Chapter 25 Bones are for dogs and flesh is for men

‘You didn’t like the girl,’ exclaimed Ashmi to Mathias as she stood adjacent to him for the salsa dance class. Internally, she thanked God that he didn’t but she could not show it.  Twice a week they would meet for salsa dance class. All her life Ashmi was inhibited about her body. She would not loosen herself under any circumstance. Even a shot or two of vodka would not succeed in melting her reserve. Mathias coaxed her to learns salsa, as he desperately wanted to learn it and couldn’t learn this dance alone. As luck would have it, he chose a dance partner with two left feet. Their instructor Mohit Jagati would urge Ashmi to look in the eyes of her partner when she made a move.

‘It is a sensuous dance form, and you need to be in sync with your partner. And you can touch Albert. Do you stink man?’ Jagati asked Mathias.

‘No,’ he grunted and ran to fetch a stick that was lying ignored on the floor.

‘Why don’t you try touching me with this?,’ he said to Ashmi.

She feigned anger.

‘But, why didn’t you like her?,’ she asked as they strode ahead in a dance move on the Latino beat.

‘She is a very caring girl and she comes from a decent family, but you know, she doesn’t tick my heart,’ Mathias explained.

‘And what exactly will tick your heart?’ she asked now quite intent to tease him.

‘Someone like you,’ he whispered as she twirled in circle, and would have fallen off, had Mathias not supported her. 

‘Guys, have you come here to chat,’ boomed Jagati from distance.

‘Now, you better concentrate on what am I saying. And no chatting for heaven’s sake. Am I clear enough to you all?’ Jagati wanted a reaffirmation. Twenty heads nodded in the salsa class.

‘All of you hold the hand of your partner, facing each other, the girl partner takes a step sideways, then a step backward and twirls, while you hold her hand helping her twirl,’ Jagati was giving instructions.

‘You don’t need to pay so much attention,’ Mathias reminded Ashmi who was all ears.

‘We are here just to have a good time. Anyway, sweetheart, I appreciate your limitations,’ he said. Ashmi looked in his eyes intently without speaking anything and the music rolled.

Once their salsa was over, Ashmi decided to drop him home, so that they could talk. Mathias bike had gone for servicing, and his friend had dropped him for the dance class.

‘What exactly you didn’t like about the girl,’ she asked him, as she turned the ignition on.  

‘The fact that she is so thin,’ he said without any pretensions. ‘I get your point. You want your girl to be curvaceous, she said.

‘But, all girls put on weight after marriage, and it’s good that she is thin,’ she got in her convincing mode, which was reserved for her kids, Rajul and Rhea.

‘You really want me to get married,’ he asked her. His voice sounded alien to him.

 ‘I and you have no future,’ she reminded him.

 ‘But who wants a future? Aren’t we happy?’ he questioned. ‘Yes, the moments we steal together give happiness to both of us, but you have to go ahead in life,’ she reasoned, as she wiggled her way through the traffic that begins to build on the Gurgaon road after six. ‘Stop it Ashmi. I love you and I can’t marry anyone else,’ he professed his love to her.

‘Now, what are you going to tell your folks? That you love a married woman with two kids in Gurgaon?’ she tried to argue with him.  ‘When you came in my life you were married, had kids, now that’s not my fault, and I can’t help loving you. I am not asking you to love me in return. But I would certainly love to spend more time with you and get more close to you,’ he told her honestly. And he spoke the truth. He was well aware that Ashmi had started just like that for him. He needed to talk to someone, and at lark he had sent friendship request to her. And as fortune would have it, she accepted it. They hit off instantly and they hadn’t hidden anything about the other.

‘You scare me, and behave like a teenaged too. Your apartment has almost come,’ she said decelerating her car.

‘Come inside for a moment,’ he requested to her.

‘No, I will not, you don’t behave,’ she reprimanded him, as if he was a teenaged boy.

‘I will certainly behave,’ he assured her. She acceded.

‘Then I must park the car here at the Gold Souk parking,’ she said.

‘Why?’ he asked surprised. ‘You are dating a married woman, and it calls for precautions,’ she told him, and turned the ignition off and took the parking slip at the Gold Souk.  They both decided to walk to his apartment at Gold Souk.  It was the first time she had stepped in his house. It was certainly neat by a bachelor’s standards, but failed miserably on her standards.

She tried to scan the room, just trying to get the feeling of the place where he lived.

He stood behind her waiting with a glass of sprite, her favourite beverage.

‘I don’t drink Sprite alone,’ she mocked. I know.

‘Unfortunately, I don’t have your drink,’ he accepted.

‘I know, I was just joking,’ she stroked his cheek, as if he was a baby. He was for her.

‘I noticed that you had been quite upset for a while,’ she spoke while sipping her drink. She held his hand trying to encourage him to speak. All of a sudden he hugged her tightly, as if he was too scared of leaving her. She let it be.  ‘The reason is my sister,’ he said still in her embrace.  For the first time, he mentioned of someone else in the family other than his parents.

‘What happened?’ she asked as she gently pushed him away. He made her sit down on the corner of the bed and sat on the bare floor, and his head reached her lap. He deliberately chose to ignore the chair that was tucked inside the computer table, as if he could not miss any opportunity of getting closer with her. 

‘My father forced her in a marriage and she is not happy. My brother-in-law is quite a temperamental guy. He loves her a lot, but he can fly in rage at the drop of a hat. When furious he raises hand on her,’ he spoke at once as if he had to offload his dark secret to someone. Ashmi stroked his hair, as she was trying to comfort him. She was shocked. Why don’t you get your sister back? We can’t, their family is quite politically connected.

‘All is not well in my sister’s marriage. She is carrying and she isn’t happy about it. A baby can’t mend a marriage, may be it can,’ she corrected herself as she thought about her marriage.

‘Tell me why did you people force your sister in the marriage? Because she was in love with an air-force pilot who didn’t belong to our community,’ Mathias answered with his eyes downcast.

 ‘I still feel so guilty, that I couldn’t stand for her and that was the reason why I moved out of Mumbai, closer to Goa, when I got an opportunity at Metlife, I just couldn’t face her,’  he admitted to her, as he held her knees tightly and hid his face in her lap. She prodded his face up and saw his eyes glistening with tears.

‘I have never spoken this to anyone,’ he said.

‘The best thing in this scenario is to let bygones be bygones and she should get on with her life,’ she said with empathy for the girl.

‘But, it is easier said than done, isn’t it?’, Mathias interjected.  ‘I know. Time is the best healer and you know you got to give time, time. Right now, try to keep your sister happy’ she counseled him.

 One look at her watch and she was on her feet. ‘It’s going to be 7.30 and I must leave,’ she informed.

‘Just wait for a minute,’ he said and keep your eyes closed.

‘Now what woo-doo are you doing?’, she spoke with a smile as if it brought back memory of good times to her. He came with a beautiful Fossil watch, which had crystals inside the dial.

‘It’s lovely, but I can’t take it,’ she said.

‘You have to,’ he insisted for the good times that we have spent together.

‘You make it sound like it’s over,’ she warned him.

‘No, it’s not, but I wanted to gift you something, and you always look at watch whenever you hurry. Now you better wear my time,’ he said.

‘Okay,’ she said with a flourish.

‘My gift,’ he asked.

‘What’s that?’ she teased knowing fully well what he meant.

‘You forgot, then let me remind you,’ he said, as he sealed her lips with his. After a few moments that seemed like eternity, she pushed him away and grabbed her bag and shoved inside the metal box of Fossil watch and scurried away without even saying a bye.

 Once outside his apartment, she hid behind the Chanel shades. ‘7.45 in September is not that late,’ she thought, as she hopped on a rickshaw to go towards the parking.

‘Just as she was about to enter in the car,’ her mobile rang. Akhil was on the other side.

‘Where are you?’ he asked.

‘Have you reached home?’ she asked instead of answering.

‘No, I will be reaching in ten minutes,’ she said while fidgeting with her seat belt.

‘Where are you? So much noise is around you,’ she spoke trying to make sense of the background noise.

‘I am at Gold Souk and I am helping one of my firang clients do shopping. She is buying an antic kundan necklace for herself. I also got tempted to get something for you,’ he said now sounding romantic.

‘Why are you restricting your thoughts,’ she was all alert now.

‘A little gift will not hurt me,’ she tried to sound convincing, but her heart was beating fast, as she spotted his Fortuner parked in the other row.

‘Akhil, I had dashed out for a small shopping and I am driving,’ she lied and was soaked with perspiration inside the AC car.

‘Okay’ Akhil nodded and disconnected the phone.

She sped off. She had never driven so fast. In eight minutes she reached home.

Akhil came an hour later.

‘Hi,’ he greeted everyone.

‘Ashmi, I left my mobile in the car. Will you please get that?’ he requested her.

On an average day, Ashmi would have hollered Melissa, but today was not an average day.

‘I will get it,’ she offered. ‘I am impressed,’ he remarked, as he would not miss an opportunity of banter. She didn’t answer back, rather rushed out of the home. Just as she retrieved the phone from the passenger seat, a small gift  was lying for her. There was a card on it. With Love. To You. From Me. She opened the box. A black pearl necklace with tear drop ear rings sat nicely on egg coloured velvet cushion. She held the necklace. A feeling of guilt swept over her. With mobile in one hand and the jewellery box in another, she dashed to see Akhil. He looked at her and smiled. She hugged him. He stroked her hair, as if she was a baby. ‘You liked it,’ he asked.

‘I loved it,’ she said. ‘Are you having a girl friend?’ she questioned from nowhere.

‘And what makes you think so?’ he enjoyed her attention.

‘You haven’t acted this romantic in a while,’ she confessed.

‘Now who is you boy friend?’ he asked out of the blue

Her face looked drained. ‘Did he see my car parked, when he was parking?’

She regained her composure and countered, You think so…

I wouldn’t let him live, if I ever found out, he said

She was terrified. She wanted to know, if he had seen her car or not, but there was no way to ask.

Akhil’s attention had wavered. He was watching TV now, which was turned on by one of the kids. Like always sports channel was on and he was watching golf for a change.