Wine and Vodka

Untold Connection Part 4

Before I could say anything to Raj, Riya and Alia came running; jumped on to the bed and hugged me happily.

'Mom, we are going for picnic. What should we wear? Should we carry our racquets? Mom, why didn't you tell us before?' They had endless questions.

Riya was six and Alia was about to be four. Riya was a very charming chirpy girl and Alia always followed Riya in everything she did.

I kissed them and said, ' Momma wanted to surprise her little darlings. I was waiting for dad to come back and tell you. Isn't it great that we are all going together? Now run both of you. Dad and I will help you find something interesting to wear. Let me freshen up.' They jumped out of the bed, like frogs jumping into a pond and ran towards their room.

Raj looked at me and said, 'I know what's going on in your mind. I suggest, you should let your feelings flow like an unbridled river. I am there to take care of everything.' He came forward and kissed me hard; it melted everything within me. We wanted to hold that moment for long , but the time on the clock left us with no choice and we rushed to prepare for the picnic.

Riya and Alia were too excited and it was becoming difficult for me and Raj to control them. Finally, the bus arrived. We felt relieved, when Riya and Alia found their friends and forgot to bother us. I sat beside Raj and gave him a loving smile. He took my hand and whispered, ' I love you more when you give me your smile.'My smile broadened to embrace the warmth of happiness.

My eyes looked for someone, but that one person was missing. I was not sure if I was sad or relieved.

March was always very pleasant at Madhopur, a small place on the borders of Punjab and J&K. There was romance in the air.

Everything was moving smoothly when suddenly the bus stopped with a deflated tyre. All the children from the bus ran down hurriedly to check. Raj too, without wasting time, ran after Riya and Alia. The excitement of the children was one step above cloud nine; they ran here and there. To keep them engaged, Raj asked them to help in changing the tyre. Between pull and push they rushed and rolled the tyre. Luckily, there was no traffic at that route, which helped in managing the children to some extent.

It took some fifteen minutes to replace the tyre. Once everyone was inside the bus our journey started again. This time Alia wanted to be with her dad; so Raj took her in his lap and sat beside me. She gave me a kiss and said,' Momma, I love you,I love dad and I love picnic.' I laughed and kissed her back. 'I love you too my angel.'

Alia always longed for her dad more when Raj was away. She never missed the chance to be close to Raj, whenever she found him at home. Raj understood her little mind and tried to make up for the loss. I enjoyed watching them. Raj was cuddling her when she asked him to tell her a story. She went crazy when Raj told her stories of brave hearts with magical powers. While Alia was attentively listening to the story she had innumerable questions to ask, 'Dad why did Monty run away from home or why he had to work so hard when he had powers?' I watched her and kept myself engaged playing with her silky hair. Somewhere in the middle of all these my eyes searched for Riya. When I saw her playing dumb charades I allowed my eyes to relax.

It was almost noon when we reached our picnic spot.The place was appropriately selected. Those breathtaking hills and mountains with golden grass tickling and laughing around in the breezy atmosphere; looking straight into the crystal eyes of a small stream made the earth a kingdom of ecstasy.

There were already people waiting for us with tea and snacks. Few makeshift accommodations were erected for washroom, resting room for small children and also a first aid room.

Riya and Alia couldn't stop running into the wilderness; and, I had to ask Raj to be careful with them. We all lazed around the sparkling stream and had our tea and snacks. I was still under the influence of the surrounding beauty when I heard Alia shouting, 'Shiv uncle, Shiv uncle.' My head turned and I found Shivam standing tall in his jeans and a red tee shirt.

My heart pounded and pained. 'Why did he come? I was getting back to my usual self ; why he had to come and disturb my inner peace?' I brought the hell down on me.

I was not aware that Shivam had come before us to make the arrangements.

He ran towards the kids with lots of balloons and chocolates. The children surrounded him, but he knew how to deal with them; he teased and played before he gave them the opportunity to lay their hands on to their priced gifts.

Playing with the children brought an innocent smile on his face; it touched a remote corner of my heart and softened my agitated mind.

Taking long strides Shivam headed towards us. I was not yet ready to face him. So, I got up immediately when I heard someone calling us for a game of volleyball.

Shivam enthusiastically joined us in the game. We were a mixed group of men and women at both the sides. My eyes admired Shivam's athletic body; he resembled a Greek god playing against us; but knowingly he favored our group. We won and were rejoicing our victory when he came and congratulated me. I thanked him and moved forward avoiding all eye contact; I knew my eyes could betray me any moment.

While we were having lunch Riya and Alia played around us. Shivam came and took a seat beside me and said,'Ma'am you make great coffee.' I looked at him this time; an expressionless moment with a cluster of exploding thoughts passed between us.

'Ma'am, I too am very good at making coffee.' I smiled and said,' Shivam, how can you decide for yourself? You come home and make coffee for us; we can taste and decide about your talent.'

I was about to get up, when Riya tumbled down and made me fall along. Before I could hit the ground, Shivam jumped on to his feet to help me and I landed straight into his strong arms. The presence of hidden fire passed from his touch to every cell of my body.

Raj who was talking to someone realized that there were people around us; all inhaling and exhaling vicious thoughts, and therefore, he came running from the other side to take over from Shivam.
It's hard to explain when between that engaging moment an external connection was removed to establish an untold larger connection between me and Shivam.