‘You tend to know a lot about something that you get nothing of. Remember? You just told me that, and I also told you I don’t drink.’
Rihana smiled, realizing her drunkenness was playing with her memory. They both got into the car and Rihana asked what came to her mind, ‘My place or yours?’
‘First, I’ll drop you to your place and then move to mine.’ Saif sounded firm.
Rihana didn’t argue, but was suspicious as to why a man would say no. Especially after he had told her an hour ago how she could have her pick of men. Maybe he is impotent, or gay, or married . . . But the thought of being married works only as long as the blood doesn’t flow in his other head. Rihana chuckled at the joke in her head.
As Saif started driving, the mobile phone in his pocket buzzed. As he dug it out, Rihana saw from the corner of her eye that ‘Wife’ was calling. He avoided the call and put the phone back into his pocket. The phone rang again and Saif ignored it again.
‘She will continue calling till you answer. I know women,’ Rihana said casually.
Saif didn’t even look at her, nor did the cloud on his face clear. ‘You didn’t tell her that you were coming out for dinner with me, did you?’ Rihana asked.
‘She doesn’t know you, and moreover, I don’t go out for dinner with my patients,’ Saif said with a cold expression that Rihana couldn’t even have imagined him with.
‘But I wasn’t your patient!’ Rihana exclaimed.
‘I know, but you know what I mean, Rihana.’
‘Why was I an exception?’
‘Because I like you.’
‘Did you bother to tell your wife this?’ scoffed Rihana.
‘Are you crazy, Rihana? That’s not funny. It could break up my marriage!’ Saif’s voice sounded angry now.
Rihana waited for some time and then drew herself closer to Saif to hold his hand.
‘What are you doing?’ Saif asked, startled.
‘You don’t want to do this?’ Rihana asked seductively. This was too much for Saif. He stopped the car and pulled Rihana closer to him. After feeling her softness with his fingers, he kissed her passionately. Rihana went with the flow, but disengaged after a few seconds and took her top off. Saif was high on her now; he adjusted her seat for the backrest to go down. Rihana was in a semi-sleeping position and Saif was on top of her. No doubt she was enjoying this, but her blood also seemed to be flowing to her brain—unlike Saif, whose blood was now gushing into his loins. She pushed him back a couple of times and resisted his touch for him to come to his senses.
‘Saif, remember you can either be truthful or faithful in a relationship. And I’m sure you’re not a dog. Dogs are faithful. If you want to be married and still have a good time without being guilty, then be truthful,’ Rihana said with the utmost clarity, surprising Saif as she had downed an entire bottle of wine by herself.
‘You can’t be truthful and have a good time, Rihana.’
‘Exactly, Saif! Then be faithful,’ Rihana said, leaving Saif at a loss for words.
‘Call up your wife and tell her. Honesty is the best policy.’ Saif thought it was all a joke, but Rihana wasn’t kidding. She ensured him that she was being serious and that being truthful with his wife would do him more good than harm.
Saif was at loggerheads with the two voices in his mind—one arguing with his reason and the other supporting the throbbing male wildness that had been awakened in him from kissing this resplendent woman.
‘Is it some women empowerment concept you wanted to pay tribute to by removing your shirt on the road?’ Saif asked, almost sure about the fact that he wouldn’t disclose this meeting to his, also in a bid to change the topic.
‘Nooo . . . not at all! I was just trying to mess with your head,’ Rihana said, shrugging her shoulders.
‘I’ve probably done more boob jobs than the condoms you’ve used in a lifetime, girl,’ Saif said, now eager to show that he was not enticed by her bare breasts and the male ego had undoubtedly kicked in.
‘Okay, but these are original,’ said Rihana casually, washing away the expression of pride on Saif’s face and shifting it to herself.
‘Sour grapes?’ Rihana said, being mean.
They reached Rihana’s house and Saif stopped the car near the gate and asked, ‘Won’t you invite me in for a cup of coffee?’
‘Saif, opportunity doesn’t knock at your door twice. That ship has sailed.’
Rihana walked into Cupid and opened the door with her set of keys. She was surprised but happy to walk in on Zara watching Final Destination on Star Movies and Tiger resting peacefully next to her. He came forward to greet Rihana with a wagging tail.
‘He hasn’t eaten his food,’ Zara informed Rihana, pointing at Tiger.
‘Oh, come boy! I’ll feed you.’ Rihana picked up Tiger’s bowl and poured some dog food in it.
‘I’m glad that at least you have some reason to come to Cupid now.’ Zara teased while watching Tiger eat.
‘So was he your “Final Destination”?’ Zara asked, inquisitive.
‘No, he was more like “Mission Impossible”.’
She had Zara’s full attention now. Rihana barely said such things about a date. Zara raised her eyebrows quizzically. Rihana said, somewhat frustrated, ‘He is married, and he didn’t tell me that before he confirmed this date.’
‘People’s idea of a date could be completely different from yours, Rihana.’
‘Explain “different”.’
‘I don’t know, but I’m sure his idea wasn’t to get laid on a one-night stand.’
‘Look, on a serious note, why would a man go out with a girl if he has no intentions of sleeping with her?’
As Rihana said this, the coffee mug slipped from Zara’s hands and she fell to the floor, convulsing. This wasn’t the first time this was happening, so Rihana was adept at handling such a situation. She gently turned Zara to her side and let all the saliva and fluids flow out. She was told early on that this was to make sure that Zara did not choke on her own fluids. When she realized that Zara was having trouble breathing, she gently cleaned her mouth of saliva and waited for the convulsions to stop. Saif, their conversation and the ensuing frustration all flew out of her mind, and the only concern that remained was Zara. This wasn’t the best ending to the day.
3
Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner
‘Good morning, darling! How are you feeling today?’ Rihana asked Zara as she entered the latter’s bedroom with a cup of steaming hot coffee.
Zara groaned while rolling herself to the side to hoist herself up. She sat with her back resting on the back of the bed and quizzically said, ‘Okayyy! Someone is really chirpy this morning. Did we make love last night?’
‘Don’t rub salt on my wounds, you evil little angel,’ Rihana said fondly.
‘Ah-ha, so my hunch was right. You are having a dry spell, aren’t you! My little siren has not had any luck in a long, long time. Have you?’ Zara grinned.
Rihana couldn’t help but smile back at Zara’s impishness that morning. She watched her from the corner of her eyes, overcome with affection. This woman really did read her like no one else had ever done. Zara Andrews! The person she was closest to. She snuggled up to Zara for a cuddle, embarrassed to be caught out like that. She had hoped to end her dry spell with Saif last night, but fate clearly had other ideas. For all her false bravado over men, she preferred quality to quantity in reality.
‘I guess I have to thank you for bringing Tiger into my life! None of my men ever seem to stick around, but this Tiger is like industrial-strength glue. He just does not leave my side! He doesn’t eat, sleep or even poop without me. To top the list, I have Miss Zara Andrews, who is worse than Tiger. At least Tiger is mentally sane,’ she said dramatically, pretending to be harassed.
Zara smiled a charismatic smile at Rihana’s histrionics—a veiled attempt to cheer her up and keep her happy. In addition to the prescribed medicines, doctors had also suggested keeping Zara occ
upied with happy movies, yoga, other forms of exercise or a pet.
Rihana had gifted Tiger to Zara on her twenty-fourth birthday, so she could be slobbered on all over by Tiger’s affectionate licks and say goodbye to her psychiatrist. But her situation had seemed to worsen with time and the convulsive attacks had become more frequent and severe. So Tiger had come under Rihana’s care.
‘Why don’t you go for a vacation, Zara? Take a break for some time or visit your dad. He worries about you and calls up almost every day to ask about your health.’ Zara rolled her eyes. She had blocked her parents’ numbers on her mobile phone and kept her interactions with them limited.
‘If that’s such a good idea, why do you stay away from yours?’ retorted Zara.
‘My parents don’t care for me as much as yours do for you.’
‘You don’t give them a chance to care for you. You deal with your problems on your own. I’m the one who is a pain.’
‘That I agree. You’re a pain. In the ass. And that’s definitely not the choicest of places,’ said Rihana.
‘So are you saying you have someplace where it would be more pleasure than pain?’ Zara was back to being the naughty woman.
‘Yes, but that would be if it were in someone else’s ass. You should try xvideos.com sometime and you’ll know how much fun it is to watch someone else’s ass feel pain. But wait a minute . . . How would you even know something like that, Zara?’
‘Are you testing me, because I have far better .coms in my arsenal. Except I don’t watch anything that is a “pain in the ass”, if you know what I mean.’ She winked.
Rihana grinned like a jackass at this. She had often wondered if Zara watched any porn and what kind, but she had a task at hand. Zara’s dad had called and Rihana wanted to make sure Zara at least let him an inch into her life to hear him out.
Rihana’s smile vanished to give way to seriousness. ‘Zara, your dad called.’
‘And business is probably all that he talked about?’
‘On the contrary, he wanted to come visit you.’
‘Please tell him that’s not necessary. I am doing better each day. Why would I want to jeopardize my progress by meeting him?’
‘I’ve already told him as gently as I could. But he keeps insisting, and I have run out of things to say to him. And tell me something, why don’t you want to meet him?’
‘Because I don’t like him. Simple.’
‘Nobody likes the man who has done the mother, even once, and you were a result of it.’
‘As if you were born without your father sinning?’
‘Hate the sin, not the sinner,’ Rihana said, chuckling, as she had copied the line from Saif; then, when she was reminded of what he had done, her smile disappeared.
‘You love the sin as well, Rihana, and that makes you the biggest sinner of all times.’
‘Try sinning once and I assure you that Dr Chugh will be out of your sight forever. I’m sure you don’t like him either.’ Rihana was referring to Zara’s psychiatrist. Zara didn’t say anything in response. ‘Try the traditional therapies of overcoming depression. I am sure you’ll benefit,’ Rihana said, trying to convince Zara.
‘And what are those?’
‘Booze and sex,’ Rihana said and stopped for effect. When Zara merely rolled her eyes in exasperation, she continued, ‘No, really! I am telling you. Once you try them, you won’t need television or yoga. You can try all the postures in bed itself, but with a condom . . . And if it’s extra-large, it’s going to be bliss.’ Rihana laughed lightly again, remembering Saif, but this time she was also reminded of Shamita. It let her keep her smile and that cheered up Zara.
Just then, Nandini walked in and handed Zara’s medicines to her with a glass of water.
‘What are you doing here, Nandini? You should be resting!’ Zara wasn’t very pleased to see Nandini work in her condition. Her stitches were only two days old.
‘Didi, if I don’t work, I’ll feel more sick. I’m better now,’ Nandini insisted.
After taking the medicines, Zara removed the blanket and stepped out to go to the washroom while Rihana went to feed Tiger.
‘Tiger beta, eat!’
Rihana laughed when she heard Nandini speak to Tiger, but she knew he would refuse to eat unless she fed him herself. Nandini put some dog chow on her palm and squatted next to Tiger so he could sniff the food. Tiger turned his head away like a spoilt child, seeming more human than dog.
Frustrated, Nandini left the food there and dusted her hands. ‘Didi, look! He refuses to eat when I feed him. I don’t even know why I try every day. You feed him now.’
Nandini looked back as she was walking out to see that the very moment Rihana sat down with Tiger, he began eating from his bowl. She muttered under her breath for all the effort she had just put in, albeit in vain. Rihana threw her head back and laughed a fair bit.
Later, when Nandini was doing the dishes, she said to Rihana, ‘Didi, you definitely have a bond from another lifetime with this Tiger.’
‘Yes! He was Veeru and I was Basanti,’ quipped Rihana, spotting the perfect opportunity to throw in a Sholay reference. Undoubtedly, she was quite fond of the movie and the names in it. ‘Dhanno’, what she had christened her car was also from the movie.
Nandini was amused at Rihana’s comment. ‘I’m telling you, didi, you should think of having children now. If you can get attached to a dog and look after him so well, you’ll make a great mother.’ Nandini smiled at Rihana.
‘But how? Don’t I need to be married first?’ Rihana played along, saying not what she would have said otherwise, but perhaps what Nandini would have wanted to hear, only to be surprised by the reply.
‘Come on, didi! You don’t have to be married to have kids. What has marriage got to do with having children? Trust me, if it were in my hands, I would’ve never gotten married and only had children. Your society is even more advanced; I am sure you can do it easily. Look at me! I have a dead snake around my neck and I have to live with it.’
Rihana raised her eyebrows in appreciation. ‘That’s a very progressive thought, Nandini. But I don’t think I’m ready for such a big responsibility.’
‘Nobody is, didi. But today, when I look back, my kids were the best things that happened to me.’
‘No, no. I neither like babies, nor do I like dogs. They are always pooping and drooling. Children are God’s way of punishing us for committing an act like sex.’ Nandini laughed at Rihana’s confession.
Then Rihana decided to ask Nandini if she could shed any light on Zara’s troubles. ‘Nandini, you’ve been with Zara for a long time now. Do you know of anything that went wrong? I cannot imagine her being so mentally disturbed.’
‘Zara Didi was a very jovial and loving person. But her parent’s marriage and then her marriage totally ruined her. That’s why I say, one should have children, but never get married.’
‘What happened with her husband?’
‘I don’t know, didi. Zara Didi’s parents—our Saab and Memsaab—got a divorce a month after Zara Didi’s marriage. And then Zara Didi came back home one fine day. She was in a state of shock. She did not talk to anyone, nor did she share what was eating away at her from the inside. It got so bad in a few days that they even had to admit her to a mental hospital for six months.’
‘Six months! I didn’t know it was that serious in the past! Why didn’t anyone tell me about it? I keep teasing her on and off, thinking it was a small problem. I would have been more careful then.’
‘Who wants to talk about a mentally sick girl, didi? It’s a taboo in our society. Plus it would have marred Zara Didi’s image in the society too.’
‘Hmm. But do you know what led to this?’
‘Zara Didi was upset when she came back. To add to it, Saab and Memsaab started fighting more after that, blaming each other for her health. The fights further worsened her condition. Then she hated Memsaab for forcing her to stay with her husband. Zara Didi would cry and shout a
bout that so much that she lost her mental balance after some time and got admitted to the mental hospital. Memsaab was advised by the doctors not to be around Zara Didi so she took to puja-paath after that.’
‘Not puja-paath, you silly girl! What she does is called meditation.’
‘Yes, same thing. Whatever you wish to call it, didi, but it wasn’t right for a mother to leave her daughter alone like that. The best form of puja-paath for a mother is to look after her children. If a girl is not happy with the man she gets married to, what’s the point of the whole marriage? Look at me—if only my father was alive and we weren’t as poor, I would’ve left my man a long time ago.’
‘Your father would’ve accepted you?’ Rihana was curious to know.
Nandini gave it a thought and didn’t speak for a while. Rihana repeated her question.
‘I don’t know, didi. Maybe he would have, maybe not. I think not. No matter how much your parents love you, when it comes to societal situations they do behave differently,’ Nandini said softly.
Rihana didn’t bother to pass judgement on Zara’s mother’s actions as she didn’t want to fuel any gossip about Zara’s family, whatever their flaws. She steered away from the topic, saying, ‘Zara is an independent girl, Nandini. She doesn’t need anyone. And so are you. It’s just that you can’t make up your mind because its poisoned by your need for societal approval.’
‘I know Zara Didi is independent, but everyone needs someone in life. I’m glad you came into her life.’ She had an ear-to-ear smile while saying that. ‘I have a strong feeling that she will get better now. All she was missing was love from someone, and you have filled that gap in her life.’
‘I know that, Nandini, but what about her father? Why doesn’t she live with him?’
‘After Memsaab left, Saab was always angry. He would fight with Zara Didi every day. He has enough wealth, but now Zara Didi is doing better than her father. Instead of Zara Didi going to the mental hospital, it should have been her father. Such people need treatment. She had already suffered in her marriage. Maybe her husband used to beat her. You know what a torture it is, both physically and mentally.’
Love Bi the Way Page 5