by Varsha Dixit
Both Danika and Noah turned toward it.
In front of them stood a woman cop with a dour expression. “What happened here? Someone hit the bar early?”
“She said she is from ISIS!” A voice yelled again from the bystanders.
“What? No!” Danika stuttered.
In the current political atmosphere, the cop went from bored to menacing in seconds. “10-94! I repeat 10-94! I need backup!” She shouted in the radio attached to her shoulder and to her partner. Her partner, who had been walking with some catwalk swagger stopped, immediately, placing his hand on the holster.
In seconds, Danika was staring at the barrel of two pistols. For a person who had never seen any weapon other than a fly swatter, the cold gray barrel of gun was quite an upgrade. A terrifying upgrade!
Jobless, carless and shot to death in matter of hours! Danika’s teeth began to chatter and her legs trembled. “I… I…”
“She said nothing like that!” Noah interjected.
“Sir you stay back!” The policewoman ordered.
“You, move!” The cop beckoned Danika. “Over to the pavement. No sudden movements! Move I said.” Then she looked at Noah. “You Sir wait here.”
“Listen, this is a misunderstanding-“
“I am not talking to you Sir!” The Cop gestured at Danika. “C'mon Miss move over there right now!”
“What did I do? I was in an accident.” Danika's steps were stilted and unsteady.
The Cop made her stand against the wall and frisked her. Danika winced as the cop patted her back. “This is a huge misunderstanding! The accident was that man's fault. He slammed his brakes last minute.”
“Its not a crime to hit the brakes in this city!” The burly cop now moved to Danika’s legs.
Danika lowered her head to her chest even as she rested her forehead on the gray wall of a building. I hate that man! I hate him so much. In Danika's mind, Piyush and Craig suddenly didn't seem that bad.
“Put your hands behind your back.” The woman cop ordered.
Danika cringed. “Really, is that necessary? I'm not a terrorist, I'm not even a bad person.”
“Sure! Just a bad driver.” The Cop brought Danika's hands down.
Danika felt the cold steel around her wrists. Please let me wake up now, please let me wake up now...please! She bit her lower lip.
“I have been wanting to break this new pair of cuffs. Finally.” The cop turned around and shuffled Danika to the pavement. “Sit down! Your not under arrest. This is just a precaution till we don’t figure out who you really are.”
Danika flopped down on the cracked cement. The foul smell coming from a nearby drain, made her stomach turn.
“Don't I get a call?” Danika asked a clean shaved young cop who hovered close. He looked as if he had just graduated from high school.
The woman cop beat the young cop from answering. “Did I not just tell you Ma’am that you are not under arrest?” She frowned. “Just put the cuffs on you for everyone's safety, including yours. Sit tight for ten minutes and stop talking.”
Danika’s eyes wandered back to the accident site on the intersection. Paramedics had arrived and were checking the driver of the garbage truck. Am I going to jail?
Danika swallowed the plum sized lump in her throat. Her head suddenly felt very tight.
Now even Bro will disown me!
Chapter 8
“No, I'm fine. Thank you. I checked myself, I’m a doctor.” Noah, seated on the steps of the ambulance, assured the paramedic. “Is the driver okay?”
“Which one?” The paramedic retorted and walked back to the truck driver who was being examined by another paramedic.
Unnecessary hassles and paperwork! Noah scowled. His eyes darted to the woman who had caused the mayhem. He saw her seated on the pavement, her hands cuffed behind her back. The woman cop and another cop hovered around her.
Noah's scowl faded as he observed the woman with a now-messed-up high ponytail, big dark eyes, small but sharp nose, thin cheeks and short chin. Staring down, she kept blinking her lids.
“Did you check her?” Noah asked the paramedic inside the ambulance.
“She’s next. We are short staffed today.” Came the reply.
The woman shifted her head and Noah found her looking straight at him. Her expression altered. The wounded look disappeared. Her eyes blazed with anger. Noah could not bring himself to look away. Her gaze was intense.
Keeping her eyes fixed on Noah, Danika staggered to her feet. She took a step forward and then paused. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at her other foot still raised. She tottered.
The Cop said something to her, trying to stop her. Danika felt like the cop’s voice was coming from far away. Danika vigorously shook her head refusing to sit down even as her body twitched. The earth under her feet lurched.
“She is going pass out!' Noah jumped off the ambulance and hurried in Danika’s direction.
Danika did not see Noah running toward her. All she felt was her head tilting back as blackness swarmed her. Danika folded like a punctured balloon.
“Cradle her head!” Noah shouted reaching the unconscious Danika just in time to break her fall on the cracked pavement.
**__**
Danika’s first thought was that a ball of cotton was stuffed between her ears. Her eyes fluttered open to piercing white light. She was lying on a cushion of some sort. A soft masculine voice spoke to her. “Blink your eyes twice if you can hear me."
Danika narrowed her eyes trying to see the person who was talking to her. All she saw was a silhouette against the bright light.
She remembered someone. A face with gray sideburns! The douchebag! That thought brought some alertness to her mind. The person standing with the light behind him moved and bent over her. Danika saw his face.
Idris Elba?
Danika remembered her long time crush. Idris Elba is taking care of me! Danika attempted to pull her lips back trying to smile. “Idris! I love you. . you!” She spoke in a weak voice.
Idris smiled. “She is okay!” He said to somebody. Then Idris looked down and smiled at her again. “You were in an accident. You fainted. Do you remember love?”
Danika nodded. Idris is a doc? She tried to think but her temples hurt so she winced.
“Are you in pain? Is it hurting anywhere in your body? We will be arriving at the hospital soon.”
“Which hospital are we going to?" Danika asked in a weak voice.
“The local hospital!” Idris Elba replied.
Danika closed her eyes. “At that hospital please ask for-” She swallowed for her throat felt dry, “Dr. Dheer.”
“Okay. Can you spell that for me?”
Danika slowly spelled the last name.
“Husband?” Idris Elba asked.
“No. My step brother.” Danika closed her eyes succumbing again to the frailty she was experiencing in mind and body.
Chapter 9
A few hours later
Danika lay on the cold hospital bed in the emergency area. The smell of antiseptic and medicines was strong enough to cut through. Sipping a cup of chilled apple juice, she watched the activity around her.
An older man clutching his side sat groaning on the bed next to her. On the bed in front of her a young boy of seven or eight lay down as his mother hovered over him, constantly touching his forehead. On another bed a young woman sat cross-legged, her face ashen, eyes glassy. Her blue and pink dyed hair only made her look paler. A purple bruise under her eye and on her cheek spoke its own tale.
Hope she hit back too!
“Dani!”
At the masculine voice, Danika sat up. Her eyes moistened on seeing the man of around 5'7", in his late thirties, with a benign smile that gave his round face a sagely air. Dr. Hans Dheer, her stepbrother. “Hi bro!" She resisted the urge to fling herself in Han’s arms.
Danika's father had died when she was few months old. Nearly five years later her mother had married Hans's father. Hans
had been fifteen then. Hans had never cared much for his stepmom but he had welcomed Danika with open arms.
Within a year, Hans had taught Danika how to climb trees, make paper airplanes, fake body temperature by putting onion in the arm pit and produce killer farts by drinking milk after cauliflowers. When Danika's mother and stepfather had died in a freak accident three years into their marriage, Hans took the role of Danika’s legal guardian – in absentee. At that time, he was pursuing a medical degree living in a hostel in another city.
Danika stayed with several relatives, some gross, some indifferent and some loving though not in the same order. She attended various schools, some good, some rustic and some plain 'meh', again not in the same order. All this made Danika one heck of a survivor and thick skinned. To young Danika problems were simply hurdles that begged to be jumped over.
After his bachelors, Hans moved to USA for further studies and work. The distance between Danika and Hans grew yet their sibling bond only became stronger. Hans started sending money to Danika so she could live in a single girls hostel and pursue her education in graphic design.
Three years ago, Hans had fixed Danika's marriage to the son of one of his patient's cousin based in Los Angeles. Danika, who had her entire life only done what was expected of her, did nothing different. She married the stranger and came to USA, closer to stepbrother.
After her marriage ended abruptly, Danika had moved in with Hans for a while. She had no one else or nowhere else to go. A few weeks later, she had found a job in an advertising company and had moved in to a studio apartment.
Hans had just had twins and they needed more space. Also, his wife, Simi wasn't overtly fond of Danika and that was fine by the latter. Simi and Hans did not have the best of marriages so Danika was more than happy to do whatever she could to not cause trouble in an already strained relationship.
Dr. Hans Dheer was probably the only 'poor' doctor in the whole of United States. For he had a knack for making the worst investments! Every Ponzi scheme, big or small, domestic or international, had a common investor - Hans Dheer.
His colossal debt and impulsive gambles nearly broke his marriage. Her brother was trying hard to mend it by partaking in couple's counseling with his wife of seven years.
“What happened to you?” Hans asked, pulling a circular stool next to the Danika’s hospital bed.
“On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst, today was eleven and half.” Danika tried to joke but a tear leaked from the corner of her eye making her joke anything but that.
Hans opened the nearby kept box of wet wipes and cleaned her face with it, leaving more moisture on her face than before. Danika appreciated the thought behind the gesture. Hans clucked his tongue soothingly. “Dani, Dani it is the end of world only when it is the end of the world. Tell me everything from the beginning.”
So Danika did, not leaving out a single bit except for the vile curses she had bestowed on the man who had caused the accident.
After she finished, Dr. Hans crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. “It wasn't really that man's fault. You see that, right Dani?”
What the heck are you saying? It is totally that dilhole's fault. What is wrong with you Bro? How can you not see it? Danika wanted to shout but did not out of respect for the other patients. But she did glare at her brother.
Hans took off his glasses and cleaned them with the sleeve of his lab coat. “So, now what?”
“I will probably be thrown in jail!” Danika twisted the sheet.
“They do allow visitors there from time to time.” Hans put his glasses back on and smiled. Danika’s eyes widened. “Just kidding, sis. I will talk to the police and I know a lawyer or two.”
Danika nibbled at her lower lip like it was the main course. “I'm so sorry! Will it cost a lot?” She knew her brother was already in a tight financial spot.
“You stay put here!” Hans patted her hand. “Let me find out what the cops want to do.”
Danika nodded. Her eyes swinging back and forth between her brother's face and the ER door. Are the cops waiting outside to arrest me? Her head began to throb again. “I have never fainted in my life.” Her voice was hoarse.
Hans got to his feet and smiled down at Danika. “You'll be fine. Sometimes the head has just had enough.”
“Whether you agree or not, it was all that horrible man's fault! I hope I never see him again. This time I'll just drive over him.” Danika cursed with feeling.
Chapter 10
Two weeks later
“I'm leaving. Bye!” Danika called out to her sister in law, closing the front door behind her. Simi did not reply.
She is probably in the bathroom.
Danika often stopped at her brother’s house to cook for them or help her sister in law with household chores.
Danika walked out of the split-level, jetty, stone house with beige, brown bricks and a red tile roof. A few dormers with gabled roofs added character to the upper structure.
Terra-cotta and ceramic pots with colorful fauna were placed on either side of the solid mahogany front door adding a splash of color to the exterior.
Danika zipped the jacket, pulling the slider right up to her chin. “Damn, its cold!” Growing in warmer temperatures of West India, she always brought jackets a size bigger here. Her body enjoyed the cozy feel of a jacket hanging on her frame. Danika walked down the street, heading for the Indian produce store three blocks away.
Halloween decorations were up in the front of the houses, adding a stroke of orange and green to the neighborhood.
It had been nearly two weeks since the very eventful October 10th. Fortunately, there were no charges filed against Danika, criminal or civil. Unfortunately, Danika did not have a car now. Nor could she afford one. Her barely there credit history had been wiped out.
Just to pay her rent and utilities, Danika was working three odd jobs. She worked for a few hours at the Indian grocery store, then as a part-time receptionist at a dentist and lastly in the merchandising department of a retail store. On weekends, she babysat for people in her brother's neighborhood and for some in her apartment building.
Danika raised her chin and waved to some children who were riding their scooters. Out of habit, she stopped as she was about to go past the two four feet posts with metal light sconces placed on top. Behind them lay a sprawling brick house with a charcoal brick exterior, a paved porch that went around the house, several projections in the structure and a short curved driveway lined with trees. Weeds were sprouting in the grass and most of the plants had turned yellow. Some from fall and some from neglect!
Being a fan of classics, Danika could not help but draw parallels between this house and the Thrushcross Grange in Wuthering Heights. The front arched windows with crimson framing added color and rakish charm to the dwelling.
Few months ago the longtime owner, sweet Mrs. Schneider, had passed away in her sleep at the ripe age of 93. Her children had put it on sale immediately for they were all settled on West Coast, sunny California.
Who would trade sand for snow? Danika sighed. Just hope no piggish realtor buys it only to tear it down and make more cookie cutter homes.
While running errands for the old lady, who was confined to the house due to severe arthritis, Danika had come to know her well. Mrs. Schneider was a romantic who had left her homeland to marry her American pen-pal. Mrs. Schneider loved to celebrate all festivals. Her Halloween decorations and lights would go up in September and her Christmas lights on the first of November.
Bending down, Danika straightened the two cheap plastic pumpkins she had left under the light sconces at the driveway entrance. Sorry Mrs. Schneider, this is all I can afford this year. Next year I promise to do better.
The sounds of rumbling wheels made Danika pivot. A moving company truck slowly made its way down the street heading in Danika's direction. Danika glanced around and noticed that the realtor sign in front of the house now proudly proclaimed 'SOLD'.
A
re these the new owners? Curious, Danika moved away from the driveway and waited on the pavement under the shade of an orange yellow maple tree.
Her cell rang. Someone was calling Danika from the Indian grocery store.
“Hello!”
It was the storeowner's twenty something son Param Patel. “Where are you Sis? It’s getting busy in here.”
“Yes, Param, I'm two minutes away!' Danika replied turning away from the sprawling house and resumed walking toward her first job of the day.
Chapter 11
Noah drove past the moving truck and parked his softtail slim bike near the pavement. What the hell?
Taking off his helmet, he moved around just gazing at the never-ending house and land.
“This is the house?” One of the movers called out to him.
“Hold on!” Noah waved signaling him to wait as he called his realtor. She answered in two rings.
“What in heck’s name did you buy me mom?”
“Language, Noah Abe!” His mother reprimanded.
Noah paused. “But seriously, what the hell did you buy me?”
His mother sighed. “It's just a house.”
“No, it’s not!” Noah's tone was testy. “It's a massive ruin.”
“Then un-ruin it. Fix it!” She commanded in a motherly way. “There was a time when you enjoyed DIY house projects.”
“That was in college! Is Dad around?”
His mom paused. Noah could imagine her obsidian colored eyes just like his, narrow. “Are you going to whine to your dad about your mommy issues? How old are you?”
Noah shook his head and some of his dark hair grazed his forehead. He pushed it back. “What? No! I just wanna say hi to him.”
“Oh!” His mother exhaled noisily in his ear. “I got this amazing house dirt-cheap. It's a great neighborhood with the market, movie theatre and awesome schools within walking distance.”
Noah ignored how his mother slyly slipped in the part about schools. After Alicia's death, his mother had been pushing him to get back on the dating train. Noah had pushed right back. He was practical enough to know that one day he might develop romantic feelings for someone else but that seemed light years from now. Casual dating is all that he was doing nowadays.