Last Man She'd Love

by Summerita Rhayne

  ‘Jashith, tell me, why are we here exactly?’

  Guy turned to look at the woman leaning back against the sofa.

  ‘I must say this is recompense indeed though not adequate, at least acceptable.’ She leaned back and sipped champagne. ‘It’s not every day I get treated to the best hotel in town, all expenses paid. But why did you do it?’

  ‘You wanted to have your revenge. You got it. Why are you bothered?’

  ‘I don’t quite know how you talked me into it,’ she said. ‘First, you said how would you like to take your vengeance? I said by breaking your heart. And then you said if you backed away from this engagement, it is equivalent to that. But why did you do that? Your fiancée looked so heartbroken…I would have been tempted to slap you myself.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘She’s bit mousy, isn’t she to have taken it so quietly?’

  ‘Mousy? No, absolutely not. She’s fierce and protective and can have an icy rage when needled –’ He saw she was smiling and smiled back grimly. ‘Oh testing me, I see. You must be good at this estimating job.’

  ‘Investigating corporate crime is certainly no mean task and I do have experience at getting one or two criminals to actually admit to it,’ she said proudly. ‘Jashith, do you realize…?’

  Her question went unvoiced because she saw that he did. The hand around his wine glass tightened. He quickly placed it on the table. ‘Let’s have dinner. I must not be a tardy host!’

  The more she was in his company, the more convinced she became that she had helped do something very wrong. If she had hated the man opposite her, she would certainly have relented. There was a bleak look in his eyes, his skin looked stretched over his face. Sometimes he answered in monosyllables. Then recovered himself and made an effort to appear conciliatory. She didn’t miss that he hardly ate. When at last he sat with a deep frown, his fingers interlaced, elbows resting on his knees, she didn’t disturb him and when he got up abruptly and exclaimed, ‘I shouldn’t have left her…I have been a fool. I have to go back,’ her reaction was, ‘Thank God! I thought you’d never realize it.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Savika also had a restless night. Sheena had developed a toothache and she tossed and turned. She gave her some medicine but often the child would flinch and sit up, falling into a fitful slumber.

  She heard noises during one of her slumbers and went to the balcony in time to see Lyna emerge from the house. As she decided to go and ask her what she was doing there at this time of the night and turned away from the balcony, she missed seeing the others. Pausing to make sure Sheena was sleeping, she proceeded down the stairs and heard the revving note of what sounded like two engines. She couldn’t catch sight of them however, and when she finally reached the porch, she saw the taillights of Brijesh’s car moving into the darkness.

  She sat down, exhausted by the events of the evening and her own troublesome night. She might have fallen into a doze. The next thing she knew was the low, muted roar of Guy’s car driving up.

  ‘Guy?’ She stood up, taking the support of one of the fluted pillars on the porch, looking dazed. ‘You came back?’

  ‘You are still awake?’

  Guy looked down at her and the rush of all the reasons why he had chosen to act the way he had overwhelmed him. He felt guilt rise immediately. He couldn’t do this, he should go…

  ‘Guy, why did you do it?’ Savika demanded. ‘You can’t turn your back on all this…Dadu…’

  ‘Is he okay?’ he asked quickly.

  ‘If you mean his health, he’s fine. But he won’t talk to anybody. I don’t know if he guessed or not. But you shouldn’t have. You’re the best brother any girl can ask for, I do realize that, but I don’t want this kind of sacrifice…nobody would!’ She paused to take breath. ‘Do you love Lyna?’

  He couldn’t answer and she drew her own conclusion from something she saw in his face. ‘You should go to her then. The poor girl was distracted out of her mind.’

  He inhaled sharply as though pained by the thought. She gestured towards the road and appeared to be directing him towards his car and he wondered aloud, ‘Where is she?’

  ‘I was awake because Sheena was ill – it’s her tooth, it pains off and on, I’ll take her to the dentist tomorrow – I saw Lyna and then when I came out here that man, Brijesh Talwar’s car was moving down the driveway. I couldn’t decide what to do. Then I realized she’s gone away with him. I was just sitting, thinking how sad it all was – and becoming sleepy and then I heard you drive up.’

  ‘So she decided to take him up on his offer,’ Guy said grimly, catching hold of one fragment out of all her sequence and responding to it. ‘He was asking her to come back to him,’ he explained to Savika.

  ‘Well, you practically drove her to.’ Sister she might be, but she was unable to prevent herself from saying that on Lyna’s behalf. ‘Guy, that was no way to treat her!’

  ‘I know. Oh God, it will be dawn soon. They must have reached Llwellpore by now.’

  She realized he was by now looking ashen and conversely, her sisterly instincts were roused. ‘Why don’t you come inside and we’ll sort it out a bit. It makes no sense, of course. Lyna agreed to stay for the night and that surprised me but also made me think maybe she wasn’t that angry. Which could either mean she didn’t care that much for you. Or that she hoped you might return. Of course, it could mean she was angry enough not to put herself out at the expense of what you had done. Or it could mean – ‘

  ‘Oh, for the love of God, Savika!’ Guy was moved enough to say. ‘As though I haven’t gone in enough circles myself.’

  ‘Why did you go away with Sara?’

  ‘There was no other way!’

  He paused and stood tall and shadowed. ‘There is no other way. Hell, I’m deluding myself. After what I put her through, she won’t come back here ever.’

  ‘I don’t know. You won’t know until you try.’ She added, ‘Even if she doesn’t come back here, if you two can patch up, you can live with her at Llwellpore.’

  He shook his head. ‘Don’t you see, Savika? I should have put her first, but I didn’t. It’s my job to shield her but at every turn I fail at it. I’m tied to this family and it’s not anything you or anyone else can say. It will always come first with me. And any time the need arises, she will suffer for it. How long could any woman bear that? Eventually she’ll run out of forgiving me.’

  A silence fell. Then impulsively, Savika got up and gave him a hug. ‘If she loves you, surely she will understand.’

  He hugged her back but shook his head. ‘Love isn’t always enough, is it? Or Mummy wouldn’t be like this.’

  The words were gritted out. At any other time Savika was sure they wouldn’t have been uttered. She stood feeling helpless and said at last, ‘Sunil was also like that, but circumstances change…things do come around, Guy. You want everything to be perfect for her but is that really possible?’

  ‘I have no right to dream of things I can’t make real for her, Savika. I can’t go into this knowing if anything happens, next time I’ll turn my back on her again and walk away.’

  They stood there, caught in the quandary. ‘I wish I could say I’ll talk to Mummy, but I can’t,’ Savika confessed.

  There was the sound of hurried footsteps and then Meena, Savika’s maid, appeared looking pale and anxious. ‘Madam, Sheena miss is crying fit to set the whole house awake. I –’

  ‘Oh heavens!’ Savika went inside, taking stairs two at a time. Guy hurried in with her.

  A look at the child’s swollen gum impelled Guy to say, ‘We’d better take her to the doctor. Get ready, Savika, I’ll take her down to the car.’

  Very soon, they were rushing out of the driveway. It was a turning out to be a busy 24 hours for the Pratap Singh household.

  Two hours later, Guy drove back in through the gates. Sheena slept now, the sleep of an exhausted but relieved child. Her tooth had been taken out, a mere ten-minute procedure, compared to the magnitude of the afflic
tion it had caused.

  Savika was near dropping with exhaustion, so he picked up Sheena after stopping the car and it was as he turned to go inside that he saw Lyna. How had she come back? He stood rooted to the spot. Their gazes met and locked and a silence stretched between them.

  It was to Savika she turned, asking about the child. Savika would have liked to ask her how she’d come back, but lacking the strength, she asked Guy to hand over Sheena as she stirred and left them to sort themselves out.

  ‘Lyna…’ His voice was oddly thick and he swallowed trying to find the words to tell her he hadn’t meant to hurt her, while also keeping her at a distance.

  She looked at him in her direct way, the blueness of her gaze giving away her emotional state. The slight redness around the irises smote him and a look at her vulnerable mouth nearly made him take her in his arms. He held himself in check, with cast iron control.

  ‘How long did you think to deceive me?’ Her words snapped him out of his preoccupation.

  ‘I – Sara and I had a lot going on.’ He realized his use of the past tense and cursed inwardly as her brows rose.

  ‘And where is she now?’

  ‘At Riverview at Karjat.’

  ‘Not with you?’

  ‘I came here to –’ He’d come here to tell her the truth and seek her forgiveness. But he couldn’t tell her that.

  ‘It wasn’t in our plans to break the engagement,’ she said icily.

  ‘It wasn’t in our plans to get hooked up either,’ he growled, unable to take it anymore, forgetting that he was supposed to be alienating her.

  Her eyes held a light which made him take a mental step back. He regarded her through narrowed eyes. ‘I must say I didn’t expect you to take it so lightly....You’re still here? I thought you left with Brijesh.’

  ‘No doubt that’s what you planned,’ she said, startling him. She noticed the effect of her pronouncement on him and her lips curved a little. ‘I have thought, you see. And I felt these six months, I had rather gotten to know your character.’

  ‘You have?’ He sounded cautious.

  She nodded and he thought he heard her say, ‘In a minute, you’ll know how much.’

  Guy tried to wrap his head around it, gazing around as he sorted facts. His car still stood near the door, he’d better park it. Near the door, Vinay’s bike leaned, dusty and mud splattered. He usually rode the other, lighter one. He’d complained Mummy didn’t allow him to take out this one because she’d heard some boys nearby had gone on household jobs but ended up in Goa on a wild spree, getting arrested for holding up traffic.

  At that moment, a scream spilt the silence.

  They looked at each other then ran inside. The maid appeared at the head of the stairs, pointing a finger wildly at Vinay’s room. They rushed upstairs. Guy went to the open door, taking in the scene inside, Vinay spread out at an odd angle on the bed, his hand partially curled around a bottle from which a few pills spilled out. His head was turned to the side, jaw slack. Lyna pushed past Guy and began to check for the vitals. ‘Call the doctor! Call somebody!’ she said.

  It seemed the whole household gathered at lightning speed. Guy tried to prevent Kalyani and Hina from entering but to no avail.

  Mahesh took one look and said, ‘I’ll phone the ambulance.’

  Guy looked at Lyna and she raised wide horror-stricken gaze to his face and gave a choked response. Guy raised a hand and as though in a choreographed response, heard himself say, ‘Mahesh, don’t call anybody.’

  Hina began to scream. ‘What do you mean, don’t call?’

  Guy stood with a face like stone and his mother began to beat at him, trying to shake him without succeeding. ‘Don’t listen to him. Call the doc,’ she panted to her elder son-in-law.

  Guy said to Kalyani, whose eyes had begun to stream, ‘Take her away.’

  ‘Guy, what is it, tell me!’

  ‘Take her away,’ he said again.

  The next few minutes were nightmare. His mother had hysterics. Kalyani joined her. Savika appeared looking pale and helpless and sought solace in Guy’s hug.

  Guy extricated himself and went back inside. Mahesh said, ‘We should get the doc,’ and went away. Guy said nothing but looked stern.

  His eyes met Lyna’s. She said nothing.

  Guy went to the crowd outside. ‘Don’t wake up, Dadu. I’ll sit inside. Alone. No one will come in.’ He directed the servants to move the furniture inside to make space.

  His mother was there. ‘Guy what...how...’

  ‘He took Dadu’s pills,’ Guy said expressionlessly.

  She screamed again and began to sob. ‘Oh, I have been horrible. I wanted to send him away. So, he could rise up to…’ the rest was lost in sniffles. ‘Jashith.’ She held onto his arm. ‘Please don’t go.’

  Her meaning was unmistakable. Guy just looked at her and she threw herself on his chest. ‘This is my punishment. I wanted to take from one to give to the other – and now – now – how could he? Jashith…son…’

  Slowly, Guy drew his arms around her, she sank against him. He only remembered a hug several years back. It had felt comforting, now he gave the comfort. She felt suddenly frail and bony. He’d thought she was slim, the consciousness of her weakness came as a small shock.

  He left her and went inside. She heard him say, ‘Lyna, will you step out for a minute?’ Lyna came out, head bowed. She heard sounds. Guy, always so aloof, was so human. She heard him groan. Out of long dead feeling, something rose. She ventured in. Guy was sitting by Vinay’s side, his head buried in his hands. His shoulders shook. He looked up, his face damp. She moved towards him.

  Then she shrieked and lost her balance. Guy got up to hold her and steady her.

  ‘Vinay!’ She cried out in amazement because her younger son was sitting up, sheet slipped to his waist.

  ‘Guy?’ She realized Guy wasn’t crying. He’d been laughing. He still shook a little as he held her and led her to a sofa.

  She put her hand on her chest and sank down. Then got up immediately and hugged Vinay. ‘What a fright you gave me!’ She kissed him, his forehead, cheeks again and again, at the same time berating him, slapping his shoulder but without force.

  ‘Mummy, I’m sorry. But what could I do? I was driven to it, you know. Only Lyna said I should pretend only, not do it for real...and I had to stay hungry because when we came in I was dying for a snack but she said it would cause a delay and – Guy here kept pretending he didn’t know I was alive even when he did!’

  The family began to trickle in. Shrieks came. Oohs and aahs sounded. Voluble exclamations and –

  ‘If I had known I would have to take two dozen hugs, I would have done it for real,’ Vinay said disgusted.

  ‘Lyna, you knew? Oh, was it to trick us? You mean boy! Lyna, how could you? I forgot to ask you, Jashith, when did you come back…and what made you do it? And why are you both smiling? Lyna, you put the pills in his hand? Oh, of course, if he swallowed them, why would the bottle be in his hand?’ Kalyani exclaimed again and again.

  ‘Lyna,’ Hina said slightly stiffly. ‘I should be angry but I’ll thank you instead. Young boys are so impulsive. From now on, I won’t force him to do anything he doesn’t want to do.’

  Vinay heard and started dancing a jig. Then he bent down and did something he hadn’t done willingly for at least last five years. He hugged his mother.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  Hina looked at Lyna in a quite different way than she had as yet. ‘I don’t know what I should say to you. But did you know he was unwilling to go to Kota...?’

  ‘Kids sometimes talk to strangers when they won’t to their own family.’

  ‘As though you are a stranger,’ Vinay scoffed. ‘And I’m not a kid. I talked to you because you’re my family, more understanding than most of them. You’re my Bhabhi, my bro’s soon to be wife, and now I won’t call you Lyna. I’ll call you Lyna Bhabhi!’

  A silence fell and it became noticeable as Guy and L
yna stared at each other. Savika broke the moment, declaring she had enough excitement to last her a fortnight and took a pill out of the bottle so conveniently placed and warned anybody against waking her before afternoon.

  Kalyani’s kids began to demand breakfast. In the ensuing maternal haggling over what was to be served, Lyna crept away.

  She walked along the garden path. Despite the night activity, while her stomach churned, she didn’t feel tired. Excitement gripped her. Fear coiled in her gut. Talk of taking chances. She’d gone and done it with a vengeance.

  The rally had grown wild as the participants drove at higher than allowed speed limit. She’d told Vinay to back out, threatened him that she’d call the household and eventually succeeded in getting him back to the house. Once there, Meena had met them with the news that Guy and Savika had taken little Sheena to the dentist. The knowledge that Guy had come back to the house had puzzled her and she could find only one explanation for it. Could she be right in her thinking? She worried that Vinay would again try something since his problem hadn’t been solved. An idea came and for once she’d acted on it without considering things. Brijesh had put the seed in her mind. While she’d vetoed it for him, she had decided to use it for Vinay. Hina could do with a shock to make her shake out of her complaisance.

  Now her heart beat fast. Her daring had paid off. But what about the man for whom it had been attempted?

  Guy found her, plucking the leaves from a rotting branch of a buttercup. ‘My little gardener, I owe you.’

  She found it difficult to meet his gaze. Owing was fine, but gratitude wasn’t what she’d looked for.

  ‘I didn’t know, like nurturing trees, you also nurture relationships.’

  She smiled wryly. ‘If only. I’m often a failure at holding onto them. My fiancé recently broke up with me, without any explanation.’ She peeked at him from beneath her lashes.

  ‘And can you blame him? He must have run scared from so enterprising a lady. What will you think of next? Putting weird ideas into my brother’s head...turning the household topsy turvy…having my mother expressing her gratitude…!’