Part 103

Mangal Kunj

K: In that case…. (bitter, soft) (I should sleep by myself every nite from now then…

S:Don’t you dare! (shook a finger by her face)

She looked afraid… he felt disgusted…

S:Khanak

K:Go away..

S:You  have ZERO work life balance! (made a zero with his right hand)

K: Not ME, You! (angry)

S: That’s all I do… work…. Unlike YOU!

K:whats that supposed to mean?

S: Do I have to spell it out now? (taunting)

K:I don’t think my fam…. I don’t think… you shouldn’t be… (biting her lower lip to hold back her tears)

S: Oh! Yes! I should be…

K:I am not begging you for support OR understanding, if you notice (wiping away hot steamy tears, her face flushed)

S:Oh! You never beg! (derisive) Mz Pride! You never beg…

He looked at her… eyes roving over her almost nude shoulders and her cleft…

K: If you are justifying your workaholic behavior you just succeeded

S: So you are going to Pune then?

K:He has GALL STONES.. he has had a liver transplant, you know what that means, now if his gall bladder needs to go, its bad..(worried)

S:Cant your Fa go? He seems to have made a successful business out of doing nothing!

She flinched visibly… truth hurt… truth from her husband

K: Thanks for the opinion (softly)

S: So you are going then?

K turned away from him, stared out the tall closet windows… out into the Bay…….. the location was priceless… the sorroundings affluent, the home soaked in opulence…….. but she stood in it with a huge truck load of personal baggage… baggage that was unbearable to carry…….

S: I am going to go get your bags from the car

K: Main le loongi (without turning)

He left… she was in the closet when he returned

S: Lets go EAT! (frustrated)

K:I ate at Vrunda Aunty’s

S: No you did not! She said she only gave you poha…

K: Aap khayiye… jaakar (turning to face him, her face swollen like a balloon)

He waited hands in his pockets… cool self assured… calm… in a dark blue collarless tee and tan cargo shorts……….

K: I am not really hungry!

He didn’t say a word…

K: I am not going to bed after I eat…

He texted…. Unfazed…

K:I need to wash my face.. you made me cry! (blunt)

He looked up to see… was unmoved…

He followed her to the bathroom as she rinsed her face……

She sponged her face off and walked out, found three of his towels on the bed…damp soiled…

She quietly removed them and took them with her…

He waited at the foot of the stairs while she went to the ante room annexxe to dry them in the stand…

They walked together downstairs as he answered a call

Dadi: Ghanta ho gaya puttar, kithhe si? (where were you?)

S: In the shower.. (putting the call on hold)

D looked at the girl’s face

D:Lada tu? Khotha!

S answered her that he did not (lied)

D:Shakal vekh kudi di (look at her face)

S: Shhh Dadi! (begging)

D:Rahat haiga? De mainnu dassaan (give me the phone let me tell him)

S walks away shaking his head,

D:You sleep with me beta

K:Jee! (smiling after a long time)

S shot a fire dart at his wife “So Now we have to play dirty?” look

Dadi served… Khanak ate as if she were starving

He ate sparingly got smacked, told Dadi he ate at work…

Dadi admonished him, scolded her asked her to be more strict

She didn’t say a word, went back to being distant………..

Dadi talked about neighbors, the movie star that lived in the building some family gossip,..

Khanak helped her stack away since the help had retired for the night……

Shaan moved to the living room answering texts and phone calls

They exchanged a long intense look……. Hadn’t said a word to each other directly since steping down……… “make up s—was explosive “ “any s—with Shantanu was fiery” her heart raced as she imagined it for a few moments………a weak trembling sensation coursed through her body…….. her hands were jello like now………..raptureous… ecstatic…….. A week had gone by……… they were out to spite each other……… his touch and love making were the only delights in her now depressing work life……..he made her say things she could have never imagined  saying in bed…………. He fought her like he would fight a vicious enemy……he possessed her like she was the only thing that remained in the world………..

“I wont talk with him but will let him make love to me”

“I can still be mad at him”

“We can fight in the morning”

“I will play hard to get and then savor the seduction”

K:I want to sleep by Dadi! (barely a whisper)

S:No! Khanak(firm but softer than her tone)

Dadi heard that and breathed audibly.. smiling as she let herself out of the kitchen through a side door towards the hallway… she knew Khanak wanted to go to her husband………

He would make her!