Never Letting Go
Asad's Birthday
Asad's Birthday
Chapter 3: Uncertainties
It was the longest - though - nostalgic drive to the office - at least that is how Zoya perceived it, not that Zoya didn't enjoy his company except it also happened to be a silent drive and for her the silence was deafening. If only they spoke and voiced their feelings the way they argued she thought to herself, smiling at all the times they argued.
Those were the golden days she chuckled in deep thought. However amidst all of this what she did relish the whole time was the feel, the caress of Asad's hand entangled with hers, welded together passionately as if two bodies were soldered and two souls were cemented together in that one pure albeit incandescent gesture - the fire and sanctity of which consumed both of them. Their stolen glances were not doing them a favour, as their hearts betrayed their resolve. Their hearts disclosed their inner state, filling and saturating the reticent atmosphere inside the car with the beating of their hearts.
Heartbeats, beating in synchrony to a melody they mutually composed, dispelling the deafening tones and tempo of the silent atmosphere. It was nothing like their previous expeditions in his 4-by-4 which were on a more sober note usually because they had some issues to follow up on. But this was their first outing as a couple in his 4-by-4. "There's always a first time for everything," Zoya blushed whispering her thoughts distinctly which compelled Asad to direct his tender gaze in her direction, bringing his 4-by-4 to a sudden stop motioning Zoya too, to focus her eyes in his direction, tightening the grip of their entangled hands.
They had arrived at the office but it didn't register in either of their preoccupied minds that they had arrived. Asad was beyond mesmerised by Zoya's self-talk and Zoya bewildered to the spontaneous hushing of the engine. Did she give anything away, she thought to herself intimidated by his questioning eyes.
"M-e ... m-e - Meeeting" Zoya stammered, "I mean you were in a rush to get here - aap ko dher nahin ho rahi Mr Khan?" Zoya questioned with fragmented sentences interrupting both his train of thoughts and their uninhibited and spellbinding gaze that was tolling heavy on her heart, deepening the pink and red bloom forming on her cheeks, and awakening a shockwave of frenzy in her core that she needed to shade from his penetrating eyes. His eyes always manage to understand the language of her eyes; her eyes betrayed her heart and resolve, where he was concerned. She abruptly shifted her gaze towards the rear-view mirror in an attempt to conceal the effect he had on her only to be regretful at the view she caught in the mirror. Zoya saw a well-known coffeehouse in the rear-view mirror and realised that Asad didn't have his morning coffee, the thought of which only saddened her.
"Allah Miyaan, aap ki jaldi jaldi mein - I forgot to serve you the coffee I made this morning at breakfast," Zoya said annoyed at herself for messing up such a simple task as breakfast. "In fact you're to blame Mr Khan, taande dimaag se kuch nahin karte, you're always in a rush, kabhi yahaan, kabhi wahaan ... itne pyaar aur dedication se aap ke liye coffee banaayi thi," Zoya sulked like a child.
"Oh really Zoya! Sach toh ye hai that I didn't get my coffee this morning because of y . o . u, " Asad refuted uttering each letter of you, emphasising his dismay at her disturbing yet another amorous experience. "Woh kya ta? Haan ... I'll jog your memory a little. Circles Miss Farooqui, circles - yaad aaya?" Asad sniggered at her naivety while tracing the outline of circles around Zoya's head with his free hand which obliged Zoya to follow the action of Asad's hand movement in a trance like state. "Incredibly foolish," he laughed snapping his fingers of his free hand in front of Zoya's eye's bringing her out from the spell his prior action of drawing circles around her head had yielded on her. He continued his ruthless onslaught of flirtation by drawing circles on the back of her hand which was still knotted with his using his thumb to exploit her hand. Her breathing became shallow but she managed to maintain her composure.
"Oh really," Zoya exasperated, catching her breath which was racing, "Mere circles aap ke circles se behtar te, they were extremely refined, classy and romantically presented," huffed Zoya, looking straight ahead of her, away from his penetrating gaze.
"Woh kya ta? I'll jog your memory Mr Khan, remember the circles around the dining table? Aliens, and spoons, plates and forks, and the fact that you undid the entire table setting I laid down that day. Hum ek dusre se kitne alag hai Miss Farooqui, bilkul iss plate or chamaach ki tarah etc etc," mimicked Zoya. "So incredibly foolish," Zoya blew a raspberry and hastily yanked her hand out of Asad's tight grip, undid her seat-belt and made her exit out of his 4-by-4 aiming towards the coffeehouse but before she could make her way across the road Asad blocked her path.
"Where exactly are you heading? Itna gussa Zoya? I was kidding ... aur waise bhi the office is in this direction if you haven't already noticed," Asad pointed towards the large gold plated revolving glass doors leading into the flawless building which contained his office from where he executed his business. Asad lowered his hands towards her hands and lifted her hands close to his lips, he planted a gentle kiss on her delicate hands and apologised, "I'm sorry Zoya agar aap ko bura laga," he looked deeply into her eyes, conveying his remorse.
"Oh-ho Mr Khan, I'm not angry, I was heading towards the coffeehouse to get coffee for both of us, that's all and I know you won't let me go alone hence I made a mad dash for it otherwise if I had asked you, you would've launched a whole lecture on how I'm careless and irresponsible," Zoya explained animatedly which lightened Asad's mood, simultaneously unknotting one finger at a time from his firm grasp, in a fruitless attempt to getaway.
"You have to inform me and seek my permission for all of your outings, I must always be aware of your whereabouts, it burdens me not knowing where you are," Asad replied folding his arms into his chest authoritatively, disturbed at the thought of losing her.
"Fine I'll ask you now. Kya main Zoya Farooqui, walk across the road with careful baby steps, cross the road using the pelican crossing - so that mein uss paar ke coffeehouse se" - she said batting her lashes like a damsel-in-not-so-much distress, crossing her fingers behind her back hoping he buys this much of her white lie: "hum dono ke liye garma garam coffee laa sakti hoon and I promise I won't talk to anyone on the way there and back, except for when I place the coffee order of course, my Akdu jee? It'll only take a few minutes and there are truly no hazards and one more thing - my shoes," she pointed towards her Jimmy Choo nude heels so aptly name 'ABEL' which she purchased in New York prior to leaving for Bhopal that she hadn't worn till today.
Well in all cases today was the perfect day to be wearing them anyhow, it was his birthday and anything for him, right, she thought. "Maine running shoes nahin pehne hai so there is no risk of me running anywhere," Zoya emphasised each word reassuring Mr Khan. "Aur waise bhi these particular heels are Jimmy Choos" she stressed, "and I wouldn't want to ruin them for anyone and one more thing let me inform you that each pair of Jimmy Choo shoes have a name, these particular ones are called Abel" - Zoya said while demonstrating her walk in her heels, "and yes I am more than 'able' to get to the coffeehouse and back by myself, so please Mr Khan, mere Jimmy Choos pe torah sa raham karo pretty please - with a cherry on top and coffee just the way you like it - pretty please?" Zoya pouted like a playful child.
Asad didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Zoya's antics but he decided if she was to be his equal then he might as well give her this chance, well it was only across the road and there was no way she could mess this up. But then again she was a magnet for all the weirdness and problems in the world. Asad scanned Zoya's puppy face and decided he would give in for her sake, and this opportunity would buy him some time to cultivate his plans for today. He was reluctant nonetheless, he sighed heavily and his chest felt heavy for giving in to her.
"Fine Miss Farooqui, but no talking to strangers, use the pelican crossing, no running whatsoever" Asad said sternly using his right hand index finger motioning a definitive no as though he were speaking to a noncompliant teenager. "And be back here in exactly 10 minutes plus or minus 3 minutes, make your way up to my main office room, take the lift to the 6th floor, walk to the end of the corridor where you will find a door clearly signed with my nameplate, I'll be timing you," Asad declared soberly.
"Okay Mr Khan, no need to get so particular on timing, main yun gayi aur yun aayi," Zoya smiled and in an impulse pecked Asad's tensed cheek, disrupting any further attempt on Asad's part to accompany or forbid her. She needed to be free and with that she made a rapid exit towards the coffeehouse, stopping to look back once with eyes overwhelmed with nervousness and a certain sensation of uneasiness to see his reaction to the kiss she planted on his cheek, at the uncertainty of how the day would progress and to absorb this form of him as deeply as she could. She sighed heavily looking in his direction.
He stood there with his right hand placed on the cheek where a few seconds ago she tenderly but impulsively placed a kiss, bewildered and besotted, like a teenager in love. She lowered her gaze in an attempt to shade the crimson which now robed and dressed her face in all the passion he ignited in her with the intoxicated gaze he directed in her direction, his unabashed gaze trailing and charting her path to the coffeehouse until her form faded away from his view.
Asad smiled in ecstasy and made his way to his meeting once Zoya had crossed the road and entered the coffeehouse, disappearing from his view. He had already decided that he would delegate his tasks for the day, first by offering Prasad to lead the initial meeting with Mehta and Sons and reschedule a second meeting for two days later and he will grant his employees the day off, because he needed to spend his entire day with Zoya and Zoya only.
****************************
"Kya hua Sir, a day off from work, 'kiss' khushi mein?" asked Prasad eyeing the lip stain on Asad's cheek.
"Nothing much in particular, but once your meeting is complete I want you to take the day off and spend some quality time with your loved ones, okay," replied Asad sombrely wiping the kiss off his cheeks with a handkerchief he drew out from his jacket, which was followed by the falling of a small envelope from within the handkerchief. Asad followed Prasad's gaze on the note and decided to disrupt his observation of the note by delegating the final task, "And one more thing Prasad please ensure that all employees take the day off too."
"Okay Sir, no worries, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day and I will keep you updated on the meeting," Prasad smiled and made his way to the meeting.
Asad seized the note from the floor with a surplus of curiosity as to what it might contain and in no way was he comfortable with his employees no matter how loyal they were to him, prying into his personal life especially where Zoya was concerned.
He unravelled the carefully folded envelope which was diligently crafted using a photo printout of a collage of words taken from magazines and newspapers, the words shot and exploded from the envelope and pierced a hole in his chest: I'm sorry but it's pivotal that I tell you this ...
The words made him feel queasy and he was not someone known to crumble and shatter like Melba toast at the slightest pressure. A million thoughts ran through his mind at this moment of which one thought scared him the most, his one fear: Zoya abandoning him.
Is that why she made that delectable breakfast setup, the speech, her statement on running shoes? Was that her way of smoothing out the collision on this path, a build-up to this, a farewell note? Why - today of all days? She was careless and irresponsible but cruel and calculating were not adjectives that summoned in his brain when he thought about her. He felt his heart race in his chest, as though an earthquake ripped opened his rib-cage, crushing his heart and lungs in that moment with all the rage that seemed to brew with the notion of what the note may contain. Why was she sorry and why was she hesitant on the way to the coffeehouse? Why did she look back so profoundly and that too with what seemed like numb eyes as if she were about to leave ... permanently?
She was all he ever wanted now because he surrendered to this life the day she made her way back to him. Prior to this he surrendered to the austere and colourless life he was living before her boisterous entry into his mundane and mechanical life. The doors of his heart were closed for many years before her, shunning all expectations from everyone the day his father closed the doors on him and his family. Without her his life was vacuous and gloomy. Was this second chance too beautiful, too good to be true?
End of chapter 3
Thank you for taking the time to read and apologies for the lengthy delay in updating.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Fatima B Lunat.
No comments:
Post a Comment