Song of the Firebird

Forty One

'I've missed you too, baby.'

His words echoed non-stop in her mind until she heard the door close behind her. Breaking out of her reverie, she turned to face him. She could see him on his hunches trying to retrieve an object from his baggage.

Natasha rapidly blinked at his figure. Her eyes trailed along his injured hand rummaging the contents of the pouch. Sensing her stares hitting his back, Jay turned to her and smiled. Chuckling, he said, 'You're not dreaming. I flew back for you, like I promised.' Dazed, her eyeballs popped out as if she was encountering something surreal.

Back in Madurai, at the hospital after reading through his sheet, she was sure that he might need at least two months to recover from the impact of the accident. Less than a month was not at all closer to the said number. As her mind began to jump between her logic and math, she was interrupted by the movements beneath her bump. Despite the foetus' mild regular day time movements, she felt a brisk shift causing her to hold her belly a little longer. Grasping her abdomen, she realised that she hadn't told him about her condition, yet.

Her baby. His baby.

Their baby.

Natasha saw him place his smaller luggage neatly near the shelves and wheel the biggest one in search of the room. As he began to drag himself away from where she stood, he heard her croaked whisper.

'I'm pregnant.' The fear of defying him materialised her lithe form.

Jay stopped on his tracks. Perhaps, he wished that he heard her words later, when they were about to hit bed for the night. He sighed and turned his head halfway to her, 'I heard you, baby. I will soon join you under the covers.' Natasha could do nothing but follow him.

As soon as Jay was convinced that Natasha had returned to her side of the bed without a book, he grabbed his medical kit to the bathroom. Behind closed doors, he strode towards the mirror and placed the kit before him above the sink. Taking a deep breath, he took off his shirt and looked at his wrapped up self peeking from underneath his white sleeveless vest. His ghostly eyes, partly from the jetlag and partly from what Danny had told him in the car, scorched him. Dropping his vest, his fingers fiddled with the straps of bandages and slowly, they unwrapped the white elastic strips around his torso.

'Drop the act, Danny. The recent episode of The Shady Goat is about the President firing his most trusted advisor. Why do you have to replay the one that was aired three weeks ago?'

'Look who's admitting to listening to crappy podcasts!'

'Stop the car.'

Swearing at his cold command, Danny pulled the brakes on reaching the farthest left on the highway. Without hesitating, Danny replied to Jay's first question. 'The real one is with Natasha, when she had no intentions to keep it for herself. I came to know about it and eventually, I saw the box in question. It is a wonder that it is still intact after all these years.'

After a moment of thought, Jay said, 'That explains everything.'

'Are you not mad at her for hiding something crucial from you or, at me for blurting it out when you are supposed to hear about it from her?'

'Maybe. I'm beyond angry at both of us, me and her, since we had to hide stuff from the others before we took our roles seriously.' Danny stared at Jay in silence. Jay continued, 'As for the destination, you are going to drop me by her place where she chose to hide from the gang's or private investigator's radar, aren't you?'

Jay winced when he removed the last of the strip and turned to his back. His black orbs studied his recent scar worked up from the middle of his back, extending to his left shoulder and ending inches above his left chest. Though his physiotherapist strictly warned him not to stretch or workout for two more months, he felt like breaking the rule. His mind clouded over his past, focusing mostly on Natasha's suspicious behaviour in all their outdoor dates.