping into depression. My aunt is a psychiatrist and I interact often with her. I could easily guess that he was losing sleep and thinking a lot about these problems. I spoke to her and got some anti-depressant pills after discussing about his condition with her. She suggested that he should first get some sleep and only then he will start thinking straight.

Arvind: Very thoughtful of you.

Rutva: After so much of hard-work he has made it to the Air Force and we should have been celebrating his success. But we are sitting here trying to get him out of depression. I couldn’t bear seeing him cry like that…

She swallowed hard and wiped the tears which suddenly streamed from her eyes.

Arvind: You did not break down when he was crying. You were strong.

Rutva: Well, if we both started crying, you would have fled from here [chuckles]. There have been instances when he was strong and lent me a shoulder to cry on. Today, it was my turn.

Arvind: In college, he used to speak a lot about you. He always says that his childhood is incomplete without you.

Rutva: Same with me.

Arvind: You know, sometimes I am jealous at your friendship. You understand each other so well. I wonder how it is even possible for a man and woman.

Rutva: Even before we could understand the meaning of a boy and girl, we were friends. He is my first friend and I have known him since the age of three. When you know a person for such a long duration, how can you not understand him?

Arvind: Ehh… Rutva, I want to ask you something, if you don’t mind.

Rutva: Not at all, go ahead.

Arvind: Why didn’t you two get into a relationship? You are perfect for each other.

Rutva [laughing]: We are already in a relationship. As best friends we are perfect for each other.

Arvind: But that’s not what I meant!

Rutva: I know what you meant… Not just you, there are many more who have asked us the same question. People don’t understand and it really irritates me. Why can’t we be friends forever? Is it necessary that every friendship between a man and woman should end up being something else? We are friends and that is all we want. Anything more you add to that relationship, you will ruin it.

He just could not take his eyes off her when she spoke so passionately. The anger and defiance clearly showed in her eyes. She was a woman who spoke her mind and did not really bother about its consequences. He was smitten by her straight forward attitude and confidence. His interest in her had begun to develop even before he had met her, all thanks to Partha’s bragging about his best friend. One day he met her for the first time during Partha’s birthday party and instantly took a liking to her. Since then, he did not miss a single opportunity whenever he was invited to join them in their plans. He secretly admired her but never disclosed it to even Partha. Most of the time, he kept wondering if they were more than friends and that is what made him ask her that question today. Her reply had put all his doubts and apprehensions to rest. So he decided to be brave today.

Arvind: Are you single?

Rutva: Yup!

His heart did three somersaults instantly.

Wow! That’s amazing. Ask her out on a date… but, is this the right time?

                              To  be continued...