# The wrong Mr Right.

Part 21(b)

The chef himself took their order personally and bounced back to the kitchen . The food arrived shorty and both of them started eating their food silently. There was a long silence prevailing between them. None of them spoke for the past 30 minutes.
"I'm sorry for being so lousy", he chipped breaking the silence.
"Actually, the thing is , I used to come here with Vidhushi".

"Vidhushi ????", she was waiting to ask this since last half n hour.

"My ex...", he looked down as if admiring the checks on the table cloth in front of him.

"Wife???? Sanyukta felt a lump stuck in her throat.

"Girlfriend , partner, live- in lover .....Whatever you name it ....", he replied.

"How long ago did you break up??"

"It happened before I met you", he replied suspiciously quickly.

"How long ago exactly???", she demanded.

He considered it a moment, then murmured " About 3 n half to 4 months"..

"You must have just broken up , when we first met......"

" I suppose so", he hesitated.

"Did she leave you??", Sanyukta was beginning to feel sick and cold. She frowned and chipped, "How long did you go out with her??"

"Look, it doesn't matter Sanyukta . The point is that Vidz and I were only together for 6 months and she was living here with me for four. You might think that I got into a relationship with you just to come out of the pain and all. But that's not the case. I'm not on the rebound, I don't see it like that. If I would have met you when Vidz and I were still together .........."

"What??" , she asked daring to breath but risking a gulp of the Coke .

"Who knows?? I don't think anyone can answer that.. .... I should have told you about her sooner. It's just .....when was the right time. We weren't on the normal speaking terms for 3 months and after that ...."- he shrugged

"Why did you bring me here of all the places ???"-- she enquired furiously.

"Because this is my favourite restaurant and obviously , I didn't think I would get so wound up being here"

"Do you miss her??? Vidhushi -Vidz?"

For a long moment, he stared into the candle flickering in a glass holder in the centre of the table.Then he shook his head.." No ...Not much . But when you spend time with someone however brief-living with someone , you're bound to miss their presence "

More than anything I'm angry with her and with myself. Actually , I made it easy for her to leave...I gave her every reason to want to go"

Sanyukta poked aimlessly at the pasta with her fork.
"What you did that was so bad??"she couldn't help asking.

"Basically I didn't give her much attention . I was always busy with my vintage motors all the time . "

"You said you brought her here sometimes though ", she pointed out.

"Yes ...but where was I the rest of the time... I just don't mean physically, but
I was never with her when she needed me emotionally and mentally . I wasn't with her.i was in my own world ....
She wanted a modern and sophisticated lifestyle,which she wasn't getting here with me.....She wanted me to move out with her to Mumbai, but I couldn't leave this place.  Like everybody I had certain priorities in life which  she couldn't understand".

The pasta in front of her was long forgotten ...she kept on gulping the Coke.Of course she was jealous , it was quite natural .

"What about you???" , he asked ,
"Don't you have skeletons in your closet ??".

"Well, I always displayed my skeletons in public. "----" Much to my parents dismay...especially mom's . They caught me smoking when I was fifteen at my sister's birthday party".

"You don't amok now ,though ".

"I wasn't really even smoking then. It was just to draw their attention towards me."

"If that's the worst thing you've ever done-------",she didn't let him complete.

"Oh no! ....Rehan was the worst "

"Rehan ???"

"Rehan Bajaj .....Rimi's father. He was everything my parents dreaded. I wasn't really in love with him either.."

"So you went out with him to get back your parents attention ", Randhir summarised -"and Rimi was the
by- product ????"

Sanyukta would have never put it that way herself.
"Like I've said she was unplanned . Once Rimi was born, my parents dotted on her. It was too much for me, I was getting suffocated . They had a control , until my grandma came to my rescue and brought me here"...

" Well...I don't seem to have much of an appetite myself", said Randhir.
"We should be lying on the couch the restaurant isn't really a place ".

"Sorry???? ", Sanyukta almost choked on hearing it.

"A psychiatrist couch , considering the way we are unloading ourselves", he chuckled..

"Oh, Right . Of course "-

Without warning he reached across the table and hooked a strand of her behind her ear . "Sorry, I've been wanting to do that all evening. It ... Err ..Seemed to to belong there. And that reminds me, I've forgotten your hair clip ". He gave her an apologetic smile.

"Listen--- I don't think we can make through the meal. I'll just be back as I have to appease my chef friend."

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The drive back from the restaurant to Sanyukta's house was silent. She had seemed so far away , even though she was sitting right beside him. The ambience had grown increasingly awkward by the time they pulled up outside her house.

"I'm sorry for all that happened today", he finally broke the silence. "I didn't intend it to be this way ."

"No....it's okay.." - she replied.
"Would  you like to come in for a cup of coffee ??".

"Are you sure?? You want me to come "

"What made you think so ???"

"Well..... You've been quite all the way home and ---"

"It's okay.. Everybody has a past and it's better we keep our past in past. You've been honest and I really appreciate that"..she smiled genuinely.

They walked into the house to find Ishika still sprawled in front of the T.v.
She jumped up flickering off the telly, made some excuse and hurried upstairs . And so he was alone with Sanyukta again.

In the glow of the lamp which stood on a small side table, her hair had rippled like a stream of silk across her shoulders. She had stood there in the middle of the room sweet and silent like a bride on her wedding night.... And he had felt privileged and desperate to scoop her up and do all those things he'd never thought twice about with women in the past. But, he didn't .May be because she was different.
They made coffee and sat on the sofa , without touching or looking at each other, or even sustaining a proper conversation .
Then after a while as he got up to leave, she jumped on her feet turning her face  up to his. He gave her a long and chaste peck on her cheek and promised her the best Sunday ever.

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