Deciphering His Love

06 | The One With The Step Brother

Mumbai always dealt with traffic that was adamant to get cleared. They have been caught in the traffic for almost half an hour.

Shree looks out towards the window of Madhav's car. A soft smile spreads across her face and her eyes look out in wonder and delight, like a child staring at a chocolate dessert. She marvels at how the evening sky had a beautiful blend of colours like an artist's palette with stars shining like valuable diamond studs. She tries to a have complete and uninterrupted look at the sky, to marvel at each inch of the sky painted like a multicolored canvas. The tall grey and dull buildings that touched the sky wished for otherwise, and she got glimpses of the sky.

Madhav looks at her, as she leans infront of the window, until her nose presses against the glass and stretches her head upwards. He smiles to himself and is thankful for the windows of the car being tinted.

A few bikers to Shree's side dive deeper in to the traffic between narrow gaps of cars and buses. The humungous cargo lorry behind the bikers moves forward and blocks her view. The biggest frown spreads across her fair round face. She adjusts herself on her seat, putting the seat belt on. Her hand twists and turns the leather strap of her handbag, muttering something to herself, rolling her eyes as she sits crossed leg on the seat, her feet bare from the tight hold of her footwear.

"Don't let such a trivial thing bother you Ms. Prasad!" Madhav says as he holds her hand in his in a soothing way. A quick wave of electricity washes over her body, and she her heart beat accelerates by one thousand times.

"I'm not upset." she says turning towards him. "I-I-I was j-j-just- you know- just-"

She pulls her hand from his and finds his eyes latched on to hers. She gulps and he extends a hand towards her face. Her heart starts to drum inside her chest as he pushes a strand of her thick black hair behind her ear. The sound of the horns blaring from behind forces Madhav to rip his eyes from her. He drives ahead.

A few minutes after the traffic had dissolved Madhav's phone suddenly rings from his pocket. He fishes it out from his pocket, as he focuses on the road and puts it on speaker mode, signaling Shree to hold it towards him.

"Yo Bhai! Shyam here!" comes a merry baritone voice as smooth as silk. "Where are you at the moment?"

"I just passed Star Mall. Why?" Madhav asks curiously.

"Uhm... Nothing. I was wondering if you could pick me up from-"

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" Madhav interrupts confused. Shyam uses Madhav's old bike to go to college and come back home "Why can't you drive yourself home?"

"Bhai... Actually..." The voice starts to tremble with anxiety.

"What did you do to my bike, you son of a womanizer?" Madhav yells, and his gruff voice reverberates throughout the car.

"Bhai... Actually..." his voice is trembling like a leaf "I accidently parked it in a 'no parking' zone after lectures and the traffic cops towed it away."

Shree giggles to herself as she wonders how both the sons of Mr. RK get in trouble for illegal parking. Madhav's angry eyes whip at her and she shuffles in her seat like a timid hare.

"Did I just here a-?" Shyam asks curiously.

"No! There's no one!"

"But! I heard someone--"

"Where are you right now?" Madhav changes the topic.

"I'm standing near Diamond Garden!"

"Stay wherever you are. I'll be there in a while." Madhav says and disconnects the call. He turns to Shree. "I hope you're okay if we pick up my brother on the way to Chembur. Apparently his bike got towed away when he went out to someplace after his law lectures at his Uni."