The car stops in front of me and the passenger side door opens. A lady steps out of it and asks
"Suresh, what are you doing here?"
"Pari?" I ask.
Pari comes over to me and pulls my arm "Come on, get in."
She pulls me towards the car. I am reminded of her pulling me towards the dance floor in the nightclub.
"What were you doing out this late?" She asks.
I have seated myself on the backseat. Dalbir is at the wheel and Pari is on the seat beside him.
"Suresh!" She repeats.
"I was going back." I lie.
"You were gonna walk all the way back to Midnapore?" Pari asks wide-eyed.
I fall silent.
"Here..." she hands me a towel "... wipe your hair or else you'll catch a cold."
I take the towel "Thank you Pari..." ... thank you for everything!
I slowly wipe my hair with it.
"Wipe properly Suresh!" Pair reaches over and wipes my hair vigorously, much alike my mother used to when I would get wet in rain. She is my girl, without a doubt. No. She... was my girl.
I take a look at Dalbir. He's staring out of the windscreen blankly. He doesn't like Pari getting close to me. But I guess it is really considerate of him to allow her to do it. He is very understanding. I never knew this side of Dalbir. Had the roles been reversed, I don't think I would've let Pari go meet him at the nightclub let alone wipe his hair dry. As much as it pains me, somewhere deep inside I feel happy that Pari got such a great partner. Perhaps this is true love... finding happiness in them despite knowing that you can never be with them. This may be the fabled unconditional love. I never thought a wretched degenerate like me would be capable of feeling this way. Thank you Pari! Thank you for putting something so angelic in me.
"Your hotel is still a long way from here." Remarks Dalbir.
"That's okay. I need a walk... to clear my head." I look over from Dalbir to Pari. I asked them to stop a few kilometres away from my hotel; it has stopped raining and I want to have a walk in the cold night.
"It's not safe Suresh." Pari protests.
"Don't worry..." I get out of the car "... I'll be fine."
"If you need anything..." Dalbir leans over and looks at me.
"Nah, I'm good." I dig my hands into my pockets. "Actually... could you give me some water?"
No sooner do the words leave my mouth than Pari thrusts her hand into the handbag. She retrieves a transparent PET bottle that's half-full with water. "Oh wait," she looks at it "I lost the cap in the car."
I take the bottle from her hands "That's okay."
"No wait! I'll find it in no time." Pari detaches her seatbelt and bends over, looking for the lost bottle cap.
I touch her shoulder "Don't worry Pari. It won't be necessary. Thanks for the water by the way."
She straightens in her seat.
"Bye guys." I wave at both of them.
"Bye." Dalbir waves.
Pari just smiles. But I can see the sadness behind her eyes.
YOU ARE READING
Taken for Granted
Romance"By the way, did you do it?" "No." I shake my head. I was supposed to confess my feelings to Noora today. But, like the past nine hundred and ninety nine times, I couldn't build up the courage to do it. "Dude! Are you really gonna keep pushing it?"...
