CHAPTER C
A TALE FROM THREE CITIES
2) HE, WHO CAME WITH SURPRISES
"Ceeku, you son of..." Unlike my soul, I could barely recognise him as he weighed his woody hands over my shoulder. I looked shockingly surprised as she entered in to conversation with that man on brown suit.
"14 years, where have you been so long rascal?" She asked unable to control all the excitement of seeing her bestie straight after our marriage function.
"I have been all around and It's you who never looked back." The man cleared his shawl from the neck leaning forward to take Achu on to his hands.
"So these are your diamonds. May I know the name of this sweet heart?" He grabbed her close to his chest and enquired.
"Aswathy, every one call me achu.." She replied after making an indirect enquiry to her mother, whether she was in the safer hands.
"Excellent!!.I heard you hate chocolates,do you?"
Achu nodded against and then looked at me for advice to collect her candy from him.
Meanwhile my wife was looking bit distressed on his reply to her.
"Don't say that. We had tried to reach you many times but you always slipped out. You could've at least send a card for your marriage. She had complains to omit out as he gave away an option in front.
"It was an accident, by the way. We decided to be for each other fortnight and couldn't take time to invite all. Begging pardon for that."
"Alright, but where is she? The veiled beauty whom I have never met?" I asked.
"I forgot, where is Sana gone? where are your kids?"She added on to my enquiry as we started getting to know him.
"My family is on vacation with their grand parents. They'll join us in few weeks. Should mention you, Sana is now just my teenage memory. We never could get married." Both of us were startled as he explained that he wasn't married to his best friend like we had anticipated.
They were the ideal couple we had ever heard off, though couldn't myself meet the young lady. They knew each other from childhood and so the bonding was years deep even when Maddy was away in PUNE for his studies.
They kept in touch using all possible social network's those days. The biggest hike we felt about them was it was a cross cultural relationship. She was half Muslim and himself being hindu, though he hates people calling him so.
Those days we couldn't even imagine they would separate from each other.
"I'm sorry. Both for making you wait so long and asking this unnecessary question." Laxmi interfered efficiently and tried to deviate his disturbed mind.
"I couldn't at first recognise you in your French. It looks sexy by the way." I supported her meanwhile pointing to his beard.
"Don't put blame on my beard. You were fully on that air hostess when I waved you at exit." He smiled to me after long days.
"You mean, we already had crossed each other. Do you?"
"Yes, we did. Since I had to dismiss the taxi and join you both. I minded not to disturb your entertainment."
I couldn't believe myself that this tall man with curly hair was the same who wore the dark goggles and waved while I rushed towards my family, parking the car.
"I am sorry daa. She was hot, if you don't mind."
"Of course, She was with me in our flight and we chatted few minutes." We opened up our manly talk forgetting my wife was around.
Maddy showed some gesture when she approached to touch my shoulder.
"Oh! my good friends, when are you both maturing up to your age?" I knew she was bit disturbed by our chat about some second lady. But she lost her temper damn quick.
"She wasn't as pretty as my sister, If I would speak from heart." Maddy tried to please her in his usual way.
"By the way how do you manage to remain so slim?"
"Do not try to booze me up. You have come all the way just to flirt about an air hostess and so to rejuvenate this scoundrel back to his 'ceeku' habits." She was loud this time enough to contribute a new word to my son's dictionary.
"Mom, what is meant by 'ceeku'?" He kept on asking her as we were driving home.
"Nothing." She kept warning him with her fingers on lip.
"Lax, why don't you tell them? You are building curiosity in the most active minds on earth." Maddy reminded her and both my kids jumped close to his seat. Now they know whom to ask.
"Uncle, even you called dad so. So you must tell this." Sachu was careful this time that Maddy shouldn't utter excuses.
"Agreed, do you know what a flirt' mean?" He had a question in return while we were eagerly waiting yo know how he's going to explain it.
"Chii!! You say my dad was a flirt in your college." Sachu captured his word quickly while the little one was curious again. This time to know what a flirt mean. She kept on pressing him further until their judge ordered them to keep quiet.
"Shame on you papa."
I saw my son raising his finger against nose and putting a sign of shame over to my rear view mirror. I made an ugly smile on to it while my friend could laugh in satisfaction.
"You are going to spoil our kids, if you would groom them like this. " Judge now turned to him with her sword to complain.
"Rather you shouldn't have uttered that word." I backed him up and vehicle burst in to laugh. Lachu being its poor victim like every time.
Meanwhile I rejuvenated the actual meaning of the word in mind. Something derived from the expansion of a term 'CKG' which rather meant 'Slave to vagina' in Hindi.
They used to call me, as I never say 'No' when girls were around. In a way they even referred me; Her slave. That was how the losers in a campus of 100 boys and 25 girls treated the winners.
"You have extended your leave, I heard. Why did you come so early then? I could have already arranged admission for your kids in St.Patrick's." I asked him again as we passed across the school I mentioned.
"I have got a busy week bro. Lot of things to do in such a short span. So I decided to appear beforehand & get things straight.
