All You Need is a Little Faith

by Vaanya Singh

  ‘What are you going to do now?’

  ‘I’m moving to Gurgaon. I have a friend there who has agreed to let me stay at her place till I find myself an apartment. I’m going to start over and bring this child up as a single parent,’ she was quite determined.

  I stayed silent as I knew there was nothing I could say that would make her change her mind.

  ‘Faith, please do not tell Malhaar about any of this,’ she said in a pleading voice.

  I understood her so clearly now. She was scared; her entire life had just undergone a complete change.

  ‘I won’t,’ I answered, finally agreeing. Soon after, both of us left—Priya along with Abhay for Gurgaon and I for home. It was already dinner time when I reached home. The entire Raina clan was having dinner at our place, including Malvika. My eyes met Vaibhav’s.

  ‘How did it go?’ he asked as everyone halted their conversation.

  ‘Not that great. She’s moving away,’ I announced matter-of-factly.

  ‘Moving away? How can she move away all of a sudden?! Did she tell you where she was going?’ Malhaar suddenly asked in one breath.

  ‘She didn’t tell. I’m going to sleep; I’m exhausted,’ I muttered before leaving the dining room.

  That night, before I fell asleep, I had the feeling that two strong arms had picked me up and were carrying me away.

  CHAPTER 26

  Love is a madness.

  FAITH

  When I opened my eyes the following morning, I found Vaibhav putting some of my things in a bag. It seemed like he was packing ... Wait. What?

  I bolted up in bed and he said cheerfully, ‘Mornin’!’ ‘What is happening?’ I asked groggily. ‘We are travelling,’ he replied. ‘I can see that, but to where?’

  ‘Pune.’

  ‘You mean to say...’

  ‘Yes, we are going to meet your dear brother and his girlfriend,’ he replied even before I could ask anything.

  ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ I murmured, closing my eyes.

  ‘Hey! Don’t look so bummed; we’re going to see Alex after all!’

  ‘May I ask why are we going in the first place?’

  ‘Well, you’ve looked so sad since Alex has left...’

  ‘I have?’ I asked cutting him off.

  ‘Yes, you have. And last night when you came back home, you seemed extra sad. So I decided to kidnap you and take you to Pune. Of course, I asked your dad first and called Vidya and Vanessa to pack you a little suitcase,’ he continued his explanation.

  ‘Vaibhav...’ I started to say

  ‘No, let me finish. I mean I had no illintentions. And I thought you would be happy...’

  ‘Vaibhav.’

  ‘Plus, after I talked to Da...’

  ‘Vaibhav!’ I yelled and he shut up.

  ‘Thank you for doing this. There’s no way I can ever repay you. It was really sweet of you.’

  Vaibhav turned a deep red at all the compliments and muttered a ‘whatever’.

  The next few hours were a blur. Everything happened on auto-pilot mode. The next thing I knew, we were standing outside Alex and Cory’s apartment.

  ‘I can’t believe you actually came to see me,’ Alex exclaimed, hugging me.

  ‘Believe it, brother,’ I replied in a sing-song voice.

  Suddenly, Cory jumped onto me out of nowhere. I screamed as both of us fell down on on top of the other.

  Their apartment was compact, well-furnished and quite near to the company Alex was doing an internship at. Cory had enrolled herself in a course on genetics and so she, too, was happily occupied while Alex was at work.

  When I’d entered the apartment for the first time, I was met with the sight of a giant bunny. It was literally 5 feet tall. On asking about it, I’d learned that Alex had got it for Cory as a ‘sorry’ gift for a fight they had had.

  It was adorable to see my brother smitten by a girl.

  ‘What’s the plan for tonight?’ I asked them before sitting down.

  ‘Tonight we stay home,’ Alex said.

  ‘We’ll whip up a simple meal and catch up on the past few weeks. Surprisingly, that’s something we haven’t done in a while...’ Cory added with a laugh.

  CHAPTER 27

  But love is blind and lovers

  can’t see.

  MALHAAR

  ‘God, my life is so bloody messed up,’ I thought as I walked to my office. My new PA was totally useless. She couldn’t do a single thing. I think her name is Sarah or Sophia or something. I’m not sure.

  ‘Sir, I could not get the appointment you wanted,’

  she apologised as soon as she entered my office. God, she was annoying!

  ‘And why is that, Sophia?’ I asked. ‘Umm ... it’s Sasha, sir,’ she said, correcting me. ‘Whatever! You’re fired,’ I muttered, closing my eyes.

  She gasped and made a sobbing noise before leaving. This was my fourth PA who I had fired since Priya had left.

  Priya.

  I hated to admit this, but I really missed her. Malvika was becoming clingy day by day. I didn’t like it one bit! Faith won’t tell me where Priya is. She just moved and no one, I mean no one, knows where the hell she went!

  ‘Oh, Malhaar!’ Malvika’s whiny voice called out my name as she entered my office.

  I looked up to find a curious brunette standing there. She was pretty, that was for sure, but she wasn’t the girl I wanted! If Malvika was pretty, Priya was a fucking temptress. From inside out!

  ‘I think you should wear the wine-coloured tie instead of the brick-red one,’ she said, holding two identical ties.

  ‘We won’t need any ties, Malvika.’

  ‘Of course, we would, silly. You will obviously wear a tie at your wedding.’

  ‘What I mean to say is, Malvika, there won’t be a wedding. Because I’m breaking up with you.’

  ‘You’re what?’ she exclaimed fiercely.

  ‘It’s over. We’re done.’

  ‘Is this because of that whore, Priya? I swear to God, Malhaar, if...’

  A sudden wave of anger passed through me when she called Priya a whore.

  ‘Leave,’ I ordered.

  ‘How dare you?!’

  ‘I said “leave”,’ I spoke again, showing some of my anger.

  ‘My father will hear about this.’ Saying this, she passed me one last glare before walking away.

  It was like a sudden weight had been lifted off my shoulders. A happy smile took over my face. I decided to go and tell Priya the wonderful news, only to remember she’d left. I needed to find her.

  FAITH

  ‘Alex! I’m going to kill you,’ Cory’s voice woke me up from my slumber.

  I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Vaibhav, too, had woken up because of the yelling. I heard a splash and that’s all it took for me to go and investigate.

  I walked out of the room along with Vaibhav, only to find a very happy looking Alex dressed for work and a soaking wet Cory standing only in her T-shirt and underwear.

  ‘You know that’s a lie. You won’t be able to live without me, babe,’ Alex said, pecking at her lips.

  ‘Ha. You wait and watch, Alexander. I’ll kill you the minute I get a chance.’

  ‘Well, my darling, Corrianne. How about you go and throw on some pants. We’re giving our guests a show.’

  Cory turned a deep crimson and turned towards us. A smirking Vaibhav opened his mouth to say something but Cory held up a finger silencing him.

  ‘Don’t even think about it,’ she said in a threatening manner before storming off to her room and slamming the door shut with a bang for effect.

  All three of us started to laugh. A minute later, she returned wearing a dry T-shirt and some sweat pants.

  ‘Are you leaving?’ I asked Alex.

  ‘Yes, but I’ll be back by evening. How about we go to a pub then?’ he suggested.

  ‘Okay, see you later,’ I agreed, kissing his cheek. Cory, too, pecked at his lips.

 
; ‘What! So I don’t get any action?’ Vaibhav joked. Cory and I both hit him on his head.

  ‘Geez. Women nowadays are so violent,’ he commented, rubbing his head.

  Soon after, Cory too left for the course she was studying, and said she would join us in the afternoon. Vaibhav and I decided to go out and explore the city.

  We passed a hair salon when an idea popped up in my head.

  ‘Let’s go,’ I exclaimed, dragging Vaibhav. ‘Where?’ ‘Just come along!’ I said, pulling him in.

  ‘Hello! How may I help you?’ a very cheerful guy asked us.

  ‘Hi. I’m Faith and this is Vaibhav,’ I said, introducing ourselves. ‘Dating?’ he asked, referring to both of us. ‘No,’ both of us said simultaneously.

  ‘Oh, good. I’m Junaid,’ he said, winking at Vaibhav, who squirmed.

  I explained to Junaid what I wanted to get done for my hair, keeping it a secret from Vaibhav. By that time, Vaibhav, too, decided on what he wanted.

  While Junaid led him away, a girl came to style my hair. Cory called me sometime in the middle, telling me that she’d found the perfect club for this evening, and that we should join her for lunch at a restaurant near her institute. It was a place known as The Vault.

  After forty long minutes of the stylist playing with my hair, I was finally done. As I got up from my seat, Vaibhav, too, entered. He’d got a different cut and some highlights, too.

  ‘You won’t believe what Jun...’ he started to stay but shut up when he saw me.

  ‘You got bangs!’ he exclaimed.

  That was correct! I’d got bangs and shortened the length of my hair. Before this, my hair was till my waist but now they were till the middle of my back.

  ‘You don’t like it?’ I asked self-consciously.

  ‘No, no. I really like it. It’s different,’ he spoke really quickly.

  I muttered a thanks and we left the salon. Vaibhav told me about how Junaid had tried to get it on with him.

  ‘While washing my hair, he kept rubbing his crotch against my shoulder!’ he told me as we walked together through the streets of Pune.

  ‘Oh, my gosh! I freakin’ love your hair!’ Cory screamed as soon as she saw me.

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Well, come on now, let’s eat and then go home. We’ll have time for a leisurely cup of coffee and then will have to dress up for the evening,’ she said.

  As soon as we got home, Cory dragged me to the master bedroom, shutting the door on Vaibhav’ face. When he tried to enter, she yelled ‘boys-free zone’. Gosh, this girl was crazy!

  I decided on a black spaghetti-strap bodycon which reached mid-thigh. I matched my black gladiator-laced heels with it and let my hair be the way it was.

  For my make-up, I did some grey and black smoky-eye effect.

  Applying my signature blood-red lipstick, I was ready to leave.

  Cory was wearing a midnight-blue cocktail dress with a cute belt below her chest. Her hair was straightened and she had made a Dutch braid across her head. She looked really pretty.

  ‘Are both of you done? We need to reach tonight, not tomorrow morning,’ Vaibhav yelled from the other side of the door.

  As I walked out of the room, Vaibhav fell on the ground. He must have been leaning against the door. Idiot! ‘Well, hello, nice legs!’ Vaibhav said from the ground. ‘Whatever,’ I muttered stepping over him.

  When the three of us went to the front door, Alex was already waiting for us. He looked smart in his attire.

  ‘Are you wearing that?’ he asked me when I came near him. ‘Yes, Alex. I’m wearing this hot and sexy dress and you cannot do anything about it,’ I replied cheekily.

  ‘No, definitely not. Just that I don’t want to pull perverts off you all night long. I mean, look at Cory. She’s looking so nice and covered,’ he almost whined.

  ‘Aww ... thanks, baby,’ she replied, kissing his cheek. ‘But don’t miss the detail; it’s backless,’ she casually said, walking out of the door.

  Alex’s eyes literally popped out of their sockets when he saw the deep back of the dress. He mumbled something under his breath before following Cory.

  ‘They are the cheesiest couple I’ve ever met,’ Vaibhav whispered in my ear, dragging me out of the apartment.

  ‘I agree,’ I whispered back.

  We took two separate cars. Cory drove with Alex while I drove with Vaibhav. Closer started to play as soon as he began driving.

  So baby pull me closer in the backseat of your Rover That I know you can’t afford Bite that tattoo on your shoulder Pull the sheets right off the corner Of the mattress that you stole ...

  We sang the chorus together before Vaibhav exclaimed that I sounded like a dying walrus.

  ‘Well, if I sound like a dying walrus, you sound like a penguin,’ I retorted.

  We were arguing over this silly detail and I didn’t even realise when we’d arrived at the club. Time seriously flies when I’m with Vaibhav. It’s funny how you can go from hating someone to being really close friends with them.

  If you’d asked me a year ago who Vaibhav was to me, I would have laughed in your face and replied ‘a narcissistic asshole who doesn’t think about anyone but himself’. However, things are different now.

  ‘Come on, Faith, let’s go,’ Vaibhav said, waving his hand in front of my face.

  ‘Let’s go,’ I replied, grabbing his hand.

  VAIBHAV

  Faith had gone crazy. As soon as she entered the pub, she straight away headed for the bar. Apparently, it was the owner’s birthday, so all drinks were free for everyone.

  I had blocked seven guys so far, who were headed towards Faith. Well, I can hardly blame them. She did look extremely hot in that short black dress of hers!

  ‘I wanna dance,’ an almost drunk Faith said, dragging me to the floor alongside Alex and Cory.

  ‘Vaibhav, make sure she doesn’t have another drink. We don’t want the Major Ball Buster to come out,’ Alex said.

  ‘Huh?’ I asked, confused.

  ‘The last time she got this drunk, she hit a guy so hard in the balls that we had to take him to the hospital. He couldn’t walk for an entire week,’ he explained.

  I gulped, making a mental note: No more drinks for Faith. I did not want to see Major Ball Buster, ever!

  ‘Come on, Vaibhav, dance,’ a drunk and giggling Faith said. I looked at her in amusement.

  ‘What’s so funny?’ I finally asked. ‘I ... I don’t know,’ she replied, giggling again. ‘This is boring. I want a drink!’ she exclaimed after ten minutes of dancing. Alex and Cory had disappeared somewhere. ‘No, no more drinks for you,’ I replied sternly.

  ‘Please, Vaibhav, pretty please! One last drink. Please. Please. Please,’ she pouted on the last please.

  I almost gave in. Almost. ‘No,’ I repeated myself.

  ‘Fine. Be that way,’ she huffed before grabbing a random person’s drink and chugging it down. By the time I snatched the glass from her hand, it was already empty.

  The next thing she did shocked me more than anything ever. She climbed onto the counter of the bar and began to dance. And by dancing, I mean moving her body in such a manner that every man in the pub was lusting for her.

  The crowd cheered as she moved her hips to the beat. I simply stood there shocked, not knowing what to do. Alex and Cory were still nowhere to be seen.

  I saw an equally drunk guy grabbing onto Faith’s bare feet and that’s where I drew the line.

  I caught Faith by her feet and threw her over my shoulder and pulling her dress down, I carried her out of the pub.

  ‘Put me down, Vaibhav; I can walk. I’m not four, Vaibhav,’ she slurred as I carried her towards the car on the streets of Pune.

  ‘No, I can’t,’ I replied back as her small hands pounded my backside.

  ‘You’re a mean, bossy boy. Bossy. Hmm ... such a funny word, bossy,’ she began giggling before continuing.

  ‘I want rainbow-coloured hair so that I can become a u
nicorn and live in candy world!’ she muttered before singing some random song which went like Pink fluffy unicorn so sweet and cute.

  I laid her on the backseat of the car and texted Alex, letting him know I was taking Faith home.

  By the time we reached the apartment, Faith was already asleep. I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to our room, laying her on her bed.

  Taking her heels off, I massaged her feet a little before pulling the covers over her. She mumbled in her sleep. Kissing her forehead and muttering a ‘good night’, I switched off the lights.

  CHAPTER 28

  She’s fire and ice.

  You will fear the cold and

  crave the burn.

  FAITH

  ‘Oh, my God! I can’t believe she’s actually coming,’ Beth exclaimed, running around like a frantic woman.

  ‘Chill, babe. She really...’ dad started to say but Beth cut him short.

  ‘You want me to chill? Are you crazy?! Your mother’s going to be here tomorrow and I have to do so much work and...’ But dad cut her short this time by pressing his lips to hers. Alex and I pulled a face.

  My grandma, who lived in Los Angeles, was coming to visit us. She had been ill for a while and sensing that her time had come, she wanted to spend a few days with her family.

  Grandma Rose, or Nana, as I called her, was a peculiar woman. Even though she was an eighty-year-old, she had the heart of a teenager. She had a sailor’s mouth and she never failed to amuse me.

  ‘Everything will be fine. It’s just my mother and she adores you,’ dad said, finally being able to calm Beth down.

  Alex was really excited to meet Nana. She loved him and was looking forward to meeting Cory. The previous evening, when Alex cracked the news to Cory, she turned into a nervous wreck. We were at Damon’s place and were teasing Cory and Alex over a pair of matching tattoos they both had gotten done on themselves while they were in Pune.

  Cory’s was at the back of her ankle. It was a tiny heart with ‘HIS’ inscribed on it while Alex’s was on his back, the heart saying ‘HERS’.

  Damon was mad at them for not mentioning about the tattoos. He demanded an explanation.

  ‘It kind of slipped my mind,’ Alex said nervously, scratching the back of his head.