Shape of the Sun

Reactive

"Yes, yes. That's the order that I made. The pink mixed with blue."

Choti spoke as she walked to where her car was parked, Prada leather in one hand, the other pressing her phone to ear. She stopped at the door, listening to what the other person on the other end had to say, one last time.

It had been trash from the start.

Choti wanted to hit someone after hearing the reply. But she couldn't as the parking lot was empty. Damn.

"Excuse me, mister." she raised her voice, "What's the meaning of you won't be able to send in the correct shipment? You'd better not mess with me. I'm not a calm person, do you understand?"

Pause. This time, the reply elicited harsh laughter. Did they think she was a marionette? Her shipment was missing? The capital of India had to be Stockholm if she took this lying down.

 "You must be joking with me, I hope. I want my order down here by tomorrow or you and that flimsy company you work for will see! Useless things!"

Choti terminated the call before opening the door and placing her bag on the passenger's seat, phone in a compartment. She got into the driver's seat soon after, still as mad as hell.

Her excuse of a husband had come around for a few days only to disappear without notice. Choti was just grateful that the children were spending their holidays at her friend's home in Dubai, or else she couldn't really explain to them the tugging at her heartstrings to divorce their father. 

An early look at Instagram had informed her that she was already too late for Maheer's party, and it added to her irritated mood. Golu had called in sick last night. He had a sore throat, was coming down with something, and so, she decided to wait for the shipment to come over since she couldn't trust anyone else with such a large undertaking.

Who knew they'd mess up the whole thing? Choti severely scolded Golu and his unfortunate throat in her heart until she felt a slight refreshing. And then, she pushed the ignition button, ready to set off for home and an early night.

But it was not to be. Choti felt something metallic cold and rounded press against her temple. It was the muzzle of a gun. The driving mirror revealed that there was a man seated behind her, all dressed in black and pointing a gun against her head.

She would have screamed. No, she did scream, but it came up muffled against his gloved hand that covered her mouth. Besides, it wasn't like anyone could hear her. Her car was the only one in this underground lot.

The man's harsh words, spoken in a rough manner, threw her straight to hell where she had just been teetering on the edge. She missed her husband all of a sudden.

"You'd better do exactly what I tell you to do or I won't hesitate to blow your brains out across this expensive leather."

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The next morning

It was a joyride, the entirety of it. There were no other words that Rajkumar could use to explain their trip to the hospital this morning.

He and Manmeet had found themselves quite reluctant to get out of bed this morning. Their antenatal appointment had been scheduled for 10 am, a time that seemed like a terrible choice with each passing second he lay in the double cottony comfort of the bedsheets and Manmeet's shirt that she had on, the warmth in her arms, the body heat she gave lighting a fire in his heart, as well as a protector in this cold, cold season.

Rajkumar didn't want to leave and neither did he have the will to rouse her up. In his decadence, he allowed himself to be seduced by his lover, listening to her words which only served to trap him further in her passionate web, heart a goner. Manmeet had whispered in his ear that he call the hospital and fake an emergency. She had said to shift the time to later in the day.

That is a very irresponsible thing to say, he had scolded her, yet his body was dishonest, a hand reaching for his phone, fulfilled by lips that told the desk nurse about how there was a deal with his sister and he had to schedule for 2 pm. Manmeet had kissed him right on the nose after the call was over as if to reward him for a job well done. Rajkumar had looked her right in the eyes after, charcoal meeting brown.

"You are teaching me bad things."

"Mmmn, I know."

Manmeet had smiled at him, her beautiful face lit up by that smile. It was a face that was worthy of all the love. Rajkumar smiled back.

And he also slept until it was thirty minutes after twelve. He had woken up to an empty space beside him and the sound of water coming from the bathroom. Rajkumar grabbed his towel and rushed out of the room to the bathroom in the other one.

When he had come out, Manmeet was eating brunch. When he sat down to eat, she was heading for the car. Unfortunately, it refused to start and so, they had to uber it to the hospital. Rajkumar wondered why Manmeet was looking at him like he owed her a million dollars. She was the one who didn't wake him up, okay?

"Why are you so moody?" he whispered, low enough so that the driver out front couldn't hear.

She glanced at him.

"I am pregnant."

"Oh." And there was no more.

Manmeet wanted to hit somebody. That was it? What a man this was. She stretched out her hand and pinched the lower part of his thigh that his khakis didn't cover.

Rajkumar bit his lip to suppress a groan. He glared at Manmeet, eyes pointedly asking why she had done what she had. In response, she humphed, her arms folded. She refused to answer this man if he didn't see his mistake. Her actions impressed upon the man beside her.

So, this was how they were going to play? Fine. Rajkumar also decided not to talk to her throughout the ride. But that was over real soon because his eyes had caught, in passing, a picture displayed on Manmeet's screen. There was a mix of displeasure and discomfort in his heart, like a bottle of oil knocked over. It was fiery in there.

"Who is that man?"

Manmeet looked up from her screen, surprised at how close Rajkumar was. Where there had been considerable space between them was now his knees touching hers. She took one look at the frown on his face and vaguely thought of something. Manmeet could place her finger on the reason for his mood but couldn't actually tell what it was. It was frustrating that way.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. That was when she heard him ask again.

"Who is he, Manmeet?"

"He's Siddarth Malhotra, an actor."

"Hmm? You know him?" Rajkumar seemed to be asking on a whim but Manmeet could tell that underneath the front, he was keen.

"I don't know him personally."

"Personally?" He picked imaginary dirt from underneath his fingernails.

Manmeet resisted the corners of her lips from curving up.

"We met at a fundraising event once but we didn't speak." she added one more time, "He's married, by the way. Got married two days ago to another actress."

"Oh, is that so?" Rajkumar looked up at her face to check for any expression but she wasn't giving anything away. He retracted his gaze, letting it rest on the still vehicles beside their own. They were stuck in traffic. He thought it was rather unfortunate.

But not for too long.

A soft, warm body pressed itself to his side. He could feel the curve of her raised belly. Rajkumar let Manmeet rest her head on his shoulder, a hand going over to wrap hers while the other caressed her belly, a habit. She whispered right next to him.

"I'm sleepy, Raj. Please wake me up when we get to the hospital."

"Mmmnn." As he spoke, he adjusted his position to make her more comfortable even while she slept.