Chapter 29 Two loves and three love bites

‘What do I wear to work today?’ she was standing in front of her wardrobe and nothing there seemed to serve the purpose, which was to hide three love bites that went in a row from the base of her throat to her collar bone.  She would love to flaunt it, like Santayani Ghosh, the young designer at Epicure Exports, but she was meeting Mathias and it wasn’t safe.

‘Had it been December, winter wear would have camouflaged it?’ she wondered, but not in summer. She took out a red coloured muslin cotton dupatta and wrapped it around her neck. It went well with crushed yellow top, that had ruffled round  neckline and bandhini long skirt.

Her day was hectic as usual. There was just a month for the release of Epicureans. And she didn’t have a clue from where to start. Contacts had to be dug to outsource the whole exercise and finally she got hold of the phone number of Priya Maity, a bubbly young woman, who was her friend from the LSR days. She was currently working as Account Manager with Lintas.

‘Hi Maity, how are you and how has life treated you?’ she spoke, when the woman on other end, said ‘Hello’ with a practiced Anglicised accent.

‘Hey! Do I know you from somewhere? Your voice sounds familiar,’ Maity spoke racking her brain at the same time trying to recognize her voice.

‘We studied together and shared the same hostel. You were in English Honours, and I was in History Honours,’ Ashmi gave the information.

‘Mishra!’ the woman on other end squealed now.

‘How has life treated you?’ she asked.

‘Quite well. And how are you?’ Maity wanted to know.

‘I am also in the same well,’ she joked.

‘I am sorry, but I have to rush in a meeting. I would love to chat with you, will catch up with you certainly, before the end of this week,’ she finished in a hurry.

‘Maity, I am digging contacts and may be you could help,’ Ashmi spoke without wasting a minute.

‘Why don’t you email me what you would need and I will certainly do whatever I could,’ she said.

‘Okay, you take care,’ Ashmi said and disconnected the phone.

A message beeped on her phone. ‘What time are you coming?’ It was from Mathias. She was disgruntled that he had tried to blackmail her. ‘You tell me the time,’ she messaged back.

‘Can you come around 2.30?’ he asked.

‘Okay,’ she wrote, and put her phone on silent and got back to her work, because she had to finish eight hours of work in only five hours today.

Mathias was shaving with his mobile on other side, saw her okay and realized that all was not well with Ashmi. But, she had grown as an obsession with her and he couldn’t help, he comprehended.

Sharp at 2.30, the doorbell rang at Mathias’ flat at Maple Heights. He was inside the kitchen boiling water for the pasta. Then, he remembered something and took out two cup full of hot water from the pot on the gas stove. ‘Ashmi enjoyed green tea and she needed it today, as she was sounding stressed,’ he thought. He had already ordered pizza for both of them. He ran to open the door for her.

She came in. Mathias realized he was bare bodied on the top, as he had bathed late. Then he had  put the house in order, ordered pizza and put a pot of water to boil on the gas stove. He scampered to put on a Tshirt. Ashmi spoke, ‘There is no need to do this. I have seen you like this before.’

‘Still! I wouldn’t be long,’ he came outside wearing a Polo Tshirt of bright yellow colour with white stripes.

‘So, you dressed like sunshine today, I wanted to match my tee-shirt with your top. That’s the only clean tshirt I have and that’s the reason I wore it,’ he said with a grin.

‘You look good. How is your headache?’ he asked. The door bell rang, ’Who can be here?’ Ashmi asked frightened. ‘Don’t worry, it must be the pizza delivery guy,’ he said.

She heaved a sigh of relief. The guy left quickly.

‘Would you care for green tea?’ he asked her. ‘Why not? ‘Do you know how to make it?’ ’ she said.  He rushed in the kitched and in less than a minute, he emerged out with two mugs of  green tea. He had made a heart on the surface of one of the green teas with honey for her.

She was fanning herself with a newspaper. The power had decided to do a disappearing act and September is quite sultry in Delhi.

‘Feeling hot. Get this dupatta thing off,’ he suggested. ‘No,’ she insisted. ‘You argue so much,’ he murmured and moved ahead. He grabbed the muslin fabric and took it off in a jerk. Her love bites glared at him. He observed it intently and then touched it gingerly. She didn’t say a word. ‘You were getting tea,’ she made an attempt to divert the subject and pointed towards the ignored pizza. ‘Let’s eat it. I am starving,’ she said.

He extended his hand to offer tea to her. The heat had melted the honey-shaped heart.  ‘What’s this?’ she enquired pointing at it.  ‘It’s my heart,’ he said.  ‘You had a rocking night yesterday,’ he asked. ‘Mathias, be reasonable, he is my husband.’ she said.

‘I know that, but I don’t know why I am so possessive about you,’ he was sounding different now.

‘How was it last night? Was it wild? Tell me, I want to hear it,’ he spoke softly only for her ears but every word spewed anger.

 ‘You are acting weird,’ she reprimanded him. ‘Yes, I am and you are doing this to me.

‘I dream about you, fantasize about you and you are controlling my every emotion,’ he admitted. Now was her turn to look shocked.

He bent down and began to kiss the love bite, as if he could erase the mark. He kissed all three. She was too overwhelmed to react or respond. This was getting murkier. There was too much to lose. What if Mathias went and spoke everything to Akhil? Will he forgive her? What should she do? The questions squelched her mind as he deepened his kiss.

He pushed the neckline of her top to examine if there were more love bites. She felt squeamish when he exposed her bare shoulder to his view. He tugged at her top to bring it down, She didn’t like it all but stayed quiet. ‘Mathias, I am hungry. This can wait,’ she said to   snap him out of his reverie like state.

 He wasn’t hearing. His eyes shone. She saw her face in his eyes, and his gaze bored her soul. She felt trapped