She

 

She strolled leisurely in the garden with his daughter, laughing merrily. Her tanned skin glowed in the afternoon sun. 

He watched her quietly from the corner window of his bedroom. As he saw them entering the house, he hurried downstairs and sank into the plush drawing room sofa, burying his nose into the newspaper.

Shalu came flying up to him, shouting ‘Hello Papa’ all the way and hugged him lovingly.

 ‘So, how was your tuition?’ he asked tenderly.

‘It was good but physics is a hard nut to crack.’

‘And what about you?’ he probed as he turned towards her.

Amazed that such a silly question could be put to her, she raised her eyebrows and remarked casually, ‘With a little help from Shalu, I think I can sail through.’

She had been visiting them for the past few weeks now and always addressed him directly without uncle-ing or sir-ing him.

Shalu butted in. ‘We can go through the next chapter if you like.’

‘Sure.’

Somebody rang the doorbell.

‘Must be the washer man,’ Shalu mumbled and rushed towards the main door.

Grabbing the moment, she stepped up boldly and snatched the newspaper from him. ‘You are holding it upside down.’

Amused, she shoved the paper back into his hands and ambled off. His eyes followed her movement. A naughty smile danced on her lips as she disappeared inside the study room.

His mobile buzzed. 

‘Hello Priya, how are you?’

‘I am good. And what about you? Enjoying my absence!’

‘Not exactly. How is your knee now?’

‘Much better,’ his wife’s voice broke in, ‘but the doctor says he needs some more time.’

‘I feel bad that you’re going through it all alone, that too at Singapore.’

‘I know but we can’t afford to disturb Shalu’s studies. And anyway, my sister is taking good care of me. ’

‘I miss you darling.’

‘Same here honey. Tell Shalu to ring me up once she is free.’

‘Sure.’

‘Bye, love you.’

‘Love you too.’

As he cut her off, a huge wave of guilt surged through his heart- he was betraying his wife, he was lusting after a girl half his age and he was feeling terribly helpless.

 

Next afternoon, as he sat working on his laptop, he heard the noise of a scooty outside. He glanced at the wall clock and with a puzzled look on his face, he got up and opened the door.

She stood there, smiling and swaying slowly on her heels.

‘Shalu is not at home.’

‘I know but I had to return some of her books,’ her husky voice echoed in his ears.

She moved past him defiantly and examined her surroundings as if she was coming there for the first time.

‘Where should I dump them?’

‘There, you can leave them on the center table.’

As she passed by him, he felt her unruly black curls caressing his face.

A blazing current shot through his spine.

‘Can I take off my sandals and rest here for a while? It’s so warm outside.’

Without waiting for his response, she took off her sandals one by one.

He removed his spectacles and closed in with her. She gazed straight into his face, the corner of her eyes turning red.

Suddenly, a gust of wind threw the side window open and a glass photo frame lying on a nearby shelf, crashed on the floor with a loud bang. Jolted out of his trance, he rushed and picked up the broken frame - it showed his daughter’s photograph when she was a toddler.

‘What am I doing?’

The thought flashed across his mind like a bolt of lightning.

‘Is everything all right?’ he heard her voice behind him. But before he could caution her, a piece of shattered glass had sliced through her bare foot. 

‘Oh my God!’ she screamed with pain.

‘Who asked you to come here?’ he scolded her sharply, ‘give me your hand.’

He tried to lead her up to a nearby chair but she could not walk.

‘Wait,’ he said as he lifted her up like a small baby and lowered her into the chair.

‘I'll be back in a minute.’

He rushed to the living room and returned with a first aid box. As he applied Dettol on her cut, she pulled up her face.

‘Come on, don’t be a coward.’

He put some cotton on the top to block the flow of blood. A mild wind ruffled her hair.

‘When my dad was alive, he always took care of me like this,’ she said softly, brushing away her tears.

‘What happened to him?’

‘He died in a car accident.’

The bleeding had stopped now. He cleaned the abrasion and carefully applied a bandage.

‘You miss him.’

‘A lot.’

‘What was the best thing that you liked about him?’

Her eyes brightened up as she went down the memory lane. ‘Whenever I was angry, he would take me for a long ride and buy me an ice cream. He always treated me like a little princess.’

‘I am sure he was a great father.’

‘Sure he was.’

She glanced at her watch. ‘I must leave now.’

‘But you can’t drive with this bandage over your foot.’

‘I’ll manage.’

‘Look princess, it always pays to listen to good advice.’

A warm smile spread over her face. ‘Right sir.’

Moments later, he steered the scooty on the road while she rode the pillion.

‘Sir, do you know the way to my home?’

‘Yes, it goes through an ice cream parlor.’

They both laughed as an orange evening sun, having lost its heat, rested peacefully on the horizon. 

Here is a romantic comedy for you

A Blind Date