FLAWLESS

by Leena Varghese

  “He was protecting his sister!”

  Ricky swallowed a gulp from his glass and rolled the ice in his mouth. “Look, everything that happened was bad! If I had been around I would have stopped my cousins from...” He paused abruptly, knowing that he had blundered into it.

  Giana watched him trying to retract his words.

  “Are you finally admitting that your family was responsible for Michael’s death?” whispered Giana, her face tight with anguish.

  Ricky was suddenly contrite and afraid that he had revealed too much. There had been no evidence of the act. He had been in Goa, hiding. And his cousins had decided to teach Michael a lesson he would remember. It had gone wrong. The only thing in their favour was that they had not left a clue. The Bartholomew family had deep pockets and a wide network of prominent connections, making it easy for them to cut loose from the case.

  “Look, I don’t want to talk about the past. In fact, I have nothing to do with them now! I am a self-made man!” he added loftily.

  “You mean your father threw you out? You couldn’t survive without that kind of cash, Ricky!” scoffed Giana.

  She remembered a time when Ricky’s pockets were lined with his father’s ill-gotten money. He had thrived on impromptu, glamorous parties flowing with liquor. But she had foolishly believed that he loved her and that she could wean him away from such frivolities.

  “Papa cut me out of his will a few months ago,” Ricky conceded reluctantly, noting her cynicism. “He was angry when I refused to marry a girl of his choice. He wanted me to join him in business which I refused. The girl was a business partner’s daughter.”

  “Oh, that would have been lovely! A match equal to your status.”

  “No! I didn’t want marriage! Quite frankly, she was fat and ugly!” he chortled at his own tawdry joke.

  Giana looked at him as if he had crawled out of the gutter. She could have questioned his insensitivity. But she knew Ricky was too arrogant to acknowledge his prejudiced notions about beauty.

  “Don’t look at me like that! Honestly, I didn’t even want to marry you.”

  “Then why did you propose to me?” she asked the most vital question.

  “You refused to sleep with me without a wedding ring! You had led me on for too long. You and your traditional trash!” he snapped, the pretentious mask slipping from his face.

  “Who was that woman, Ricky?” she whispered, still stinging with wounded pride at the sight of Ricky sprawled naked in someone else’s bed that morning.

  He hadn’t expected that question. “Uh...she was just... one of the house-keeping staff. I had known her for a while,” he said shrugging dismissively.

  “You went straight to her after we...” Giana couldn’t speak further.

  “What was I supposed to do?” he chuckled sheepishly. “You are beautiful, I won’t deny that! But you weren’t experienced or entertaining enough!”

  “I loved you. I left my family for you. Wasn’t that enough?” Giana couldn’t help the resurgence of pain and shame.

  “Love? Come on! We had fun! You got to sing with my band and go places and do things that your stuck-up family would never have allowed you to do! Have you forgotten the benefits you received?”

  “Benefits?” she could barely breathe.

  “Yes! The lavish parties you attended with me? You met a lot of people from the music industry! You were ready to worship me because I gave you the best time of your life! I was your only hope out of your middle-class existence.”

  Giana stared at him in repugnance. “Why didn’t you just dump me before the marriage?”

  Ricky stopped abruptly, angry that the conversation hadn’t gone the way he had planned.

  “I don’t know! I...sort of liked the fact that you were so enamoured with me. I felt like a film star! You were like a little adoring puppy, following me all the time!” he chortled again. “But you wanted marriage and family. It was such a stupid idea to elope.”

  “I see that clearly now,” whispered Giana, so angry and humiliated that her neck ached with the tension of sitting stiff in his presence without hurling something pointed at him.

  There was a long pause as Ricky rearranged his thoughts and his face accordingly.

  Giana suppressed the shudder of abhorrence, finally relieved that it had all been purged. “Well, as you said, it is all in the past. I am very busy, Ricky, and we don’t have anything more to say to each other...”

  “How is the boy?” Ricky reached out and held her hand.

  “What boy?” She did fling his hand away then, breathing in raggedly. He had the gall to remember the son he had discarded conveniently. She didn’t want to ruin the reception decorations by ripping up the cast iron candle-stand and clobbering him with it. It wasn’t in anyone’s best interest for the caterer to cause a scene at a client’s wedding. So, she fought for calm even as her hands clenched at her side into fists.

  “The baby you had?” he reminded her pointedly as if it was all her fault.

  “The baby I had...is doing very well! Anything else that you have to say?”

  “Relax! I just wanted to...”

  She saw a change coming over him. As if this was the real reason that he wanted to talk with her.

  “I told you that I am starting event management in Goa. You have a good business in Pondicherry. I see that you must have earned quite a bit from this wedding alone. But that town is small for your dreams.” His voice grew urgent as he tried to convince her about his idea. “Come with me. Let’s be partners. Let’s get married again...if you want. I made a mistake by letting you go. We will travel the world together. Have a good life...”

  “And the baby?” Giana slotted in quietly, afraid that she would slap him if she didn’t control herself.

  “Oh, Timmy...er...Tony can come with us. We will find a wonderful boarding school for him. And we can...”

  Giana rose smoothly now, trembling with the rage that had been bottled up since the harsh learning curve in her life. “His name is Toby.”

  “Eh...who?” Ricky thudded back to earth from his air-castle building ventures.

  “Toby... My son!” Giana emphasized with teeth clamped together. “Goodbye, Ricky.”

  Her quiet tone of simmering rage unnerved him. Ricky grimaced at having goofed up.

  “Wait, Georgie. I am sorry! How do you expect me to remember his name when I haven’t even met him? I am ready to change that!” He grabbed her hand again.

  “You had your chance! Let go of my hand, Ricky!” She tried to wrench her hand free but he held it tighter making her wince in pain.

  Giana felt a strong arm around her waist and she was pulled back against a warm male body that she was now more comfortable and familiar with.

  “Is this man troubling you, Giana?” Max’s subtle drawl camouflaged the underlying tone of warning.

  Giana was so relieved that she sagged against him. But she felt the tightening of Ricky’s hand on hers as she tried to tug it away once more.

  “I will say it only once. Let go of the lady and you can walk away in one piece.” Max’s growl had the desired effect on the younger man who immediately unhanded Giana.

  “So this is the reason you don’t want my company!” Angry, at having become expendable in Giana’s life, he snarled, driving his point right into the jugular. “I see that you haven’t wasted your charms since we parted ways.”

  Giana heard Max’s hiss of breath and felt his sudden move to manoeuvre her aside, so that he could deal with the insult in a more masculine way. Her own fury was so incinerating that without allowing Max to retaliate, she stepped forward and picked up the chilled glasses of iced fruit drinks and upended one on Ricky’s face and the other into his trouser front.

  The shocked curse that left him was immensely satisfying. The corner table was private enough for the spectacle that Ricky made by doing a hopscotch, trying to evade the dripping juice from his sleek hairdo, onto his expensive, costume jacket.

 
; “That is paltry payment for harassing me in public. I have not punished you for destroying my life yet. I hope I don’t have the misfortune to set my eyes on you again. Keep away from me!”

  So saying, she walked away towards the venue entry where she could see the bride and groom finally being garlanded and anointed with rose water.

  *

  The weather had grown clammy, driving Max out of the venue in silent frustration, though primarily because of his inability to communicate with Giana. He had seen little of her since her unexpected feisty reprisal back in the reception hall. From what he had garnered from the snatches of conversation, the red-jacketed lout was well-known to her. He had seen the man playing the drums in the band later on. Giana being as secretive as she was, Max knew that he would probably never get a word out of her in the mood in which she had stalked off.

  Max shifted his masculine length on the chair and lazed back, enjoying the view of the green landscaped garden from where he sat. It had been a fantastic day...being with Giana. He saw her emerging from the reception hall to look this way and that. He raised his hand to indicate his presence and she saw him. The party was almost over and it was past eleven. He watched her glide over the green turf, the wind wrapping her gown around her legs.

  His first glimpse of her in the morning had parched his throat, razing down his defences completely. She was effortlessly graceful. The fine silk, a shade of mouth-watering cranberries, had moulded her hourglass curves, covering her arms in sleeves of gauzy wisps that shimmered as she moved. The neckline was demure with a single rose adorning it. The rest of it had fallen to her feet in a long uncluttered swirl from her waist.

  He watched her now walking towards him, preoccupied with something. Her hair had come loose from her chignon and curled around her face and shoulder, defying the pins that had held it hopelessly earlier. He could watch her for hours, he thought, shifting his frame again to contain the burst of desire that made sitting impossible.

  Max didn’t notice Ricky’s malevolent glare, watching them from the reception hall windows.

  “I am sorry I couldn’t talk to you earlier, Max. You must have been really bored waiting for me.”

  Giana sighed tiredly as she sat down on the chair and removed her stilettos to ease her aching feet, hoping that Max wouldn’t ask her about Ricky. She had avoided both men for different reasons as the evening had progressed.

  “As a matter of fact I had a great time, not doing anything for a change. The food was excellent. Congratulations!” He smiled encouragingly. “I hope you ate something in between all that running around.”

  “Yes! I can’t afford to remain hungry. I learned that when I was expecting Toby.”

  Max ruminated over that statement unhappily. He did not even remember what it had been like for Eva. He only remembered her resentment and discontentment. He had been putting away long hours at work most of the time during her pregnancy and it was not a good feeling to admit his mistake.

  Giana sat back stretching her feet, unaware of Max’s painful thoughts. She removed the last pin from her hair to let it riot in a cloud of silky curls around her. “Thankfully, everything went well. They are packing up the stuff now.”

  A great gust of wind toppled a lantern that was hung near the doorway. One of the waiters ran to retrieve a tablecloth that was flapping about.

  Giana looked up in consternation as a fat drop fell on her arm. “It is raining!” She quickly put her feet into her stilettos. “Thank God the wedding is over! I can’t bear to think of it getting ruined because of rain.”

  Max leapt up, grabbing her hand, and pulling her along into the shelter of the reception hall just as rain drops began to patter upon the decorated venue.

  “Shall we go? It would take a couple of hours to reach home.”

  “Give me a minute to get the cheques,” she called to him as she hurried away.

  By the time Giana returned after dispersing her team, the light pattering had turned into a steady drizzle. She met Max at the parking lot with her bag hitched on her shoulder.

  “The traffic looks bad!” she commented worriedly, glancing at her watch as Max joined the stream of traffic on the main road.

  “It should ease after the peak hours,” said Max, negotiating through a tricky snarl at a junction. But he did feel unduly happy about the prospect of having Giana to himself. He was looking forward to high winds and lashing floods.

  “Toby might get cranky,” murmured Giana absently.

  She dialled home to find that Carol and Annabel had gone to her aunt’s place because of a hurricane warning in the Bay of Bengal!

  She sat up straight in alarm. Her mother wanted to know about her whereabouts because the news channels were buzzing about the hurricane brewing on the Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh coastline. No wonder the weather was so erratic, thought Giana, as she explained about the delay at the wedding and the traffic jam ahead. Her mother told her that Toby had already slept after having a lovely evening watching his favourite cartoon and playing with his cousins at her aunt’s place. As she cut the call, the traffic ahead seemed to get worse. She began checking her phone for more information.

  “Don’t worry, Giana. Toby is well taken care of. I’ll get you home on time.”

  Of course, he felt like a selfish scum who wanted her all to himself. Switching on the radio, he heard static at several stations. Then the news of the impending hurricane began to trickle in, ‘...expected heavy rainfall and wind speed of nearly hundred kilometres per hour...warning to fishermen and coastline residents to evacuate unsteady structures...’

  They exchanged glances. Sheaves of sodden newspapers and dead leaves flew about in the gust of wind across the windshield. Max drove slowly through a bunch of harassed looking people crossing the road randomly. As he approached a particularly narrow lane, he found it blocked with haphazardly stuck vehicles. A truck carrying logs had upended its load. The lines of vehicles were honking noisily while the traffic police frantically tried to clear the road. Arguments broke out between the harried commuters. Max stepped out to enquire. Giana watched him talk with the driver of the car ahead of them. The pattering drizzle turned into a torrent. People scampered everywhere for cover. Max raced back to the vehicle, soaked, and launched himself onto the seat.

  “The road ahead is completely blocked for several meters ahead!” he exclaimed grimly.

  “No hope backwards either,” muttered Giana, craning her head around to look at the double line of vehicles that had crowded the opposite lane as well.

  Max tapped on the steering wheel, impatiently waiting for the cars to move. He had wished for flood and rains! Anything to keep Giana by his side. But now he felt worried after hearing the news.

  The wind became violent. A huge branch crashed on the pavement ahead of them. Its smaller twigs snapped and flew straight at them hitting the windshield. Flashes of sporadic lightning showed frightened people running along the pavement. The driver in the car in front got out and tottered away. Max gave a whistle when the smaller cars began to shake with the ferocity of the wind.

  “We need to get out of here,” he said, hoping to sound casual. His eyes were on the billboard that swayed ominously right above them.

  But there was nothing casual in the way he gripped her hand. Giana gave him a frightened look. “Where will we go? How will we get home?”

  “Trust me, sweetheart! I promise to take you home safe. But we need to get out of the car. It is dangerous to sit here.” He handed her a raincoat from the backseat.

  She buttoned it up swiftly, noting the tension that gripped his wide shoulders. He shot out of the car and came around to help before she could touch the door handle. It was only then that she could appreciate the enormity of their predicament. The wind grabbed her bodily and slammed her back against the vehicle door as they stepped into the hurricane. His arm gripped her so tight around her waist that she thought it might slice through. Then they raced along the pavement, the rain and wind lashing again
st them.

  A resounding crash brought them to a halt. They turned around, startled, to see the billboard crash on top of the car in front of theirs, effectively pulverizing the roof. The plywood rectangle then flew upwards in the powerful wind like a flimsy kite and slammed against Max’s vehicle’s bonnet. The headlights burst into shards on the road. The billboard then went on its path of destruction, by getting stuck between the two cars, blocking the way completely.

  Giana gasped, horrified, grateful that they had escaped on time.

  “We were lucky! Come! Let’s get you to safety.” Max led her along the road quickly.

  The people in the streets had dwindled. It was evident that the traffic would remain stuck for hours as they raced past a van tilted sideways. No one was around to clear the mess. They found a nook under a small grocery shop. The shopkeeper was hurriedly lowering the shutters.

  “Sir, you should leave!”

  The man was waiting for them to move. Max grabbed Giana’s hand again and guided her towards the first of the solid buildings that he saw. It was a bungalow with the gates locked. They passed two more locked up structures. Giana was now being dragged backwards with the force of the wind. Max held her tight and pulled her, following a group of people who were hurrying along into a large building in the next lane. His eyes scanned the structure quickly. It seemed like a three-star hotel. Max was more concerned about the safety than the luxury.

  “The building seems solid,” he yelled above the sound of the howling wind. He curved her away from the debris that were flying around and raced her through the gates.

  The guard let them in among the scrambling people who took shelter under the portico that shielded them from the rain. More people filled the darkened lounge behind the glass entrance, now barred with iron gates. There were families too, with wailing children clinging to their worried parents. People were checking their phones for the latest news.

  Max pulled Giana to a corner of the lounge before the windows, overlooking the tumultuous dark, sea. The hotel staff had kindly provided water bottles, bananas, and biscuits to pacify the children. Max found a corner seat for her before going to talk with the manager about the situation.