Bombay Romance ♡ COMPLETED

[ 05 ] The Girl in the Station ■

Amarnath's car whizzes in the wrong direction and almost dashes with Gauri's scooter on the driveway of Shivaji Park police station.

'What the hell!' Gauri snaps, staggering off her Vespa. She pulls the side stand and marches toward the car. 

Amarnath jerks at the impact of the sudden brakes. 

'Andhe ho ki?!' he snaps at his driver from the backseat. 'Why are you driving in from the wrong side?!'

'S-Sorry Sir, I thought ... ' the driver fumbles.

'Idiot!' Amarnath barks and almost gets out of the car to make sure no one is hurt. As he places his hand on the door handle, Gauri storms up to the driver seat window.

'What on earth are you thinking, coming in from the wrong side?' she demands. 

'Saab is on urgent duty,' the driver says relentlessly.

'Oh, really?' she puts her arms on her waist and peer through the back door window. Much to her irritation, she can't see anything through the tinted glass. 

'Step out of the car, please,' she taps her fingers on the window. 'Enlighten me on the critical reason for which you'd ask your driver to barge in from the exit gate and ram into my Vespa like a bull!'

Amarnath looks at the fuming girl's face through the window. Her dark brown eyes shine from the slanting evening sun rays, rendering them like garnets sparkling in a precious necklace. Her hair blows against her face at the wind. She peels it away from her cheek and continues to glare.

Suddenly, speech seems stuck in Amarnath's throat with just one look at her vexed stare. He swallows, watching her eyes, forgetting all about getting out of the car. Her lips move as she says something his ears faintly catch but his brain refuses to comprehend. Not knowing why, he slowly touches the window where her fingers rest, placing his fingers exactly on hers from the other side of the glass.

An inspector from the jeep behind Amarnath's car walks up to Gauri. Amarnath draws his hand back from the window in a flash, his face red.

He catches a sly, hesitant glance at Gauri as the inspector speaks with her animatedly for a minute. She turns to throw one last dirty look at Amarnath's car. Amarnath turns away again, holding his slightly shivering (for god knows what reason) fingers against the side of his face. Gauri gets back to her Vespa. Amarnath shifts to the other end of the backseat, watching Gauri manoeuvre her scooter and park it in the designated area.

Damn, Gauri thinks meanwhile, rummaging through the scooter's underseat storage. How could she leave her most prized possession, her black coat, hanging in the backrest of her seat at the office? It has an aura that is very much essential in obnoxious places like these.

Never mind; finish this stupid bail work quickly and leave, she tells herself. She shoulders her handbag and walks into the station. Amarnath watches her walk into the station in sheer confidence.

'Stop,' he tells his driver as he starts the car engine again. He gets out of the car and tells the inspectors and the others to stay put, wherever they are. Why would a girl go into a police station alone, like this? he can't help wondering as he slowly edges toward the building.

It is an old structure with the plaster peeling off the walls. A short, narrow passage leads to the apparent 'Main' section. Constables are busy at their tables. A small boy is serving hot tea from a metal crate. A middle-aged couple in heavily faded clothes occupy the old wooden bench in the far corner. The Sub Inspector's chair is empty. The fan runs with a thin whiny noise.

Gauri plods in with her boots clicking against the floorboard as she walks. She halts and looks around the station with open distaste.

Amarnath halts at the door, eyeing her carefully. The trail of her lavender mist perfume fills his head with a strange sense of incomprehensible emotion.