Part 13 (1/2)
*Haha ... h.e.l.loooooooo!' I was happy to hear her crazy'hi', just like a kid.
*I am so so so happy you're back.'
*So am I.'
And we went crazy. Shouting. Laughing. Singing ... That was how happy we were.
I heard her, going merrily around her house, letting everybody know that I was back. In a round-robin fas.h.i.+on, each and every lady in the house talked to me.
*Mujhe bhi do ... maine bhi baat karni hai.'
*Dad is sleeping, so maybe you will be talking to him tomorrow,' she said.
Well, we kept talking till I reached my hotel. Of course, there was no reason why we shouldn't be doing that. Getting the directions from her, I explained them to the driver of my cab.
Magpie Hotel on Mathura Road was my destination for the night. It was not that good a hotel, but she had booked it because most of the good hotels in the city were full as it was the marriage season (October) and, more importantly, it was the nearest to her place.
On my way to Magpie, we were pa.s.sing through the outskirts of the city and my cell was frequently losing its network coverage, and I dialed her number again and again. Before giving out completely, the network played hide and seek on my mobile's screen for a while. I somehow managed to send her an SMS: Wll cal u once I
rch hotel.
To which she replied: NO. CAL ME D MOMENT.
U R GNG 2 OPEN UR ROOM.
DN'T FORGET
Well, I did what she wanted. Half an hour later, as I was unlocking the door of my room in the hotel, I called her. We were back on the phone when I moved into the dark room.
*Ok, now on your right hand, there is a switchboard. The first one is the light,' she said. And I wondered why she was instructing me.
The room was cold. The AC was on and there was a beautiful fragrance in the room.
In the light of my cellphone's screen, I switched on the lights of the room and what came next was a sweet surprise.
*OH MY G.o.d!'
In front of me was a giant bed with two bouquets of roses, along with a note on each one of them. And they read-*Welcome back' and *I missed you so much.'
Apart from this, there was a tissue paper peeking out from under the cus.h.i.+ons. From a distance I could not read it, but I noticed the maroon impression of her lips on it-a lovely advance gift of love which she left for me.
I read the note.
While you were gone, I realized how badly I need you for myself.
I love you so much.
*I love you so much dear,' was the sweet reaction of my melting heart. I inhaled the scent of her kiss on that tissue and kissed it. She heard me doing that. I wanted her to hear.
The next moment, someone knocked at my door.
*Who is it?' I asked.
*Bellboy,' came the reply.
*Two minutes dear, there is some one at the door,' I told Khus.h.i.+ and opened the door.
*Sir, I have got water for you.'
*OK.'
He came in with a bottle of Bisleri and an upside-down gla.s.s. He kept it beside my bed and, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed all that was lying on it. Those flowers, that note. Maybe he saw the kiss too. He smiled to himself for a fraction of a second and then returned to his formal demeanor. While going back, he noticed a half-filled gla.s.s covered with a lid, along with another bottle of water.
*Oh you have already got water.'
*That's not mine. You can take it away,' I said.
As I said that, I heard her voice from the cellphone. She was shouting *Shona! STOP HIM ... Don't let him touch the gla.s.s ....'
*RUKO!' I shouted at the boy.
And hearing the intensity of that *RUKO,' he froze, just like a statue. As if, the next moment, he was about to trip a mine and I saved him. He looked at me curiously. Even I wasn't sure why she had asked me to do that.
I told him, *I'm all good. You can leave.'
Confused, he left the room.
Closing the door from inside, I asked her why she reacted that way.
*I want you to discover that yourself,' she said. She was calm again.