by Shilpa Suraj
Love, Marriage, and Other Disasters
Shilpa Suraj
Copyright © 2020 Shilpa Suraj
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
First and foremost, Debdatta - Thank you for being you. This story wouldn't have seen the light of day without you and your unwavering support
Andaleeb, Falguni, Aarti, Ruchi, Preethi, Sue and Apeksha - Thank you for answering my endless questions and believing I could do this.
Thank you all for being my people, my tribe. You make my world a warmer, more loving place.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
About The Author
Chapter 1
“It’s not like you have virginity issues.”
Alisha tapped one finger on the clutch she’d left lying on the table as she surveyed the ape sitting in front of her. This was the last time she was letting her friends bully her into going out on a date. Deafening music throbbed all around them as the DJ segued into his last song for the evening.
Misreading her silence as consideration for his incredibly attractive offer, the ape leaned in closer. “Look, I know you miss it after having been married and all. It’s hard to live without once you’ve had a taste of it.”
“And you’re offering to help ease my, for want of a better word let’s call it, problem?”
Leaning back in her seat, Alisha gestured with one hand for the waiter to bring the bill over. She watched, as interpreting her gesture as an acceptance of his offer, her date preened and sat up straight. He was attractive in a make the most of yourself kind of way. Searching her mind and body for anything, any little twinge of interest, she shrugged when she found none. Ah well, serves her right for spending over an hour getting ready for a date with someone she hadn’t even been interested in to begin with.
“It’s going to be a very good night.” Leering now, he leaned over to take her hand in his own sweaty one.
She weighed manners against what was running through her mind for a micro-second before motioning him closer to ensure she was heard over the music.
“Women talk, you know.”
Frowning, he stared back at her in complete bewilderment. “They probably do, I suppose. So?”
Hmmm, it was a surprise he could keep his balance while walking if he was that light in the head.
“So, I’m used to bigger, much bigger than what you’re rumoured to be packing. One description, I believe, was a button on a fur coat. I doubt you could ease my anything.”
Leaving enough money on the table to cover her share of the bill, she walked out without looking back.
---xxx---
In high heels and a short, sleeveless red dress that left a fair amount of her back bare, Alisha knew she was attracting a lot of unwanted attention. Ignoring the hoots and catcalls that followed any woman standing alone at that hour of the night, she brushed back her waist length black hair and studied her watch for the umpteenth time.
She suppressed a shiver as the night breeze blew past. Winters in Hyderabad could be chilly and she’d been stupid enough to forget her jacket at home. As she waited for the valet to bring her car around, Alisha pulled out her mobile and sent a text to her best friend, Nisha.
Total dud! In his eyes, I should be grateful for his little peanut’s attention. On my way home now.
Tipping the valet, she slid into the car and turned the music on loud. At least the music in her car was her choice unlike the deafening rock that had been pounding through the air in the pub. Congratulating herself on having picked a place close to home for the so-called date, she left for the comfort of home and dinner in front of the television.
She’d changed into comfortable shorts and a tattered old t-shirt and was already eating her solitary dinner of good old Maggi noodles when her phone beeped with a reply.
Yikes! Did you see it?
Putting her plate aside, she typed back quickly.
Yuck! No!
She’d barely put the phone aside before it beeped again.
Then how do you know peanut sized?
Giving up on dinner, she shot back.
Figured must be same size as brain. ☺
Knowing she’d get a reply in a second, she waited patiently.
Did you tell him? About you know what?
Why would I? None of his business
She sat in silence watching the light on her phone’s display die out. No, she thought as she picked up her bowl again, it was nobody’s business but her own that she was still a virgin even after being married for two years in the past.
---***---
By the time Alisha parked in her office building, she was desperate for a hit of coffee. The bumper-to-bumper traffic and the endless diversions due to road maintenance were enough to drive any normal person insane. And she was clinging to a semblance of sanity even on her best days.
Striding through security, she headed straight for the recreation area. Vigorously stirring three teaspoons of sugar into her cup, she took a deep swallow before letting out a sigh of relief.
“You’re going to be climbing the walls soon with that kind of a sugar fix.”
Turning to face Nisha’s amused smile, she rolled her eyes at her. “Desperately needed it with the kind of ride I’ve had.”
“Well, if you wouldn’t oversleep every day and actually take the cab the company provides, you wouldn’t have to battle traffic.”
Alisha took another fortifying swig before answering, “We all can’t be model employees, can we? I’ve got to run. I have some emails to reply to.”
“And here I thought we’d gossip about your date last night over coffee.”
Walking backwards so she could see Nisha and continue to talk, she asked, “What’s your day like?”
“Meetings till 12. My afternoon is relatively free.” Taking a sip of her black tea, Nisha raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Lunch at 12:30? I’ll fill you in on last night.” Wiggling her fingers to say goodbye, Alisha turned and headed for her cubicle.
She was lucky that her company had coffee machines and little breakout areas on every floor or she would spend most of her day running from her desk on the fourth floor to the cafeteria on the ground floor looking for her coffee fix. She supposed if she had to be addicted to something, coffee wasn’t a bad option.
As she got closer to her desk, she groaned inwardly. If her so-called date last night had been an ape, King Kong sat at the cubicle next to her. Separated as their desks were by only a thin partition, she couldn’t afford to ignore him too blatantly.
“Hi.” Ajay’s eyes lit up at the sight of her approaching.
“Hey.” Settling her laptop into its slot at her desk, she smiled noncommittall
y in his direction.
Realizing he was staring at her cup of coffee like it had offended him in some way, she asked, “Is something wrong?”
“I was hoping we could get coffee together today.”
“Why?” Alisha asked baldly even as she continued to unpack the contents of her laptop bag and settle them into the drawers.
“Well,” Floundering a bit, Ajay looked over at her. “I thought it would be nice to have coffee together.”
“Maybe some other time.” Smiling politely, she settled into her seat and took a look at what the day had in store for her. Working in Corporate Communications for one of the largest multinationals in the country meant her inbox was always overflowing on a Monday.
Her manager and she were a two-member team who handled anything that arose from across all the four branches of the organization located in India. It meant her work life was insanely busy but also wickedly challenging. A fact she relished. Banishing all thoughts of coffee and dates from her mind, she focused on addressing all the unread emails.
“How about now?”
Looking up from drafting a reply to an interview request from a leading technology magazine, Alisha frowned. “What?”
“How about coffee now?” Ajay repeated.
“I just had coffee.” Gesturing vaguely towards her cup which was still half full, she turned back to her desk.
“That was more than three hours ago. You need to throw that cup out.”
“Three hours?” With a jolt, Alisha looked at her watch. “Oh! I have a friend waiting for me for lunch now. Talk to you later.”
Locking her laptop and pushing herself to her feet, she joined the lunch time crowd gathering near the elevator. It looked like most of the office had decided on an early lunch today. The cafeteria hall was going to be packed.
She made it to the cafeteria with five minutes to spare and scanned the menu for the day quickly before grabbing some cut fruit and settling into a small table in a corner. The smaller the table, the less likely people would join them for lunch. She needed to get back to her desk as quickly as possible if she was going to make a noticeable dent in her to-do list.
Waving to get Nisha’s attention when she walked in a few minutes later, she polished off the last of her fruit and headed towards the sandwich counter.
“Are you on a diet or something?” Nisha walked over with a plate loaded with her usual rice, dal and curry.
Was that chicken curry? Alisha thought there might be a little drool dribbling out of the corner of her mouth. Whatever Nisha had smelled amazing.
She stared down at her bland, sensible sandwich. Well-intentioned but bland and sensible. That about described her life. The thought had her hunger abandoning her, but she forced herself not to waste the food she’d served herself.
Realising she hadn’t answered Nisha, Alisha smiled. “Not really.”
Once they’d sat down at the table again, Alisha bit into her sandwich. Swallowing quickly, she continued, “I need to finish fast. I have tons of work waiting for me and I want to leave by six at the latest for home.”
“Why?” Making yum noises at the back of her throat, Nisha dug in to her vastly more appetising lunch. The drool was back but Alisha swallowed determinedly and ignored it.
“I have a wedding reception to go to. Mom and dad aren’t in town so I’m stuck with representing the family.”
“So, what happened last night?”
“Apparently, I don’t have virginity issues. Did you know that?”
Snorting, Nisha picked up her glass of water. “I’m sure most of them think that since you’re divorced and all, but he has to be really dumb to say it.”
“It was all part of his pitch. He followed it up with how I must have gotten used to sex during my marriage, and therefore, must be really missing it now. It’s not funny,” she insisted as Nisha started to laugh.
“You can either laugh about it or cry,” Nisha pointed out. “Which would you prefer?”
“True.” Her friend was blunt, to the point of being rude sometimes, Alisha reflected but she always spoke the truth. And in Alisha’s world, that was priceless. “Want to know the best part?”
“Oh! There’s more?”
“He messaged me this morning to tell me that my bill calculations yesterday were wrong and I owe him another hundred and thirty bucks.”
As Nisha exploded into laughter, Alisha finished the rest of her sandwich and swiped the last spoonful of rice from her friend’s plate.
“Want some dessert? I think I saw some mousse looking thing at the end.”
Still chuckling, Nisha nodded before pushing back to walk with her to the dessert counter.
---xxx---
Chapter 2
Somewhere around the fifteenth namaste, Alisha started to get a little irritated. Turning to face the man who’d been staring at her since she’d walked in, she raised one eyebrow and tried glaring at him to make him stop. When he only grinned in response, she turned away and walked to the other end of the wedding hall.
The entire venue was flanked by massive fake marble pillars which would have made handy hiding places, but Alisha was doing her best not to embarrass her parents tonight even if they weren’t present to witness it. There were certainly enough people around to make sure they heard about anything she got up to.
Joining a group of relatives, she mentally counted down the minutes before she could leave without causing offence. She’d already wished the couple and handed over the gift so that meant she could disappear in another half an hour or so.
“Alisha, I was just telling Radhika here how much nicer today would be if your parents were around.”
Smiling at a distant aunt, she tried to focus on the conversation swirling around her. “They’ll be back in another two days. Mama said she would come and visit everyone as soon as she is back.”
“I’m so glad. I have some very good news for her.” Pinching her cheek and beaming, Mrs. Srinivasan missed Alisha’s barely disguised wince. Thirty-three years old and her cheeks were still being pinched like she was three. Those damn pillars were starting to look inviting again.
“I’m sure she would be happy to hear it. Aunty, I think I see a colleague from office by the buffet table. I should go over and say hello.”
“Who?” her aunt asked, suspicion carved into the lines of her face.
Alisha waved in the general direction of the buffet table. “The girl in the yellow kanchi saree. Can you see her?”
Her aunt squinted into the distance, her frown giving way to confusion. “There are many yellow sarees.”
Exactly what Alisha was banking on. With another hurried wave to no one, she kissed her still-peering-into-the-distance aunt goodbye and walked off.
She hadn’t gotten more than two feet away before she walked into creepy staring guy.
“Excuse me.” Brushing past him, she continued walking only to find him keeping pace with her.
“Hi.”
Ignoring him, she made her way towards the mandap to make her goodbyes to the hosts. She was done with this. Bad behaviour or not, she was out of here.
“My name is Rama.”
“Good for you.” Ignoring him was taking a lot of energy. Reaching the beautifully decorated stage on which the couple sat, she climbed the few stairs and tapped the bride’s brother on the shoulder. He was standing to one side talking to an elderly man Alisha didn’t recognize.
“Alisha,” Turning, he grabbed her in a bear hug and lifted her off her feet.
“Put me down or my saree pleats are going to come off. They’re barely staying in place as it is.” Laughing, she shoved at him till he obliged.
“I didn’t see you till now so was wondering if you’d come. Love the pink saree you’re wearing by the way.”
“It’s mauve, you ignorant pig, and I doubt you could see anyone in this crowd. I’m going to leave now. I still have a long drive and it’s getting a little late.”
“Have you eaten?” Be
fore she could protest, he’d mumbled an apology to the man he’d been talking to and was towing her off the stage and in the direction of the buffet.
“Abhishek, who’s the guy in the green shirt?”
“Hmm?” Intent on making his way through the crowd, it took Abhishek a minute to process her question. Turning to look, he spotted who she was asking about and frowned. “I have no idea. Maybe he’s someone from the groom’s side. Is he bothering you?”
“He’s just been staring all night. He seems harmless enough.” Shrugging, she picked up a plate and started serving herself. She should have known she wouldn’t be able to escape without eating.
Loading up on all the traditional Hyderabadi delicacies of biryani, mirchi ka salan and bagara baingan, she decided she may as well make the most of it. Like any true-blue Hyderabadi, biryani was her comfort food and she could never get enough of it.
Making sure she had company, Abhishek said his goodbyes and left. She was halfway through her main course and a mind-numbing conversation about the best way to make rasmalai when she turned to find a now familiar green shirt in her line of vision.
She’d had enough. Shoveling in her meal faster than she’d intended to, she stood up. Putting her empty plate into the basins provided for it, she walked over to where he was standing.
“Is there any particular reason you’re following me around?”
Clearing his throat, he turned towards the lady standing next to him. “This is my mother.”
Mystified, Alisha folded her hands into a namaste and smiled at the lady in an orange saree beaming at her. When mother and son continued to just stand there smiling, she backed up a step.
“I really have to go now. It was nice meeting you.” Flashing another smile, she’d barely taken two steps before he mumbled something incomprehensible.
“I beg your pardon?” Desperately hoping this wasn’t going to take long, Alisha turned back again.
“I wish to marry you. If you tell me your father's name, my mother will approach them with the offer.”