Aman has successfully imbalanced her equilibrium, and he is happy about it, which means she will be forced to think about him. It is going to be a long battle, he knows it but there is no way he is leaving the ground.
She doesn’t fit the definition of an ordinary middle-aged lady, her personality is composed but there is a fire in her – confidence and enigma that can make anyone taste the dust. In the last couple of years, he had never seen her showing a single moment of weakness – from whatever professional interactions he remembered.
He was concocting various scenarios of the situation when the phone rang. It was Father! What does he want now, he pondered. Half-heartedly he picked to answer, his father informed him about his arrival and that he would be staying at a friend’s place. He would like to meet personally and congratulate Aman for the admission placement.
Surprised by the uncalled show of emotions from his father, Aman agreed to meet him the next day.
Natasha was bewildered by her thoughts, many males had advanced in the past or tried to connect with her but she was never interested. What’s so different this time, she wondered! Is it because of the age gap, the young blood’s tenacity, or his eyes?
Lost in mental deliberation, she decided to stop this frail trail of discomfort and discontinue the ‘engagement dress’ project, it was not good for her. She must have a clear conscience and dedication to only one man – Vikram.
Vikram provided her the life she is living today, he was the reason she existed and fuelled her dreams to lead a respectable life. She is committed to him, and him alone. Her sacrifices seem too little for what Vikram had done to save her, he spent his entire life earnings to rescue her from the brothel. She was only 19 when her father sold her to earn a few favors from a matka-king.
Vikram found her bundled at a corner during one of his late-night lustful escapades and felt empathy to rescue a young lass in tatters. He provided her shelter, food, education, and belongingness. In return, she dedicated her life and self to him. They couldn’t marry as Vikram came from an upper caste and marriage was supposed to be an arrangement with benefits made by elders then.
She continued to be his lady of interest and their illicit affair was kept under wraps, Vikram never made her feel low and Natasha was a devoted lover. She had never taken any other man in, and now in the 44th year of her life, this young man has stifled her resolve.
Aman had received an email from Natasha’s studio about their inability to meet his requirements and details of the advance refund. Vexed by this sudden change of events, he decided to call Natasha.
‘Ms. Sahni, may I please know why my request has been rejected? Do you think I am not in the position to afford you?’ he blurted in frustration when Natasha picked up the phone.
‘Is that an accusation, Sir, if so, I will have to look into the entire conversation and set your facts right,’ she retorted.
Grasping his overreaction, he apologized and begged to review his request – ‘I have already informed my family, that your revered studio is providing my sister’s dress, Please don’t put me in a fix at the last minute, Ms. Sahni. I am leaving tomorrow for the USA to meet them, they’re expecting the dress to come with me’ he concluded sounding helpless.
Considering his plea genuine, she agreed to re-look and see what could be done. He was ecstatic already and decided to drop by her boutique soon. He likes seeing her perplexed.
Natasha never let her emotions take the front seat, she took a few deep breaths and asked her staff to do something fast about the dress. He is leaving tomorrow – a sudden flick of loss passed by her body.
Shit!
She kept herself busy for the rest of the day, It was late noon when the doorbell jingled – everyone looked up instantly expecting a certain young attractive fella to arrive to enquire about his special request.
‘Sir, please welcome! We were not expecting you – Ma’am didn’t mention anything about your arrival. Please come, what shall I get you – wine, sparking water?’ the receptionist was muddling with her words.
‘This is called ‘surprise’, Reema! I hope your madam also gets this jumpy seeing me,’ he said throwing his signature smirk.
What a fine-looking man, even in this age he is so appealing, thought Reema. Vikram is a tall well-built man with a fine-toned and chiseled body, thanks to all those early morning strength training hours. His salt-and-pepper hair makes him look sexy and his suave dressing style can give tough competition to any supermodel.
He went inside looking for Natasha, but she was too busy to even notice his arrival.
Vikram stood beside her, but she was towering over a human directing the intricate details to go on the sewing machine. He tapped over her shoulder, Natasha jumped a heartbeat seeing Vikram in front of her.
He laughed and pulled her in his arms, kissing her on the cheek swiftly, ‘I hope you liked my surprise, Natz.’ She couldn’t believe her eyes, they just met last week, Vikram hardly come down to New Delhi, nevertheless, it was a sweet surprise.
‘Welcome, you didn’t inform me, I should have met you at the airport or home,’ her reply was full of concern for him.
‘Oh! Come on, how would have I seen this reaction then. And trust me, more than you it was Reema who was shocked seeing me. Please tell me you are paying her well,’ Vikram said jokingly.
Vikram was holding her close, so close that she could feel his willingness. Her eyes dropped down, and a pink blush touched her cheeks. Even after 25 years of a steady steamy relationship, she still couldn’t completely accept the fact that he liked her body and soul.
He liked it when she got coy, showing him she still loved him. He grazed his fingers by her jaw and pulled her face when the front doorbell chimed. ‘Did we forget to close the studio?’ he enquired with staff in general.
‘Madam, the customer is here to talk to you regarding the special delivery’, Reema informed Natasha.
‘Oh! What’s that special delivery if I may ask, Madam?’ Vikram teased Natasha.
‘Urgent Engagement Dress for a sister by her brother, he called me when I was with you last week. We are delivering it by tomorrow. Give me a minute, I will be back,’ she informed Vikram.
He released the grip and let her move out of the embrace, She motioned Vikram to sit and proceeded towards the lobby. There he was, standing by the door – streaks of sunlight falling on him making his skin shine like diamonds. He was wearing a white linen shirt with open-top buttons and beige relaxed pants. Greek God! He is indeed very handsome, no wonder my girls can’t stop ogling at him, she thought.
She informed him about the progress of the dress and their commitment to delivering the next day, he kept looking at her eyes and moving lips, which made Natasha uncomfortable. No man can make her feel dizzy except Vikram, Why this man is gaining power over her consciousness?
He clapped on her hand to show his appreciation and a sudden jolt of electric current passed through her body. Unable to move her hand and stunned by his touch she was perplexed, he was saying something, but her mind was baffled.
It was only when Vikram walked into the room, she regained composure and pulled her hand back. Reema accompanied him filling in all the details about the special delivery, Vikram was not able to see the guy’s face clearly due to the sunlight falling from doors and windows.
Moving towards Natasha and the customer, Vikram pulled out his phone to call his son and fix the venue for their meeting.
Aman got his confirmation, his touch had an effect on her. Now, is the time to step up, he would ask her for a coffee. Wondering if that would be a good move or too early and risky stunt. He was contemplating the thoughts when his phone started ringing – Father. He cursed the timings.
He got up from the sofa to pick up the call, when found a stunned familiar face looking back at him from the other side of the room.
Father-son staring at each other with Natasha in the middle looking dumbfounded.
The End.
To read the previous part, please click here.
This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023
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