Chapter 14

twerping

@twerping

There was a light drizzle when they returned to Mayur Vihar. The dinner was a disaster. Ishita now regretted asking Subbu to accompany her. But Priya had been insistent and Ishita did want to introduce her husband to her friend. That is what other normal happy couples did, right? Get together with friends, chat, and share stories about their childhood. Ishita looked out through the glass at the rain-soaked streets. She noticed a young couple hurrying down the pavement. Both of them giggling as they huddled together under the one tiny umbrella. It was such an ordinary scene but tonight it filled her with a dull ache.

Subbu had surprised her that morning when he agreed to go with her to Priya's house. Priyanka was the same school friend whose brother's clinic she now worked at. Priya had come down for a few days and had wanted to meet up.

"Bring that hubby of yours, Ishu! Let us all see what you've been hiding away from us!" She had said, over the phone as they planned a reunion of sorts.

Ishita had been apprehensive but Subbu had not refused when she broached the subject over breakfast. She had not admitted it even to herself but the relief she felt on his ready acceptance had added a spring to her steps.

And then reality had hit her. Over dinner, the only thing Subbu had been interested in was trying his best to curry favours from Priya's brother. The Batra's had a string of clinics and medicine stores across the country. But this was not their only investment. Among other things, they were at present being courted by many for the textile mills they were about to put on the market. One of the companies interested was the one Subbu worked in. As it slowly became clearer that Subbu was there only to forward his company's agenda, Ishita noticed the easy smiles on the face of her friend and her brother become more and more strained. The dinner had turned out to be a lesson in humiliation for her.

Subbu stopped the car near the building entrance so she could get off. Then he drove the car to the parking lot. Ishita stood near the stairs waiting for him. She needed to calm her mind a bit before she could speak to Subbu about what he had done.

It was as she waited that another car pulled up and out of it stepped out none other than Raman Kumar Bhalla. The car drove off. He remained there under the lights peering at her. He looked drunk and unsteady on his feet but as her eyes landed on his, a crooked smile appeared on his lips.

"Mrs. Ishita Iyer! What a pleasure!" There was something a lot like contempt that dripped from every word. She drew back. 
"Have you robbed Manik of his duty?" He said, still holding that unsettling smirk. Manik was their security guard. 
Ishita turned to him, with a guarded look and said, "Go home, Mr. Bhalla!"
"I'm not complaining," said Raman ignoring her words and instead holding his hands up as if in submission. "You are definitely an improvement on the regular fare."

Ishita looked away. Since that evening on the terrace, she had spent sleepless nights as the horror of his blatant disregard for social norms duelled in her mind with the memory of her own momentary lapse of reason when caught in his arms. Life in the Mayur Vihar society made it impossible for her to completely avoid him but she had done her best till now.

"So did you miss me?" His voice was gravelly and he spoke in whispers. Yet his voice seemed to carry and made him appear far too close to her for comfort.

She looked at him now. "What are you trying to do?" she asked, her voice trembling with pent-up fury. "Leave before I scream and gather people."

He looked at her intently, his eyes focusing on her face. She stilled under such scrutiny. It was unnerving. Then as she watched him, his gaze trailed over her and she shivered at the intensity in his look.

"Don't make this into some kind of attack on you, Ishita," he murmured. He tried to take a step forward and swayed on his feet. "You hide behind that middle-class morality but you can't fool me."

His arrogance was incendiary. She wanted to strike him. 

"Only you are fooling yourself!" She told him, voice lowered but angry. Before she could go on however she heard the sound of approaching footsteps and the words on her lips got swallowed in silence. Raman looked up at Subbu as he made his way to where the two of them stood.

"Subramaniam Iyer! How are you? I was just asking your wife about you!"

Ishita bristled at the brazenness of his lies. Subbu seemed indifferent to Raman's present lack of sobriety and the two men turned around and went towards the lift, as if in unison. Subbu didn't spare a backward glance at her. Neither did Raman. They entered the lift without her.

She watched them disappear behind the sliding doors and then let out the breath she had been unknowingly holding. The fact that neither of them thought to wait for her hurt her far more than she was willing to admit. Wasn't one of those men married to her?

Instead of the lift, she took the stairs. Mind full of disturbing thoughts, she took slow steps. By the time she reached their floor, Subbu had entered the apartment. She was about to push the door open and enter as well, when a hand reached forth and pulled her away. The landing was lit dimly and Ishita felt herself being pushed against the wall. Even in that bleak light, she saw his eyes. The glitter in them overwhelmed her. 

"I forgot to tell you how beautiful you look tonight," he whispered.

Standing there, back to the wall, Ishita stared at him. As she watched, the crooked smile he wore disappeared and his eyes grew darker.

Before she could gather herself and say anything, he turned and with a few quick steps, had climbed up the stairs to his apartment on the floor above. Ishita remained standing, her breath unsteady and feeling decidedly weak at her knees. She was suddenly terrified of Raman. When he held her this time, she had felt her heart stop for a moment and it was not out of fear.