Love Lasts Forever

by Khanna, Vikrant

  How are you feeling now? Can a question get any lamer?

  Outside, Captain hugs me. We exchange our telephone numbers and address. He urges me to visit him at his place with Aisha once everything is settled.

  ‘Of course, sir,’ I say. ‘I promise.’

  Next, I take a taxi straight to Joe Singh’s home. Perhaps it’ll be a good idea to speak to him first before facing Aisha.

  ‘Holy shit! What the hell happened?’ Joe Singh screams at my sight in front of his door.

  Of course, with my long, unkempt hair, and straggly beard I expected him to be shocked.

  ‘Can I come in first,’ I ask.

  He moves aside, his mouth wide open as I struggle with my luggage. His house smells how a typical north Indian’s house would. The smell of paranthas waft toward the living room and I find myself basking in it. How much I missed good Indian food in the last eleven months?

  ‘In case you don’t realize,’ he says with a confused look, ‘I’m still waiting.’

  ‘Our ship got hijacked,’ I say, throwing the luggage in one corner and crashing on the black rexine couch.

  ‘Oh God, when?’ His hands fly to his mouth and he plunks down beside me. ‘And why did no one tell me about it?’

  ‘That’s because they didn’t allow us to call, you slob.’

  ‘Oh, okay,’ he says, making a face while poking his finger in my rough, disheveled hair.

  They are smelly, sticky, and I do realize I desperately need a haircut.

  ‘Tell me everything, will you?’

  As if I have a choice. I tell him everything right since the day the pirates boarded, their harassing, mock executions, crew lock downs, and I couldn’t stop myself from sharing Captain’s story as well. In between, his maid offered paranthas, and I devour at least a dozen of them while recounting my last year.

  ‘My God!’ he says when I’m done. ‘That’s an incredibly sad story, dude.’

  I nod.

  ‘Okay, wait,’ I say, gulping down the curd I was offered along. I must admit that has to be the most delicious meal I ever had. ‘Which sad story are you referring to here – the pirates’ or Captains’?’

  ‘Captains” story, of course.’

  I jerk the curd bowl in his face and his beard gets smeared by the last bits of it. ‘I almost died that day and you find Captain’s story sadder, you psycho.’

  He runs a hand through his beard and smiles. We both shake our head and say nothing. Instead we just look at each other and share another smile. For whatever reason we high-five. I can’t escape the thought it’s been a year I shared such a moment with my best friend. Nothing can be more important in life than friends. No – wait - wife is the most important.

  His maid returns with a despondent look and asks me if I need any more paranthas.

  ‘Only two more,’ I say. I hate that smirk on her face before she marches down the hallway toward the kitchen. ‘And another bowl of curd, please,’ I call out to her.

  ‘You know,’ he resumes, ‘he’s so right when he says you can’t forget your first love. Seriously, you can’t. Maybe a woman can, but never a man.’

  ‘Joe,’ I say for a change, ‘how the hell do you even know that. You’ve never been in love, man. And how do you know so much about women anyway. This is something that has always intrigued me.’

  ‘Oh!’ he leans back in his seat. ‘Yeah…well…’

  I eye him askance. ‘Joe, what are you hiding?’

  He takes a deep breath and then looks away. ‘Nothing…really.’

  ‘Joe Singh!’ I say, widening my eyes at him.

  ‘OK…, well, there’s something…I’ve hidden from you.’

  ‘What?’ I scooted closer to him. For a moment I forgot the purpose of my visit here.

  ‘OK…,’ he looks away again. ‘The thing is I’m in love with a woman for the last seven years.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Um…actually…she is Chinese,’ he says slowly.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Yeah…and I met her in a bar in China.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘You know one of those bars.’

  ‘What?’ I shot up. Even the last two paranthas the maid got me a minute ago didn’t interest me anymore. ‘She is a prostitute?’

  ‘No, not exactly,’ he countered. ‘She just works there.’

  ‘So she is a bar dancer.’

  ‘No, damn it.’ He hurls a cushion at me. ‘I said she just works there.’

  ‘So she’s a bar dancer cum prostitute, okay, got it.’

  He makes a face.

  ‘Anyway, so what about her?’ I ask.

  ‘Well,’ he says with a smile, scratching his beard. ‘I’ve been madly in love with her ever since I met her and want to get married to her. You know we’d been dating each other for a long time and then we broke up last year, again patched up and again broke up, and then one more time this year. She is a typical woman and pesters me so much, yet I can’t stop loving her. That’s why I always sail in Chinese waters, so I can be with her most of the time. Being with her has made me realize what a woman really wants. And well, that’s how I know so much about women.’

  I am stunned. I’m not even hungry anymore. So this is the reason he knows so much about women, something that has been plaguing me for the last so many years. And I’ve been following all his insanely advices about women… No wonder, my marriage has fallen apart.

  ‘So let me get this again,’ I say, my hands stretched out. ‘Being with a Chinese bar dancer cum prostitute you learnt what a woman wants and that’s how you know so much about women…I mean, wow!’

  ‘Yes!’ he says. ‘So what man, love is blind. You forgot your own time. You fell in love with our enemy’s sister, Priyanka’s sister, he, he...’

  ‘So…you do believe in love then.’

  ‘Of course, man. It’s the most beautiful thing in the whole world.’

  ‘So then why have you been hiding this all this while?’

  ‘Because…dude, it’s embarrassing.’

  I shake my head in disbelief. ‘Can you even imagine what sort of children both of you will give birth to? Can you not see it? Chinese eyes and a turban on top, Oh God, Joe, buddy, you are amazing!’

  He says nothing.

  I know what I have to do now. If Joe Singh can be in love with a Chinese…whatever and still can’t get her off his head, then I will never be able to forget Aisha.

  I leave his house and run with all brute force toward Aisha’s place.

  Ten minutes later, I am still running.

  Why the hell did I not take his car?

  48. Sorry Aisha, sorry Priyank

  30th May 2012, Mumbai

  I bring Joe Singh’s car to a screeching halt outside Aisha’s house. Why the hell was I running if I could drive?

  That definitely had to be Bollywood’s melodramatic effect. As sense had dawned on me I’d sprinted back to Joe Singh’s place, crawled behind the steering wheel of his car, and then drove at breakneck speed.

  Now, here I am, outside the door of Aisha’s place in Bandra. A sinking sensation forms in the pit of my stomach as I imagine what her reaction would be. Would she be happy to see me? Would she fall in my arms? Would she take me back in her life or…would she kick me out her house?

  I knock.

  After a minute, for what seemed like an hour, the door creaks open. It’s my handsome brother-in-law Priyank. He looks dashing in his sky blue chinos and um…pink shirt that is rolled behind to expose his fair arms.

  I clear my throat. ‘Hey Priyank!’

  ‘Oh! Look who’s here,’ he says; his voice cold and surly. ‘The mystery man is back. We thought you got lost.’

  ‘Actually my ship got…um…never mind. Is Aisha around?’

  He archs his eyebrows. ‘Why do you want to see her now, after such a long time?’

  ‘Please.’

  ‘And what’s with all that hair and beard,’ he says. His nose crinkles to form a fro
wn. ‘You like Devdas of some shady movie.’

  ‘Please, can I see Aisha?’

  He hesitates for a moment. ‘OK, come in,’ he offers and moves aside.

  I settle on the L-shaped sofa in the living room. Memories of that day when Priyank had caught us came rushing back. We were so much in love those days and life seemed just the perfect place to be in. And now, everything had changed. Only if Aisha could give me one last chance, I’ll restore the old times. I’ll become the best husband in the world, the most caring and supportive husband, even better than Captain.

  Aisha emerges slowly from her bedroom. With a loose Nike pajama and a sky blue top she looks even more beautiful than the first time I saw her.

  ‘Hi there,’ I say and rise on my feet slowly. I do realize hugging her wouldn’t be a good idea now.

  Her face is expressionless. She definitely doesn’t look pleased to see me here.

  ‘Hmm…so what brings you to Mumbai after a year?’

  She crosses her arms against her chest, and leans against the wall beside her.

  ‘Can I give you a hug?’

  ‘No, not at all,’ she says and then looks away. ‘It took one year for you to realize that you have a wife.’

  ‘Aisha, I’m sorry, really sorry, you know my sh-’

  ‘Just get the hell out of here Ronit!’ she says stretching her arms and nodding toward the door.

  ‘At least let me say what I have to.’

  ‘I don’t care what you have to say, Ronit.’ She took a step forward. ‘When I needed you, you weren’t even there and now you have suddenly realized you need me. Where were you all this while, huh?’

  ‘Aisha, my ship got hijacked.’

  ‘Oh,’ she says, biting her lower lip. ‘Really?’

  ‘You think I would lie about a thing like that, Aisha,’ I say and walk toward her. ‘We were under their captivity for more that eleven months. In fact I returned India this morning. Don’t you see my condition?’ I point toward my beard and hair.

  ‘Why couldn’t you at least call?’ she says and retracts back.

  ‘The pirates never allowed us to, Aisha. Only my mom knew about it but you guys don’t even…never mind.’

  I move closer again and hold her shoulders. Priyank dawdles a few metres away from us to monitor our conversation. Perhaps he thinks the hooligan in me would harm his sister.

  Aisha stands motionless and doesn’t let go off my arm. We glance at each other occasionally feeling the awkwardness of the situation.

  ‘So? What now Ronit? Why are you here?’

  ‘I love you Aisha, I really do. I’m so, so sorry for what I did to you. Being away from you in the last year has made me realize how much you mean to me. Can you give me one last chance to improve my mistakes?’

  She doesn’t reply. Instead she walks away from me across the hall toward the couch. She sits on it and buries her face in her hands.

  ‘Why?’ she says, looking at me. ‘Why should I give you another chance? You left me when I needed you the most.’

  ‘Because I have changed, Aisha.’ I walk toward her. ‘And because things have changed. I spoke to mom and Priya has moved out as well. Things have finally settled in her family. She won’t trouble you anymore.’

  ‘So?’

  I drop to my knees and place my hands on her laps. ‘Come on Aisha, you know I love you so much.’

  Priyank sneers at me from behind her. Why can’t he leave us alone?

  ‘Please forgive me Aisha.’

  ‘Why…why should I forgive you?’

  I close my eyes and remember something. ‘Because I love you a lot and I’ll become exactly what you want me to become Aisha,’ I say. ‘I’ll be a caring, supportive, and loving husband who doesn’t buy you gold biscuits so it can be a FAIR INVESTMENT for me. Instead I’ll shower gifts on you and flatter you with a lot of surprises. I’ll be courteous and polite, would love you, and be kind like I was before marriage. I’ll be sensitive and listen to your problems attentively and then solve it and not give you the crap that I won’t interfere in you women. I’ll spend maximum time with you and next time my sister is rude to you, I’ll stand by you.’

  Thankfully, this time the tune of ‘stand by me’ didn’t play in my mind.

  ‘I’ll respect you, your feelings and your desires, and then fulfill each one of them. I will understand the sacrifices you have made for me by leaving your family. I’ll be a good friend, a good companion, and most importantly a man. I’ll be a good listener, be warm, sympathetic, attentive, funny, tender, tolerant, understanding, courageous, dependable.’

  Neither did ‘Rahul Dravid’ come to my mind.

  ‘I’ll be passionate, compassionate and honest. I’ll help you in the kitchen and not merely order what I want to eat. And after my meals, I’ll pick up my own dishes and keep them in the sink not before spraying some water over them. I won’t put my wet towel on the bed and certainly not on the floor. My shoes would lie neatly in the shoe rack and the socks would go in the laundry. I will not throw my clothes on the bed and expect you or my mother to put it in the wardrobe for me. I’ll eat whatever you cook for me, enjoy it and then compliment you for it, as at least you are trying.

  ‘You can wake up any time in the morning, take a shower when you want, wear any clothes in the house. Other than that I will compliment you frequently as I did before marriage and not give you any stress.’

  She stares at me and her mouth is wide open. ‘You remembered all that I said?’

  Priyank comes forward, his face puckered in contempt, and sits beside her.

  ‘Yes Aisha, I remember each and every word.’

  Slowly a faint smile forms at the corner of her lips.

  I hold her hand and smile back. ‘Would you please come home with me?’

  Much to my chagrin, she hesitates. She looks at Priyank who offers a shrug in return.

  ‘Please Aisha give me one last chance, I’ll do anything you want me to.’

  ‘Anything?’ she eyes me skeptically and then looks at Priyank.

  I nod.

  Oh God, I have a bad feeling about this.

  Rightly so, half an hour later, Aisha and Priyank are shoving up a gel inside me, of course, from behind. They tell me it’s a mixture of garlic, red chilies, and pepper.

  The next instant I scream my lungs out and wriggle in pain on the floor. My butt is burning and I have never experienced such excruciating pain in my life.

  Oh, I hate Joe Singh. I hate that bastard. Why the hell did he invent this stupid game?

  One piece of advice, though. Please, never, ever try this at home!

  EPILOGUE

  A year has passed and Captain’s words have never left my mind.

  It’s not too hard to keep a woman happy. All they want is our love, care, support, and apparently a good ear.

  It took me almost a year under the captivity of pirates, and the story of a lifetime to understand that, but still, as they say, better late than never.

  We’re more in love with each other than ever before. Thankfully my sister Priya is back with her husband, and peace is restored both in her and our home. I spend enough time with Aisha and I never hang out with my friends or cousins alone. Few days back I asked her to celebrate our wedding anniversaries quarterly and she was thrilled.

  ‘Where do you get such wonderful ideas from?’ she asked me.

  I smiled and replied, ‘Well, I’m a romantic, what can I say?’

  She loves surprises and I love surprising her with gifts, and of course, flowers. Captain was right - there is an unimaginable affinity between women and flowers. The hug that I get in return and the geniality that follows for the next few days makes the effort worthwhile a ten times over.

  Oh yeah, and did I tell you about Priyank?

  She got, I mean, he got married last month. No, seriously. Though the woman (yes woman) he got married to is – well, how do I put it – strange. She looks…manly, if you know what I mean. On his marriage day, my
handsome brother-in-law appeared…scared. God bless that idiot.

  And Joe Singh is getting married to that Chinese…whatever. He’s madly in love with her, he tells me whenever we meet, and cannot imagine his life without her. Last when we met he told me he’s writing a book from all his experiences, How to keep your woman happy – and stop that blah, blah, blah.

  I am never going to read it.

  Now, I am in Mumbai and we are on our way toward Captain’s house in Andheri. I want Aisha to meet Captain and vice-versa. Moreover I want to see a picture of Shikha Mam – the woman who reaffirmed my belief in love without even meeting me.

  And yeah, there’s another thing I must tell you. I’ve realized now that love can definitely last forever, even if you marry your love.

  *****