Chapter 26 A pound of prevention is better than an ounce of cure

‘Mom, do you know, what’s the capital of Arunachal Pradesh?’ Rhea asked impatiently while working on her scrap book which was her homework assignment to Ashmi, as she entered the home. She was sitting on the dining table and was working on her scrap book. Crayons, colour pencils and pencils in all shapes and sizes were all around her. Ashmi surrendered herself in Akhil’s ottoman. She was too exhausted. Melissa scurried with the chilled glass of water, the moment she saw her back. There were solid three and half hours to go before she should be back and the state of house screamed that. Puddles of water were around Rajul with two mugs of water, near her as she was painting something.

‘Whenever, I come home before time, I find that it has turned in a studio,’ she observed, but didn’t scream which was quite unlike her. Day before yesterday’s encounter, when she had escaped Akhil by a whisker had sobered her. She didn’t go for the salsa class today. For some unknown reason, Jain had chosen to morph in a dog. When he did so he would bark orders and bicker for no specific reason. ‘For my understanding Ashmi, by when do you think, we will be able to bring out the scaled up version of Epicureans,’ he asked. Just five minutes ago he had told me about this, and now he wants the time lines. ‘Why is this man in so much hurry, and how much understanding does he need?’ she thought. ‘I think one month should suffice,’ she answered. She could see that Jain was pleased on getting a timeline, because this meant that he could do his regular job well now, which was Follow Up.

She felt so weak and disinterested that she decided to call it a day immediately after lunch. From the car, she texted Mathias, ‘I am not well, can’t come for the salsa class today,’  and turned her mobile off, which was quite unlike her. He too would ask so many questions and she was in no mood to answer any. Day before yesterday was a perfect opportunity to steal a nookie, as there was privacy for them, but Mathias wanted to pour his heart to her. Like her, he too wanted companionship from her, and this was scaring her. It was simple to call off an affair, but he had started to love her, and that was too difficult to handle, her mind warned her, as she stopped at the red light.

Her head was spinning. All she needed was solitude and a painkiller. ‘Even after getting the needles pierced the migraine headaches refuse to give me a respite,’ she wondered.  Kids and solitude don’t go along well, she cursed and paid attention to Rhea’s question.  ‘May be Shillong,’ ‘but am not too sure, let me google., she spoke trying to open her web browser on her phone. 

‘Mom, I think the capital of Arunachal Pradesh is China,’ said Rhea. Ashmi was taken aback. ‘Why so? What makes you think that?’ she asked her. Involuntarily her hands moved to log in on  Facebook. There were three messages from Mathias. She would have opened it had kids not been around.

‘Because the people of China and Arunachal Pradesh look so similar,’ Rhea answered with the wisdom of a seven-year-old, and her explanation brought a smile on her lips.

‘No, it is Itanagar, Rajul,’ the elder one yelled from nowhere. ‘Are you sure?’ Rhea now crosschecked her rolling her eyes, an acquired trait from sitcoms. ‘Absolutely,’ Rajul answered. You two are going to make China capital of Arunachal Pradesh, so weird, she said, as if it was impossible to make these two understand

By-the-way, mom, you forgot that Rhea’s teacher has asked you not to teach her Hindi. And if you teach her General Awareness, the way you are doing now, the same will be applicable to this subject also, Rajul reminded Ashmi and sauntered back to the painting assignment she was working on.

‘How canI forget, that snooty woman asked me not to teach my poor baby Hindi and she even gives me homework now, she whined. That’s really mean of her, Rajul said with a smile.

‘Will you have lunch?’ Melissa asked.

‘No, I will not, she said, and went to her room to grab some sleep. All of a sudden she remembered of the watch that was lying with utter disregard in the bowels of her bag. She retrieved it, and wore it on her hand. Then she remembered about the phone that was lying switched off in her purse. She turned it on and 10 messages landed from Mathias.

1.      Where are you?

2.      Why is your phone switched off?

3.      Why aren’t you coming today?

4.      For heaven’s sake come online.

5.      Did I do any mistake?

6.      Tell me what’s my fault?

7.      You can’t do this to me.

8.      I love you so much that it hurts.

9.      What do  I do if you are married. I don’t want any commitment, just spend time with me.

10. Please put your phone on.

A message landed in Mathias inbox who was busy on a con-call with one of his firang counterparts. I am wearing your time.

Another message hit his inbox. ‘I am having a blinding headache, I’ll call you later.’

He didn’t reply and she knew that he must be busy on a something important in the office or would be busy in a meeting, and would reply back, she interpreted, as she put the phone on the side table of the bed and turned it on silent.

A sharp pang of pain stabbed in her head. She couldn’t focus on anything and washed down a Vasograin with chilled water. Mellisa, draw the curtains, she howled and prayed if she could get some sleep. Someone too had prayed to Christ for her and she slept deeply.

‘Where is madam?’ Akhil asked Melissa as he entered home. Not that he had something urgent to share with her, but both of them had the habit of checking about each other, whenever they entered the home.

‘Madam is sleeping,’ Mellissa informed. She gave him a glass of water.

‘What?’ Akhil was worried. He strode in the bedroom and found her sleeping like a baby. Pain had softened her expression and she looked no more than a teenager, without any makeup on her face.

He gently caressed her forehead, as he sat on the side of the bed. She stirred in her slumber. The phone flashed as a message landed in it. In the darkness of the room, it’s flash caught Akhil’s attention. The message was from an unknown number. He opened the message.

Why didn’t you come today? I waited for you so much. The message worried Akhil. Like a lightening, Ashmi who had just woken up, snatched her phone from his hand. Akhil was taken aback. She had never been so possessive about anything. In fact, Akhil’s all email accounts on Yahoo and Gmail as well as Facebook had just one password, her name and many times, he had asked her to check it for him.

This kind of protective behaviour towards her phone alerted him.

‘How are you feeling,’ he asked her, without showing his displeasure.

‘I am feeling much better now,’ she said sheepishly about the way, she snatched her phone, but let the incident go, thinking that Akhil would take it as an aberration.

She had to read the message, but how could she until Akhil gave her a minute of privacy. She couldn’t read it now. It would make Akhil all the more suspicious. The door bell rang and Akhil went to open it. This much time was enough for Ashmi to check her message. The cable guy had come to collect the rent. He sorted it.

Now was her turn to worry. What explanation will she give to Akhil when he asked her. She immediately rang Mathias. He didn’t take the call. She dialed him again but cut the phone when Akhil came inside.

‘Whom were you talking to?’ Akhil asked casually.

‘No-one,’ she lied through her teeth.

‘No you were and you disconnected the phone when you saw me,’ he cornered her.

‘And what’s this message that has landed from this number. Who was waiting for you today?’ he questioned her right away.

‘Is the number saved? I don’t know from where it has landed?’ she tried to defend herself with all her might. ‘And if you don’t trust me then why don’t you call and find out.’

Mathias returned from the café and saw three missed calls from Ashmi. She didn’t come today to meet him and he was quite upset over it. Then, his manager decided to do a disappearing act, and he had to fill in for him for the con-call. The call was scheduled for 3.45 and he was informed at 3.40. In hurry, he put his phone inside the desk as he got busy with the call.

He dialed her number right away. The offending phone which was lying on the bed on which the married couple of 15 years were debating rang.

‘I think it is the same number,’ Akhil remarked. He recognized the number. He knew it by heart now.  ‘You talk,’ Ashmi said giving the phone to him.

‘No, I will not, you ask why he sent this message to you,’ Akhil said.  That was what Ashmi wanted. She said, ‘Hello!’

‘Hi Ashmi, I saw your missed call,’ Mathias spoke.

‘How are you now, I was quite worried,’ he said.

 ‘Do I know you? Why did you send me such a message?’ she cut him. 

‘Is Akhil standing by your side?’ Mathias gave words to his suspicion.

‘You talk to my husband and explain it to him,’ she said.

‘No, I don’t want to talk to him,’ Akhil gesticulated wildly.

‘Why? You doubted me and now you don’t want to talk to him,’ she covered the mouthpiece but spoke loud enough for Mathias to gauge that a domestic drama was taking place at their home.

‘I want to know why you sent me this message?’ she asked to Mathias now with a raised tone like a shrewd actress.

‘You act quite well, and I love you all the more now. Your headache is fine?’ he whispered only for her ears.

She had the terrible urge to say ‘stop it’, but had to resist it.

‘Okay, I get your point, Yes, life does throw such situations, and that’s what makes it interesting.’ she said. ‘You didn’t come for the meeting,’ Mathias hissed. ‘When are you meeting me, tell me or I will not let you put the phone,’ he was black mailing her. ‘My flat is still empty, please come tomorrow after office,’ he said. She disconnected the line.

‘What did he say?’ Akhil asked. ‘That he had met a girl in the bar last Friday. In drunken stupor, he had lost his phone and took down her number on the paper napkin. They had agreed to meet today afternoon at Barista, South Extension, for coffee and he was waiting for her. She didn’t come and he messaged her. But, that number was mine.’

‘Get it,’ Akhil said and the tone conveyed to her that he was convinced. ‘Darling, you are getting younger day by day,’ he tried to placate her, and that’s what got me worried.

‘That means, you still love me,’ she taunted. ‘I think I do, and will always do,’ he confessed, and his finger trailed a delicate line from her forehead to her collar bone. His warm lips followed the trail and buried it in the quivering flesh of her collar bone. ‘You taste delicious,’ he said as his lips begin to feast on the soft yielding flesh of her collar bone that met the base of her throat.

‘Stop it, Akhil, kids can come,’ she warned him, before her knees turned to jelly.

‘No, they will not as they are out with their friends in the park, and so is Melissa,’ he told her.

‘Enjoy the moment sweetheart. It has been a long time,’ he spoke. She surrendered.