The Promise

by Nikita Singh

  'Thank you. Shall we?'

  'Yeah. Do you have a place in mind?'

  'Why? What is wrong with Radisson?' Arjun asked, a little surprised that she would want to go someplace else.

  'Everything. I feel old there. Everyone is so silent and sombre, sitting under the high ceilings and expensive chandeliers. It's like being rich drained all the fun out of them. No offence.'

  'A little taken.'

  'Sorry,' Shambhavi grinned sheepishly.

  'So, where do you suggest we go?'

  'To a movie? Have you seen Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi? All my friends have watched it. And I'm still waiting for someone to give me company ... Mili is not fun anymore. Ever since her boyfriend left for the US, she has stopped going out and stuff. She says this is her chance to relax and laze around at home and look ugly, since Vikaas-that's her guy's name-isn't here to see and she has no one to impress.'

  'Umm ... so you want to see a movie with me?' Arjun asked. Shambhavi always tended to give him too much information, and often got off track, which confused him.

  'Not necessarily you, but since Mili is not going out anymore and Tutul is always so busy with her stupid work and all my other friends have seen the movie, I think I'll have to do with your company...' she said, half- lost in her thoughts.

  'Well, it was not I who suggested a movie. I'm not forcing you to. There's no pressure.'

  'Oh, right. I forgot. This is not about whom I want to see RNBDJ with; it's about where to go tonight.'

  'Right. So?' Arjun asked.

  'So let's go. What time is it?'

  '8:15 pm.'

  'Let's catch whatever show is available. We'll have to grab something to eat there; I haven't eaten since lunch,' Shambhavi declared and they finally started moving towards his car. 'Can I drive?'

  Arjun paused in his tracks, looked at his car and turned back to stare at Shambhavi. He said nothing.

  'What? I want to! I've never driven a BMW before. And anyway, I heard you have so many more cars. How does it matter if I drive one of them just once?'

  'This one is my favourite.'

  'I'm not going to bump it anywhere. I promise, I'll be careful. And you will be right there with me, so what's the big deal?' she demanded.

  One look at her determined expression and he was taken. The brightness in her eyes worked too. She had decided that she had to drive and he was no one to stop her. He relented, 'Very well, then. But careful, okay?'

  'Yes, yes.'

  Once they got into the car, she took the keys and a crash course on the functions of the car from him and rubbed her palms together in excitement. 'Wow! I can't believe I am actually doing this. Mili will be so jealous.'

  'Who is this Mili, again?'

  'Oh, didn't I tell you? Mili's my best friend. The one whose boyfriend is away? You haven't met her, but then you've not met any of my friends. Just Tutul, but that was because of business, so ...'

  'All right, I get it. Do you ever shut up?' Arjun asked, in awe of her ability to keep saying things.

  'Rarely. But that's why I am so awesome, I'm told,' she said smugly and turned the key in the ignition. 'Whoa!' she shouted as she zipped through the traffic easily. After having driven her old Esteem for so many years, she had learnt how to control a car. And driving the BMW was comparatively way easier, although a little scary. If she accidentally hit it somewhere, she would probably not even have enough funds to cover the damage. But then she figured that the car must be insured and stopped worrying.

  Sadly, the ride was over in less than fifteen minutes, when they reached C-21. She parked the car safely and they got out.

  'Amazing. One day, I tell you, I am going to be so rich. I want these toys, man. I could easily get used to this,' she ranted happily.

  Arjun instinctively pulled back from her. Maybe she was just a dreamy young girl, with a thousand dreams in her eyes. Or maybe she was a conniving businesswoman, with a moneymaking scheme in her head-Arjun. He wanted to go with the first option, but he could never be too careful.

  'What's wrong?' Shambhavi asked suddenly, and Arjun realized that she was studying his face.

  'Nothing.'

  'Then why the scary expression? You scare me sometimes, you know? Anyway, there is a show in fifteen minutes, are you game? Or shall we just eat somewhere and go back?'

  'Whatever you want,' Arjun replied shortly.

  'Movie then. Just one more thing ...'

  'What?'

  'Are you one of those people who talk so much during a movie that you don't let others concentrate on the film?' she asked seriously.

  'What do you think?'

  'I think you're not. You don't talk much anyway.'

  'What if I am?' Arjun questioned.

  'Then that would be a problem. Because I am usually that annoying person who talks too much during the movie. You have to be the ear,' she said cheerfully and they made their way to the ticket counter.

  For all the big talk, once inside the theatre, Shambhavi did not take her eyes off the screen even once. She was a big SRK fan and swore once the movie ended that it was going to be her very favourite for life. Arjun was seeing a movie after roughly ten years, and he was amazed at how much fun it was to go out with someone, keep work away from the head and just relax. Shambhavi was making him feel things he had forgotten he had an ability to feel. And it was only the second time they had gone out for a non-professional concern.

  He looked forward to where time would take them, with hope, a trace of fear and a lot of uncertainty.

  The two weeks after the movie had been busy for both of them. Arjun had always been a workaholic and this was no different. Shambhavi, on the other, hand, told him that she was caught up in a few small assignments she had to take care of. So they did not meet after that movie-date even once. And he was not used to calling people for no reason just to check up with them, so he didn't call her.

  Though, Shambhavi did call him up a few times to ask what was going on and tell him how the auto driver almost got her killed by a bus and how her heel broke in the middle of the market-random stuff like that. Once she was done pouring out whatever had happened in the course of her day, she hung up, wishing him goodnight. For some reason, he found himself wishing it would happen more often. Four times in two weeks was not enough; he wished it happened every night. Her voice was a good last-thing-to-hear before he went to sleep. Her energy made him energetic, her mood decided his. He cursed her nails for being so brittle and chipping, just because she complained about it sadly to him once. He also hated that the woman next door to her was mean to her.

  He was getting used to her. And he liked the feeling.

  She had not called him for five continuous nights; the last time they had talked was on the 1st of January ... the year 2011 had begun. And he hated to admit it, but-he had missed her. He finalized his plan in his head for one last time and then gave her a call.

  'Hi, Arjun,' Shambhavi shouted.

  'How soon can I see you?' Arjun asked, getting straight to the point.

  'Hello? Arjun? Hello?' she yelled. There was a loud thumping noise behind her and the pitch of her voice was unusually high too.

  'Hello? Shambhavi? Where are you?'

  'Wait a second. I'll have to come out. Just hold on,' she screamed over the noise. She got back on the phone a few seconds later, and this time there was a lot less noise in the background. 'Hi, what's up?'

  'Wanted to talk to you about something, so gave you a ring. Where are you?'

  'On the Rocks. It's a Saturday night; friends insisted. Where are you?'

  'At home,' Arjun said.

  'Of course. Relax a little, man. Hey, I have an idea-why don't you come over?'

  'To a bar? I'll pass.'

  'Don't tell me you don't drink,' Shambhavi said.

  'I don't.'

  'Really? No way! I always thought you were one of the types who knew all about drinks and the proportions of mixing them and how to handle them and all of that. Never mind. I don
't drink either.'

  'Then what are you doing there?' Arjun questioned.

  'Dancing. Care to join me? I need a partner anyway; all my friends have brought dates, so I feel kind of lonely in this crowd.'

  'No thank you. I just wanted to discuss something with you, but this doesn't seem to be the right time, so ...'

  'No, no. I'm not kidding. Really. Come over. I won't make you stay. We'll leave after a while, promise. I can't bear the atmosphere once the alcohol starts to show its effects,' she said seriously.

  'All right. Will be there in twenty. And we won't stay for more than ten minutes, okay?'

  'Deal.'

  'Where to?' Arjun asked, looking at Shambhavi, who was sitting peacefully in the passenger's seat of his car. Thankfully, she did not want to try driving his car this time. He had gone to the club she was in, met her drunk friends, seen her dance madly and had taken her back to his car. She looked really tired; almost on the verge of falling asleep.

  'I don't know. What was it you wanted to discuss?' she asked, yawning behind her palm.

  'Not like this. We need to sit and talk.'

  'We're sitting. Let's talk. It's 11 in the night, we have both eaten, we don't drink and I have danced enough. A long drive would be nice, but I'm afraid I would just fall asleep. So let's just talk right now.'

  'Let's go back to my office,' Arjun suggested.

  'Why would we want to do that? Did you not hear me? It's almost midnight. This is no time to be at the office.'

  'Okay, fine. Let's stay at the parking lot, then.'

  'Good boy,' Shambhavi said and pulled one of his cheeks. She shifted towards him and laying her head lazily on his shoulder, she closed her eyes and murmured, 'So, what's up?'

  Arjun felt like she would fall asleep any second. He could feel her breathing get heavier. Also, he was nervous about what he was trying to say. He had thought and thought and thought very hard of a way of keeping her close, without letting her and himself become too deeply involved romantically. He wanted to keep dating her, but not do something insane-like fall in love. Not yet. He wanted to take things slow and give them a chance at a relationship.

  He had found a solution. But he was anxious about her take on it.

  'Arjun?' she whispered.

  'Yes?'

  'Say something?'

  He took a deep breath and started. 'I was thinking that, after we worked on the Ahluwalias' mansion together and it turned out so beautifully, why don't we ... work together again?' On receiving silence from her end, he rushed to explain. 'It's just a thought. Till now, I have designed and built everything myself, except for those designs you drew. And honestly, I liked working on them. So I thought you might be interested in doing that again sometime?'

  'Great.' She dug deeper into his chest and nuzzled.

  'Shambhavi?' he asked. He was almost sure that the woman was sleeping, right when he was telling her what was probably the sweetest plan he was capable of knitting, all just to keep her close to him.

  'Mmmm?'

  'You're sleeping.'

  'You smell good,' she said, incoherently,

  'Thank you. I'm dropping you back home. We can send someone over to get your car from here tomorrow morning, okay?'

  There was no response.

  'Shambhavi?'

  No response again. He carefully shifted her back and adjusted her on the passenger seat. He then pulled her seat belt in place and put his on, too. Shifting the gear stick, he drove swiftly towards her place. After stressing his memory for a good ten minutes, whether to take a right or left from Navlakha, he turned around and made his way to his own place instead.

  For some reason, he did not want to wake her up and ask for directions. Maybe because he did not want her to leave just yet.

  When he braked in front of the double gates, she stirred. He got out of the car, walked towards her side of the door and pulled it open for her. 'Let's go,' he said softly, helping her with his hands.

  'Why are we at your factory?' she asked, rubbing her eyes. 'Oh, darn. The eyeliner,' she then muttered.

  'This is where I live.'

  'For real? You're saying this place is your factory, your office and your home?'

  'Used to be the warehouse too. But then the sales picked up and we don't need one anymore,' Arjun smiled at the expression on her face. She was completely awake by then.

  'Are you serious? How do you live here? With all the noise of building furniture or whatever? And-did I see you smile just now?'

  'I live on the top floor. It's soundproof. Even if it wasn't, I get to my office before anyone comes and leave after everyone, so I am between the noise all the time anyway. And yes-you saw me smile just now.'

  'It was nice. You should do that more often,' she said, looked up at the building, and added, 'I would like to see your place.'

  'There is nothing to see. All I do is sleep there. My office is more of a home for me.'

  'But I want to see.'

  He did not argue. They got into the elevator and got off at the top floor. His penthouse consisted of the entire top floor, leaving one-fourth of the space for the terrace. And it was grand. He had refused to hire a professional to do the interiors of his place and the end result had been good. If he had enough taste to build every article of furniture in his home, he also had enough aesthetic sense to put together all the pieces in a beautiful manner.

  He saw Shambhavi's mouth form a huge 'O' in awe. There was not even a single speck of sleep in her eyes anymore. She went from room to room, noticing every detail. After a while, when he could not take any more, he said, 'You should go to sleep now. The guest bedroom is-'

  'I know where it is! I can relate every single detail of this place now. You have an amazing talent, Mr Datta,' she said.

  'Thank you, Ms Sen. Now, it's really-'

  'Hey, about what you were saying back in the car-I think it's a good idea.'

  'I didn't know you were listening,' Arjun said, surprised.

  'I was, but then it got boring and I fell asleep. So tell me-do we have an assignment to work together on?'

  'Actually, yes. There is a hotel that needs to be refurnished. It'll be an easy task, since most of the furniture in a hotel looks alike. So we have to get just a few designs ready. But other than that, there is a lot of work to do. Almost from scratch, since the owner wants the hotel to look new in all aspects.'

  'Sounds interesting. Who's the owner?' Shambhavi asked, all business.

  'I am,' Arjun stated simply.

  'What?'

  'You heard it right.'

  'You bought a hotel? Whoa! When? Why?' she shrieked.

  'Just signed the registration papers today. You are the first to know.'

  'Wow!

  'What do you mean?' Arjun could sense a lot more behind her one wow. He could tell by the look on her face that her brain was working furiously, putting together pieces.

  She asked slowly, 'Does this have anything to do with ... me?'

  'I could deny that.'

  'You could. But would you?'

  'No,' he said, looking into her eyes, which were wide, like a child's.

  'So ... you bought a hotel just so we can have something to work together on?'

  'In a way. But more than anything, it was a means of investment. In a city like Indore, a good hotel will always do good business. I had been thinking about investing in this area for a long time.'

  She just nodded.

  'So, would you like to work with me on it? It's no pressure, really. I just thought you might be interested, so I am letting you know before anyone else.'

  She did not reply to his question. She just stood up on the balls of her feet and kissed him softly near his lips, on the cheek. 'This is sweet, Arjun. I know you won't accept it, but I also know why you are doing this. All this while, I have been thinking that there might be a chance that you would let me into your personal bubble and not push me away like you do everyone else. But I had not expected it to happen so so
on. Now that it is happening, it makes me happy.'

  Arjun did not know how to respond. He had not expected her to be so honest. Nor had he ever thought that he could fall in love that easily. All his doubts and uncertainties went away in a fraction of a second. Those bright, wide eyes could never lie. He trusted her.

  'I do not know what happened to make you the way you are-hiding in your private hole, keeping everyone out, no human attachment-but I'm glad that you're coming out of it. And I'll be with you, by your side, on every step of your journey, whenever you need me,' she said and kissed him again, at the exact same place.

  He pulled her closer to him and stared into her eyes for what seemed like an eternity. They stood there, still as statues, as time froze around them. Nothing seemed to matter. There were tears in her eyes, and there were tears in his. They were happy, they were sad, they were in love.

  He had never imagined that love would come back into his life. What he had had with Prehal, what his heart had once felt so strongly about that woman, paled mightily in comparison. He had not known Shambhavi for long, but he knew they were meant to be. Sometimes in love, there is no rational explanation to it, you just know. And with every beat of his heart, it just became clearer to him.

  Right then, staring into her eyes, he promised himself that he wouldn't let the skeletons from his past get in their way.

  He promised himself that he would trust her, have faith in her and see where love took them.

  He promised to love her with no reservations.

  'I love you,' he whispered, still looking deeply into her eyes. He ran his thumb lightly over her lower lip.

  'I know,' she whispered back. 'But I love you more.'

  He could not hold back any longer. And he did not find a reason why he should. He pulled her closer to him and touched her lips softly with his. They stayed like that for a while, met each other's eyes and tightened the embrace. He kissed her, softly at first and hurriedly when she responded.

  The kiss felt like heaven, and if left up to him, he would never have let it end. But soon, they were out of breath. Shambhavi pulled back to draw air, and as she hurriedly gasped the oxygen in, Arjun moved to her neck, leaving a trail of kisses there in his wake.