You and I, plus 2 years of marriage!

CHASTE GANGES 

{7}

Nithyayuvani let out a sigh gazing at the sea. She was at the Gateway of India for the evening. It was a Friday and she had taken half day off from her assignment in Mumbai just to find Ronav. She was dejected when she learnt that he was on leave that day. She would have to wait till Monday to see him at office. Although she could have called him, she did not want to do it. After their last conversation, she had to first meet him in person and it simply would not work over phone.

She sat on the promenade on Marine drive and watched the waves lash the stones. The lights from the ships anchored in the sea shone like stars. Suddenly amidst all the people jostling around, the back of a man caught her attention. She strained her neck to get a better view of him. When he turned around, her heart stopped beating!

Ronav!

She stood up and started walking towards him. She was seeing him after five months! If only her basic sense of rational brain did not stop her, she would have run straight into his arms. After seeing him she realized how much she had missed being around him. Once she got a closer look at him, she stopped in her tracks. He was standing there with a baby carrier slung from his shoulder. A cute baby was peeping out from it and gazing at the lights. He lovingly wrapped a hand around the baby. They both smiled at each other. Nithyayuvani felt a sudden pain grip her heart. She really could not fathom the unrest in her mind and something stopped her from going near him. Suddenly he caught her eyes staring at him and impulsively raised his hand to wave at her. For a moment, he was confused if he was waving at a look alike of Nithyayuvani, the woman who had effortlessly stolen his heart. But his instincts could not go wrong and he began walking toward her. She stood rooted to the spot.

‘Hi Nithyayuvani,’ he said stretching his hand.

‘Hi,’ she said bluntly and shook his hand. It was indeed a very awkward moment. The baby looked at her curiously, but she could not help smiling at it.

‘Who is this?’

Ronav was quiet for moment and caressed the baby’s head.

‘Meet my daughter, Pari.’

‘What!!??’ she squealed. A few men and women around them gave her a dirty look.

‘Shhh! Relax, Nithya.’

‘You mean to say this child is yours, biologically?’

‘Well, she looks a lot like her mother but she is mine.’

‘How? I mean, when? Who is her mother?’

‘It is complicated. Anyway it has nothing to do with you,’ he said shrugging. Pari did not seem very interested with their conversation and started making noise. He soothed her back and lovingly kissed her forehead.

‘By the way, what are you doing in Mumbai?’

‘I am here on an assignment for a couple of months,’ she replied. It was a partial lie because her main intention was to meet him and not the assignment. Yet she could not bring it on her lips.

‘All the best for it. Would you please excuse us? I have to take her home to feed her. It is her dinner time. Nice meeting you, bye.’

He did not wait for her and turned around to leave.

‘Ronav, just a minute!’

He stopped and looked at her knitting his eyebrows.

‘What happened? Do you have something more to say?’ he asked feigning ignorance.

‘Can I join you for dinner?’

He smiled at her question which certainly did not surprise him. In fact, he was expecting it because he could read her like an open book.

‘Sure.’

***

They reached an apartment and entered the lift. Once inside the elevator, Nithyayuvani gazed at Ronav for a couple of moments. The memory of the night when he had kissed her rushed back to her mind. She blushed uncomfortably and looked away from him. They were not alone in the lift because three more people joined them. This helped her regain her composure soon enough. Pari was a sweet little kid. She was quite comfortable even when Nithyayuvani picked her up while Ronav prepared her baby food. He adored Pari and it was quite evident in the way he changed her diapers with utmost care. The child did not look like she ever missed her mother because she was equally happy being with him. Nithyayuvani looked around the living room to see if she could find any pictures of Pari’s mother, but she found none. Once the baby was fed, he rocked her in his arms and put her to sleep.

Later they ate dinner in silence which was occasionally disturbed by their small talk about work, friends and weather. She was not at ease ever since she had met him. He did not miss her discomfort in the way she stammered at times or fidgeted with her dupatta. She did not raise the topic of his daughter again. After dinner he insisted her to stay back for a cup of coffee and she obliged without protest. They both stood on the balcony to drink hot coffee.

‘Why did you come to Mumbai?’ he asked out of the blue. She was pulled back from her thoughts which had drifted away into the busy streets of the city below.

‘I told you already. I am here for my assignment.’

‘Oh okay.’

He continued drinking his coffee. She swallowed hard and gazed at her half full cup.

‘I came here for you,’ she said letting out a deep breath. Ronav almost spilt the coffee from the cup. He placed his cup on the table.

‘What?!’

‘Yes, Ronav. It took me days of brooding over you to realize that you hold a very special place in my heart. I literally begged my senior editor to put me on the Mumbai assignment. I had gone to your office today but you were on leave. I would have once again come to your office on Monday too, if I had not seen you today.’

She poured out everything which was buried in her heart. It was hurting her so much that she could no longer take the burden. She placed her unfinished cup of coffee on the table.

‘I really don’t know what is making me tell you everything but I can no longer hide it. I should have known that you would have moved on in life, but I always thought that you would be waiting for me. You have a really cute daughter and I wish you all happiness in life. Goodbye.’

‘Pari is not my daughter. She is my sister,’ he said with a broad smile. Her jaw dropped and she gawked at him in shock.

‘You lied to me?’

‘Yes. The moment I saw you here, I could easily guess why you—’

Even before he finished his sentence her lips silenced his. He held her neck and they both kissed deeply. They were breathless when she broke the kiss.

‘Hey, you still haven’t told me what you wanted to say,’ he whispered.

‘You already know it. I love you Ronav. I love you so much,’ she breathed.

‘I love you too.’

Once again they kissed but this it time it was slow and intense. They drifted into the dark night with the fire of love burning in their hearts.

***

3.48 am.

Nithyayuvani was woken by the sound of a crying baby. She yawned and opened her eyes. Unable to see anything in the darkness, she switched on the bed lamp. Sleepily she walked out of the room in the direction from where she heard the noise. The kitchen light was on and Ronav was taking a can of milk from the fridge. He had slung the baby carrier and Pari was wailing loudly against his chest. He looked very adorable in his boxers and clueless eyes.

‘What are you doing?’ she asked with an amused smile. He shook his head feasting his eyes on her bare long legs. She had worn his pair of boxers and t-shirt to bed.

‘You should be sleeping now.’

She went up to him and gave him a quick kiss before taking the can of milk from his hand. She poured it into a vessel and heated the milk. He paced around trying to comfort Pari.

‘She must be very hungry,’ said Nithyayuvani.

‘Yeah. She usually wakes up around 3.30 for milk. I usually check on her but today, I overslept and woke up only when she began to cry,’ he said apologetically. She smiled hearing his words.

‘By the way, you look sexy in my clothes.’

She winked at him and poured the warm milk into the bottle. He sat down on the sofa and began to feed Pari through the feeding bottle. She hungrily sucked milk from the bottle.

‘Now, will please solve this mystery of your baby sister?’ she asked stretching out on the couch.

‘Are you really not sleepy?’ he asked raising his eyebrow.

‘Nope.’

He let out a sigh and looked down at the baby.

‘Well, my parents divorced a few years ago. My dad remarried and Pari was born to my stepmother. They both had to attend a business meeting in Pune for the weekend and requested me to babysit her. They have hired a nanny to take care of the child but apparently she is on leave today.’

Ronav never failed to surprise her.

‘Are you not angry with your father? How can you take it so easily?’ she asked softly. His face grew grave at her words.

‘I don’t think this is the right time to explain it to you, Nithya. It is complicated. I can only say that I have seen worse in life and their divorce did more good than harm. As far as loving Pari goes, I have always craved for a younger sister. My brother Rajat is more of a competitor than a sibling. So it was not very hard for me to love Pari. In fact after I came from Chennai, she has been my only solace. Our bond just grew stronger over the days,’ he said affectionately caressing Pari’s cheek. Soon he rocked her back to sleep once she finished the bottle of milk.

Ronav walked Nithyayuvani back to the guest room where she had been sleeping. She stared at him in longing when he told her to sleep well.

‘Please don’t call me inside,’ he said in a husky voice.

She blushed at his words and shook her head.

‘I don’t think I can go back to sleep,’ she murmured.

‘Me too.’

He took her hands and kissed them gently. Slowly she pulled him inside the room. ‘Why are you doing this to me?’ he said gruffly and kissed her with wild passion. She kissed him back matching his ardour. They both fell on the bed in tangle of limbs with ragged breathing.

‘I think this is too soon,’ he said propping up on his elbow. She could not help giggling at his words.

‘I agree. Maybe we should take it easy for some time.’

He kissed her and rubbed his nose against hers.

‘Okay darling. Let us get some sleep before she wakes up again.’

Ronav set the alarm on his phone and switched off the light. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. For a moment, all that felt like a dream for her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. In no time they both drifted into blissful sleep. Neither of them even had an inkling that they would be sleeping in each other’s arms tonight. Life changed so much in one evening…

                                        To be continued...