FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN

The Shift

On their way home, Neel did not let go of Manjari's hand even once. Every time she tried to free herself, he tightened his hold and after a point, she gave up. She could not very well tell him that she was not used to holding hands, or to such public shows of affection.

On reaching home, there was an air of awkwardness between them. Now what? Manjari scratched her head as she stood in the living room. She had busied herself for a few minutes by emptying her picnic bag but now what?

Neel could sense her hesitation. He wanted her to be comfortable with him, in his company and decided to take matters into his own hands. He ushered her towards her bedroom and asked her to freshen up. Manjari gave him a quizzical look but complied. In the meantime, Neel ordered food for them both(Chinese). He took a quick shower and stripped his bed of all the beddings and dragged it into the living room where he made a makeshift bed out of it. He switched on the fairly lights Manjari (bless her heart!!) had hung on the windows because Diwali was just around the corner. He dimmed the lamp and lit a few candles. He was just paying for the food when Manjari stepped out of her bedroom. She had showered and was now wearing her checkered night suit.

Manjari was amazed by what she saw. The coffee table had been removed and the couch had been pushed into one corner. The entire room was bathed in soft yellow light. She noticed the makeshift bed on the floor and stiffened. What exactly had Neel planned, she thought. She was still taking everything in when Neel came up to her and asked, "Do you like it?"

She just nodded her head.

"Nervous?"She nodded her head again.

"Do not be", he assured her. "I don't bite...Not yet".

A shiver went through Manjari's body. He held her hand and dragged her to the makeshift bed where food was waiting or them. They ate their meal in silence, stealing a few glances at each other. The heat between them was mounting and the tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

After they finished eating Manjari stood up to clean but was stopped by Neel who insisted on doing everything. Manjari folded her legs underneath herself and leaned against the wall. A few minutes later Neel joined her on the floor. He grabbed a couple of pillows and arranged them on the floor. He grabbed a few cushions and created a "wall" with them. He looked at her and said, "I hope this makes you less nervous about sharing a bed with me." Manjari did not say anything. He patted the spot next to him on the other side of the "wall" of pillows. She scratched her nose, took a deep breath and slowly lowered herself on the pillow. Neel reached out to her and held her hand, "relax". he said softly. "nothing is going to happen. I just wish to be with you and talk". So, they talked. They shared stories from their childhood. they talked about their families, about their dreams and ambitions. They read out poetry to each other and got to know each other- their likes and dislikes, birthdays, friends...They talked about Amaira and Manjari had tears in his eyes when Neel said that he hoped Amaira liked him. He said he understood that Amaira was an important part of Manjari's life and she would not do anything that Amaira didn't like. It was almost three in the morning when they slept off. Neither had the desire to move to their bedroom so they ended up sleeping on the floor. The next day both of them woke up with sore bodies and a pounding headache because of lack of sleep.

Yet both had huge smiles on their face as they both got ready and left for work. Manjari couldn't concentrate on a single thing. Her mind was occupied by thoughts of Neel and his messages. She had a smile on her face the whole day and her phone just won't stop buzzing!. Her students, her colleagues, her supervisor- everybody noticed the change and quizzed her about it. She simply shrugged her shoulders and brushed it off. She couldn't wait to go back home today.

It was lunch hour and Manjari was alone in her office. She had a class today but she had been so preoccupied with a certain someone the past few days that she hadn't studied anything. She took out her mobile phone and switched it off. No more distractions. She had opted out of lunch, determined to go prepared to class. She was reading Foucault and making notes for her class when Neel entered her office and promptly closed the door behind him.