And then she said it!

PART 17

I WANT TO TAKE CARE OF YOU....
We took a cab after landing in
Hyderabad. It was 4 am in the
morning when we reached our flat.
Throughout the drive, Riddhima
struggled hard to keep her eyes open
while I passed the time stealing
glances at her and Rahul readily
dozed off. I left Hyderabad 10 days
ago as a carefree bachelor and now I
landed again as a husband who had
to look ahead for his woman. I looked
at Riddhima beside me. She turned
to me as if feeling my eyes on her.
She smiled and so did I.
"You stay far away from the airport?"
She asked.
"A bit. The airport here is in the city
out skirts." I told her. She nodded
and looked away hugging herself and
I noticed she was feeling cold.
I asked the driver to switch the ac
off. Her face was slightly pale with
her nose pink. She appeared kind of
cute. I touched her arm to check for
any temperature. It was slightly
warm. I rummaged my bag and
pulled my jacket out. Placing it
around her shoulders, I moved closer
to her wrapping my arm around her.
She went stiff for a moment and then
relaxed. I mentally made a note to
talk to Shashank uncle and ask for an
antibiotic if her temperature
persisted.
I looked around when the car came
to a halt. We were infront of our
apartments. Riddhima got down and
looked around curiously observing
each and everything. I woke Rahul
and by the time we unloaded our
luggage from the car, she came and
stood close to me. After paying the
driver, I held her hand and guided
her towards the lift.
"I'll go tell Shankar to send us
breakfast." Rahul told me and left,
while we got into the lift.
"Shankar is our watch man. His wife
runs a small mess nearby. He sends
us food every night. That's our take
away." I told Riddhima and then
smiled remembering how she asked
me about the take aways yesterday.
Now when I think about it, I wonder
why I didn't get what she was trying
to make me understand then.
"17th floor?" She exclaimed, with her
eyes big and mouth curved in a big
O.
I laughed at her expression. "Yes,
it's a pent house."
She lowered her eyes embarrassed
when I grinned at her. A gush of cool
breeze greeted us when we stepped
out of the lift. It being a summer
morning, the sun rose slightly and
the city was still sleeping. As we
walked to the flat, I heard
Riddhima's words.
"This place is nice."
I don't know why but I felt good
listening to her words. And by the
look on her face I knew she meant it.
I smiled at her and signaled her to
come to me. She walked up to me,
waiting for me to unlock the door.
Instead I gave her the keys. I don't
know what made me do so. With a
bright smile, she unlocked it and
pushed the door open. I held her
hand and we stepped in. The next
moment, she sneezed once; then
twice and thrice. The bout of her
sneezes continued for about five
minutes until Rahul returned back.
Riddhima's face turned deep red
when she was done with her
sneezes. She looked around the
house and I thought she appeared
slightly irritated with its cleanliness.
Well, dirtiness would be the
appropriate word. Being bachelors,
we never bothered with cleaning the
house since we didn't have any
visitors. Once in every month, we
asked the watch man's wife to mop
the flat. We never realized there was
so much dust deposited on the
furniture until Riddhima broke into a
fit of sneezes. Well, what do you
expect out of two bachelors living
alone!
"I'll ask Sita to come and clean the
house. It's almost two months that
we had it mopped." Rahul told me,
while she surveyed it.
"Two months!" Riddhima screeched.
We both smiled at her sheepishly.
"Ankit called me. I told him we'll
come to office at 11." Rahul informed
me before moving towards his room.
I nodded at him and turned to
Riddhima.
"Come." I took her to the bed room.
Thankfully it was a bit clean. Well, I
tend to clean it every week as that's
the only room I use often after
coming home.
I dumped the entire luggage in one
corner of the room and slumped my
body on the bed, exhausted. But
Riddhima went to the luggage and
started searching for something in
her suit case. She pulled something
out and stood beside the bed facing
me. Turning to her, I balanced my
head on my palm supporting it on
the elbow and raised my brow at her.
"I'll change the bed sheet." She
replied.
"Now?" I asked, surprised.
"Yes." She nodded pointing at the
sheet in her hands. "This one is not
clean" she made a face at the
existing one. And I realized at once
that she is a cleanliness freak, just
like mom. But she had her own ways
of getting the things done. She stood
obstinately, until I sighed and got off
the bed. She is one stubborn woman!
She made the bed and took the bed
sheet to the washroom. I wondered if
she decided on washing the bed
sheet then and there. But she came
out of the washroom, with the bed
sheet in her hand. She searched for
something around the room.
"What are you searching for,
Riddhima?" I asked her, stifling a
yawn.
"Huh?" She turned around. "A basket
for clothes." She replied. "Where do
you put your unwashed clothes?"
"In the wardrobe." I replied and
turned on my stomach, closing my
eyes. Her eyes were almost dropping
half an hour ago. I didn't
understand where she got that
interest to clean everything now.
I heard the click of the door and
then a loud gasp of hers. "This is so
messy." She complained. I supposed
she wanted to sit and set everything
right now. "Where shall I put these?"
She asked something.
I groaned and got up. I pulled her to
the bed and made her sit. "Sleep for
now, Riddhima. I am damn sleepy.
I'll tell you everything later. Okay?" I
almost pleaded.
She opened her mouth to say
something. I raised my brow and I
guess she got her cue. She shook her
head and moved back on the bed. I
lay on the bed but she sat still
staring at me. I had to stifle my
laugh as I glanced at her. Her face
had a weird expression. Slowly she
slid down and lay down beside me.
It being a single cot bed, my body
almost brushed hers when I turned
to my side. And that sent few sparks
flashing down my body. The mattress
moved and I felt her moving away
from me a bit, probably making some
space between our bodies. And I
closed my eyes, with a smile on my
face.
My eyes flew open with a jerk when I
heard someone scream. I recalled
the voice realized it was Riddhima's.
I found her dupatta on the bed
beside me. But where was she?
Cursing under my breath, I ran out
of the room towards the living room,
bumping into an equally confused
Rahul midway. We saw Riddhima
emerge out of the kitchen and then
shut the door tight before latching
it. She appeared frightened.
"What happened Riddhima? Why did
you scream?" I asked holding her by
her shoulders.
She looked up at me and I found her
eyes already filled. "I opened the tap
in the kitchen and so many cock
roaches emerged out of the wash
basin. I got scared and screamed."
She replied, wiping the tear that
escaped her eye. "I am sorry."
I sighed, relieved and took her
shivering form in my arms. She
hugged me tight and I realized she
was really scared. Rubbing her back
gently, I let her relax in my arms.
"It's okay."
"But why did you go into the kitchen.
Riddhima?" Rahul asked.
"To prepare coffee before you wake
up." She drew back and replied
looking at us. "But there was nothing
in the fridge except for juice; nor in
the kitchen." She complained.
"I'll take you to the grocery store in
the evening. You can get everything
you want. Okay?" I told her and
guided her to the dining table,
which appeared surprisingly clean.
She might have cleaned it. "When
did you wake up?" I asked her.
"I wasn't able to sleep." She replied.
"Don't clean anything Riddhima. You
still appear pale. I'll ask Sita to send
a maid." I said. Rahul brought a
glass of juice for her. She took it and
sipped slowly. Rahul left for his
room. I looked at the watch and it
said 10.15 am. "We'll come back by 6
in the evening. I'll ask Shankar to
bring lunch for you." I said and she
nodded at me. "Take rest in the
afternoon." After she had the juice, I
moved to the bed room to get ready,
while she followed me.
By the time I had a shower and
stepped out, few sets of my clothes
were placed on the bed. I looked at
them surprised.
"I didn't know what you would like to
wear. So took all of them out." I
heard Riddhima's hesitant words and
turned around. But she lowered her
eyes when our eyes met. She shifted
uncomfortably on her feet and I
realized it might be due to the fact
that I was half naked except for the
towel on my lower body. She turned
to leave the room, but I stopped her.
"Tell me which one suits me better."
I asked her, smiling. I wanted to let
her choose it for me.
"Blue looks good on you." She
whispered and left the room, with a
shy smile on her lips.
I rang the doorbell and waited for
the door to be opened by my wife. It
gave me a sense of warmth, or maybe
it was completeness, in addressing
Riddhima as my wife. I didn't
understand why!! Everything was
completely new- my feelings,
emotions or even my timings.
Talking about timings, I was the
center of attraction when I reached
office in the morning. They were
almost shocked. That's because,
earlier Rahul and I used to report for
work at 8 am though our shift starts
at 10 am. We went to the gym in the
office, played some indoor games
with the other staff and returned
back to our desks when it was time
for our login. And so everyone
started pulling my leg when I signed
in promptly at 11 am. And they
bugged me until I promised to throw
a party for them next weekend.
However, I had been planning for a
small reception party for my
colleagues and friends at Hyderabad.
Amidst my work, I found myself
stealing glances at the clock for every
five minutes. I tried finding excuses
to call Riddhima. I called her, once
after reaching the office to let her
know that I have reached, then I
waited patiently for the lunch time
and called her once again on the
pretext of enquiring if she had her
lunch, then I called her once again
in the evening to ask what she was
doing. She told me she was watching
TV. All through the day, my hands
itched to make a call to her.
And then in the evening, they were
more than surprised when I tried to
leave the office promptly at 6 pm.
My shift ends at 6 but earlier I used
to log out at 8 or 9 in the night
spending half of my day in the office.
It was as if I used to go back to the
flat to eat and sleep. But today it
was different. Ever since the clock
struck 4 pm it was as if my eyes were
glued to the clock, waiting
impatiently for it to strike 6 pm. I
bid a quick bye to everyone and left
for home. Since Rahul was in a
conference I left him a message.
And so I had been waiting for
Riddhima to open the door at
6.32 pm. But I frowned when she
didn't open the door even after five
minutes. I turned the door knob and
to my surprise, the door opened.
Stepping in, I almost gasped at the
sight that greeted me. The living
room was shining brightly, spotless
and dustless. The furniture was
rearranged giving it a brand new
look. For a moment I wondered if I
had entered the wrong flat. But the
sight of Riddhima asleep in the
couch confirmed that I had entered
the right flat.
She was sleeping peacefully, curled
up into a small ball, on the couch.
There was a small bucket of dirty
water beside the couch. I assumed
she dozed off, tired, after cleaning
everything
And she was in her usual
loose T-shirt and Capri pant. I closed
the door behind me and placed my
laptop bag on the table without
making any noise, lest it wakes her. I
walked closer to her and my eyes
automatically noticed the skin of her
waist that was exposed as her T-shirt
crept upwards. And that was more
than enough to make all my senses
conscious of her presence. Somehow
I was glad Rahul didn't accompany
me. I didn't want Rahul to have at
glance at Riddhima in such a form.
Neither of them would have been
comfortable.
I also noticed she was covered in
sweat and realized that the fan was
switched off. I watched as a small
drop of her sweat originated from
behind her ear and trailed down
across her neck, base of her throat
and disappeared behind her top at
her cleavage. And somehow it made
me start sweating. I didn't know why
I started aching but I certainly
wished to do something. And before
my craziness got the better of me, I
looked away shaking my head off the
dirty thoughts. I switched the fan
on, and walked towards the fridge to
gulp down something to cool myself.
Drinking a bottle full of water, I was
surprised to find the door of the
kitchen open. Peeping in, I was
astonished at its cleanliness. We
never used the kitchen ever since we
came to the flat and you, my readers,
could imagine its form. I guess it had
been a perfect home of cockroaches
or something else. I remembered
Riddhima's frightened face in the
morning and wondered how she had
cleaned it taking into account her
fear for those one inch long ugly
creatures. I almost imagined her with
a shield and sword fighting against
them and chuckled. All of a sudden,
my house transformed into my home.
Amidst everything, I also realized
that Riddhima is a cleanliness freak
way above mom and that Rahul and I
would have a great time irritating
her with our sense of cleanliness.
With a grin on my face, I moved back
to the living room and found
Riddhima still sleeping. I let her be
and made my way towards the bed
room. It was also clean and
organized as I had expected, so were
my clothes in the wardrobe. But half
portion of each of the shelves was
empty. I assumed she wanted to
place her clothes beside mine and
smiled to myself. Grabbing a casual
shirt and jeans, I went into the bathroom to change.
I received a message from Rahul that
he would come home in 20 minutes
and thought it was time to wake
Riddhima. For the past one hour, I
was just shuffling the channels in
the TV in mute waiting for her to
wake up but in vain. She tossed and
turned but never woke up. And I was
bored. Neither was I able to
concentrate on anything on the
screen nor was I able to sit idle. My
eyes would dart across her sleeping
form every now and then making it
impossible for me to keep my mind
pre-occupied.
I kneeled beside the couch and tried
to shake her arm slightly. She just
frowned and stretched her body
which resulted in her T-shirt raising
a bit more, making my heart race in
mad pace. I didn't have it in me to
take anymore and so I placed my
hand at the rim of her top to pull it
down covering her bareness. But my
hand accidentally came in contact
with her bare skin and she sat up
with a jerk, her face devoid of its
color. She stared at me for a moment
before closing her eyes placing her
hands on her chest. And I realized I
had scared her.
"Relax, I didn't mean to scare you.
Sorry." I whispered while rubbing
her back gently. I gave her the water
bottle and she gulped it down. She
opened her eyes and I noticed them
red and tired. "Did you clean and
organize everything by yourself?" I
asked her with a frown.
She nodded her head in a yes, and I
scowled. "I told you I would ask Sita
to come and clean everything." I
added, my tone a bit serious. Mom
would kill me if she comes to know
about what she had done. She
wasn't in her perfect health and
such cleaning would only add to her
weakness.
I watched her face fall at my words.
"I thought you would like it." She
mumbled, looking down into her lap.
"I like it Riddhima. But I am
concerned about your health. I don't
want you to fall ill again." I told her
softly, squeezing her hand.
"You like it?" She confirmed, looking
at me expectantly.
"It's perfect." I replied and she gave
a triumphant smile, as if satisfied
with her work. I couldn't help but
return her infectious smile. "Are you
fine now? Did your temperature raise
again?" I asked holding her arm. It
wasn't warm.
"I am fine. " She replied. "When did
you come? Where is Rahul?" She
asked.
"I came one hour ago. Rahul is on
his way." I said.
"One hour?" she asked with her eyes
big. She looked at the clock and
gasped. "You should have waken me
up." She added, apologetically.
"That's fine. You were in some dream
land of yours when I came in. So I
thought to let you dream. Dreaming
about me?" I asked with a naughty
grin and the color was back on her
face. She lowered her eyes
immediately and I desperately
wanted to kiss her red cheeks. "Now
go and get ready. We'll go out for
dinner when Rahul comes."
"Where?" She asked excitedly like a
child making me laugh. "We should
also go to the grocery store." She
added after a thought.
"I'll take you to the store tomorrow.
Its Saturday and an off for me. For
now, we'll go and have a nice dinner.
Okay?" I smiled when she nodded.
She nodded and almost ran to the
bed room, conveniently forgetting
about the bucket of water that lay
abandoned beside the couch. I
picked it and placed in the wash
area in the balcony of the kitchen. I
then noticed few of my shirts
hanging on the rim of the balcony.
Did she wash them; I wondered and
mentally made a note to buy a
washing machine. That thought made
me think about few other appliances
that Riddhima might need at our
new home. So coming into the living
room, I took out a note pad and
started listing all the electric
appliances that I need to buy.
1. Washing Machine
2. Micro wave Owen
3. Gas Stove
4. Water Purifier
5. Grinder
6. Electric Cooker
7.
"Woah, is this our flat?" I heard
Rahul's voice and looked up to find
his shocked expression. I grinned at
him while he inspected everything
around him. "Who did this,
Riddhima?" He asked sitting beside
me.
"Any doubt?" I snorted. "Go and
check the kitchen. You would
probably faint." I added.
"Muski told me about it." He replied.
"What is that list?" He asked peeping
into the notepad.
"A list of appliances Riddhima might
need. And we have to find a maid to
do the cleaning every day." I told
him.
"We can ask Sita to suggest
someone." He replied. "Where is
Riddhima, by the way?" He asked
moving towards his room.
"She is getting ready. And Rahul, you
have exactly 15 minutes to freshen
up and come. We'll go for dinner." I
informed him.
"Dinner? Are you sure you want me
to come?" He asked with a straight
face, while I raised my brow at that.
"I don't want to be an intruder at
your candle light dinner." He
grinned.
"Shut up, saale." I threw the cushion
in his face while he expertly ducked.
"You have 10 more minutes." I let
him know the time line again.
"We are going on a bike?" Riddhima
almost screamed when we came to
the parking area to leave for the
restaurant. Rahul left 5 minutes
early to reserve a table for the three
of us.
"Yes. Why?" I asked puzzled at her
outburst.
"uh'nothing." She said, looking
nervously at the bike, putting a
strand of her hair behind her ear.
And I understood this would be her
first time, sitting on a bike.
"Don't worry. I won't let you fall off
it." I reassured her. But she still
seemed unsure, while sitting behind
me. Since she was in a saree, she sat
with both her legs on a side.
Smiling at her nervous face, I took
one hand of hers and wrapped it
around my waist. "Hold on to me
tight." I whispered while pressing
her hand gently. She nodded her
head and I watched her through the
side view mirror as she closed her
eyes.
As the bike jerked ahead once, while
I started the engine, I could hear to
her chanting something and
refrained myself from laughing out
loud. As I increased the pace
slightly, she held me tight with both
her hands, almost leaning on to me.
I could feel her breasts pressed
against my back and her warm
breath tickling me at the base of my
nape. I didn't understand whether to
enjoy the closeness or to concentrate
on driving safe. Because without her
knowledge she was doing few things
to my body which I couldn't ignore.
And the friction caused by the gentle
rubbing of her softness due to the
bumps on the road, was highly
seducing. Thanks to the roads of
Hyderabad; by the time we reached
the restaurant I was almost turned
on and extremely embarrassed at
that fact.
We found Rahul waiting for us at one
corner table when we stepped in. I
guided Riddhima to the table and
then excused myself for a minute
and ran to the washroom to calm
down my throbbing body. I was
bewildered at the feelings Riddhima
awakens in me without her
knowledge ' be it physical or
emotional. And she does it so
effortlessly that sometimes makes me
crave for something more. And many
a time I don't know what I was
craving for.
By the time I returned to the table,
Riddhima was smiling brightly with
her eyes sparkling. "Aunty called
from Bangalore." She told me and I
understood the reason behind her
happiness.
We placed an order for the famous
Hyderabadi Biryani and Chicken
Kababs. Riddhima was in tears by
the time she had three spoons of
biryani owing to its spiciness. She
emptied two bottles of water and was
able to eat only one fourth of a bowl.
I ordered for a gulab jamoon for her
and she readily relished on it, while
Rahul and I enjoyed the Biryani. I
realized Riddhima has very less
appetite when she was full even
without touching the kababs. She
had one piece of kabab when I
forcefully made her eat, leaving the
rest to us.
It was late in the night when we
reached home. After a quick good
night to Rahul, Riddhima and I went
back to our bedroom. While
Riddhima changed into one of her
night clothes in the washroom, I
changed into my vest and three
fourths. By the time Riddhima
emerged out, I lay on the bed
staring at the ceiling. I looked at her
and she smiled nervously at me. For
some reason, she appeared extremely
conscious of something ' may be it
was my presence. She lay down
beside me on the bed, after
switching the main light off; but she
was too stiff for sleeping. I wondered
what the reason might be. I thought
she was par that uneasiness with me
around her.
I turned towards her but she had
her back facing me. I knew she
wasn't asleep. "Is something wrong
Riddhima?" I asked her.
She turned to me slowly and shook
her head negatively. But I knew
something was bothering her. I tried
to read her face in the faint glow of
the bed lamp. Was she
uncomfortable sharing a bed with
me? That was the first thought that
came to my mind. But then I
brushed it off; we have already
shared the same bed after our
marriage. But then, either Riddhima
had fallen asleep even before I
joined her on the bed or I had, the
couple of times earlier. And this was
a small bed comparatively, in size.
"Do you want me to sleep somewhere
else?" I asked her. "You can tell me
if you are uncomfortable." I added.
"No no. Nothing like that." She
replied immediately and I was glad.
"I-uh- I was- I-" she stammered.
"What happened Riddhima?" I asked,
my voice soft and tender.
She looked into my eyes for few
moments before she spoke again.
"It's just that I am used to sleeping
alone since my childhood. So maybe
I am just-I don't know." Her voice
trailed off.
But I frowned slightly at her words.
She was married once earlier. She
might have- I shook my head not
wanting to think about it.
"Do you want to speak about it?" I
wanted her to let it out.
She shook her head negatively. But
as I started at her intently, she
continued. "I used to be so scared to
sleep alone during my childhood at
the orphanage. I used to keep my
school bag beside me and sleep
hugging it, thinking it to be my
mom." Her voice cracked as she
spoke and eyes turned moist. "Night
mares used to be very common to
me. And eventually I couldn't sleep
at all."
I didn't understand how to console
her for I never experienced anything
like that. I used to sleep between
mom and dad until I was seventh
standard. Even after that, dad used
to sleep with me whenever I had any
night mare.
I moved closer to her, wrapping my
hand around her waist. "You can
sleep peacefully now." I said, softly. I
placed a light kiss on her neck, and
whispered, "You should get used to
me Riddhima, because I am never
going to let you sleep alone." She
smiled at me and turned on her side
placing her hand on mine that was
around her waist. I couldn't see the
color that adorned her cheeks but I
was sure they would have turned
deep shade of pink. And by the time
I closed my eyes, I knew we were
more connected now.
So, that's it for today! Please vote and comment! Bye.Good Night. - Isha