Secret Admirer – Part III: Short Love Story

We have embarked on the story of student counselor Rohini, a student’s guardian a very handsome man, Vikram, and a super talkative grumpy parakeet – Keezo. To read the previous part of the story, click here.

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Rohini is forty-five but with her fit body and flawless skin, anyone can take her in her mid-thirties. Probably a benefit of an early marriage and child, she was married at the age of 22 and had Raunak a year after. Married to Kaushal for over two decades now, but she hardly sees him at home these days. He heads an international conglomerate and operates from Hong Kong. His Mumbai trips are getting scarce and are usually filled with business meetings, paperwork, and networking dinners.

It has been like this for the past decade or so, Kaushal had been busy building his career, making a name for himself, and providing for a better life for them. She single-handedly brought up Raunak and built her career as a freelancer student counselor. She has been earning good money through her passion, her dream job as an educator/counselor, but for Kaushal, a position comes with its demands. As a CEO of a multinational organization, a certain level of lifestyle is a must.

That need for accomplishment had become their life’s center character, and they never realized how time slipped from their hands. They are now in their 40s with an empty nest and distance of thousands of miles between them.

“Where have you gone? Your bird is going bonkers calling you – HOT MAAL,” Vikram said from behind breaking the spell of memories blasted from the past. Keezo is jumping like a gymnast in his cage and making wierd sounds.

“I apologize, the staff is on leave and this bird will be the death of me.” she muttered while bringing a bowl of seed mix for the shrieking bird when Vikram asked – “if you do not mind may I talk to your Romeo-bird? I have a thing for exquisite things.” His inferences are clear.

Just the thing she wanted – a client walking in her personal space. But she did not say no, she cannot say no for being a clumsy counselor today. She must keep up with her reputation because one wrong word in the social circle and her image will take a dive.

Feeling a stranger’s presence in her personal space, she advised “Yeah, sure, but let me warn you, Keezo talks a lot and he bites.”

“Don’t worry, I have a trick or two under my sleeve… for tough challenges” he said the last word merely a whisper, if they were not standing so close, she might have missed it.

Walking around the kitchen corner, she waved Vikram towards the sundeck and went to fix a coffee for herself, she thought of offering him too as a professional courtesy. When she looked back to ask Vikram his choice of beverage she found him rubbing Keezo under the beak.

Stunned, by the scene unfolding in front of her, she couldn’t utter a single word. Keezo, never ever allows anyone to touch him except Raunak, not even her. He has bitten the caretaker multiple times, and now they use a thick pair of gloves to clean or feed him. This bird is weird, with a capital W! she thought to herself.

“He is a Himalayan breed of parakeets called – slaty, they are quite rare in other parts of the world and are protected in north-eastern India.” He passed the information with grave confidence. She looked up from the kitchen counter and found Vikram’s eyes hovering over her, his eyes – like molten copper in the sunlight.

Mesmerized by his deep brown irises she could not stop from staring back, when Vikram’s eyes moved to her body. It was a cue for her to move away and she pulled herself up to the fullest height. Chin up and she moved towards the coffee maker pulling out two mugs without asking his preference.

Rohini is taller than an average Indian woman, her 5’7 height with the right proportionate body makes her look young and very attractive. She is aware of her physical charm, as her husband, Kaushal always claimed – ‘even in your good old grey days, you will be a seductress, Roh, and you don’t even have to try.’ Raunak was not wrong on the phone when he mentioned his school and junior college friends had a crush on her.

When he was a kid, he would announce to marry her when he grew up, during family lunches or parties. Everyone laughed it out as a kid’s love for his mother, but he made a habit of calling her with adjectives like – Hot maal, sexy, baby, and so on. He and Keezo are living and breathing embarrassments at times, just like today.

“Do you have this bird’s adoption license and registration number?” questioned Vikram.

“Huh?”

Strolling towards her, he answered, “When you adopt an exotic or Aboriginal species, you need to take a license and register the pet with the local administration. Do you have those documents?” he reiterated with power behind the question.

“Well, I am just a caretaker of this terrorist bird. My son has bought him from his Uttarakhand trip and now he is studying in the US. I need to ask him for these things. But, why are you asking?”

“Because, if you do not have these legal documents, anyone can litigate against you for keeping a wildlife without proper adoption papers. It will be a messy legal battle; I am sure a lady like you will not take such chances.”

“Uh-huh! I must recheck with Raunak, my son. And, when you said lady like me, what did you mean?”

“Smart, classy, beautiful, intelligent, and a woman of few words. I can go on if you wish to,” he answered nonchalantly while looking at his well-clipped nails.

Her eyes moved from his face to his hands, they were big, definitely big with sleek long fingers. Perfectly well-maintained hands. When have men started taking care of their hands, she wondered!

Blush crept to her cheeks and neck when he found her looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Flustered, damn it, he found me checking his hands, she couldn’t be more embarrassed.

Rohini is not used to compliments from strangers, her son is more than enough to shower her with all the explosive adjectives, which he should be using for his girlfriend, ideally. She has a negligible to scarce social circle, her life revolves around her career, home, and a crazy mouthy bird. She is an introvert and prefers her own company over life’s drama.

She is acutely aware of the interest wafting from his side, which is not good. She knows and her instincts are on alert, but this is different, it feels different, somehow she never found herself in the company of such a handsome man.

Her marriage to Kaushal was arranged by their parents, there was no love at first sight when they met. It was more like whatever elders decided, they had to follow back then. Slowly they found the likeliness of each other’s company and when Raunak arrived they immediately became parents from spouses.

It’s not that she had any qualms in the marriage, Kaushal is a supportive and understanding partner, and he had been a great father and a successful business executive. But, his absence is a constant, which is molding her into a shell. She craves for human touch in her life at times, but it never hampered her life, yet!

To be continued…

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2024

Disclaimer – This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents in this story are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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