Paid to sleep with my Ex

Pity words

I heard the news, I'm so sorry for you.

What happened?

I thought you were good.

I've never seen you guys argue.

What happened? Is that true?

I'm really sorry man!

Hope you feel better.

Join the club! Women, huh?

Do you need this at this age?

Did you try IVF? Or adoption?

I told you to have kids earlier, you wouldn't have had to face this situation if you had children.

Did she cheat on you?

I expected this to happen sometime.

I knew something was off between you two.

Is that true your wife...?
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The never ending boneless tongues kept throwing words in his way and Aakash was, the least to say, fed up.

He didn't want these random buffoons babbling things about his personal life, but that's all they know. He and their own selves, none had any control over the words that came out of their mouths.

Maybe, he should have listened to his father and stayed at home for a few days. Till things died down and his colleagues had a new hot topic to discuss. He wondered how so many people had time to discuss a stranger's life.

He put on his bib apron and tied the lace ends into a loose knot behind his back.  His slightly longer hair which is usually pushed back into a ducktail, was somehow lacking today, same as his face that lacked his usual smile.

His first customer for the day was already done with his facial, and was now waiting for his haircut, perm and for his beard to be shaped. This is going to be a while, he thought to himself, thankful that he can avoid the company of known faces till lunch.

His experienced hands worked at a steady pace with the hair and some tools, the wandering thoughts in his mind subsiding for the time being.

He liked the job, and luckily was a person who couldn't handle two thoughts at the same time. The repeated snipping of the scissors in between the overall silence rang through the room softly for two people, and the customer was trying hard to not fall asleep.

Suddenly a phone rang, making Aakash stop whatever he was doing. He excused himself, washed his hands and stepped out of the room.

As he fished his phone out of his pocket, it stopped ringing. He looked at the lock screen that now showed the notification of a missed call from Ridhima. His fingers froze as they hovered over the call back button.

The wall clock ticked while he contemplated whether or not to press the tempting option, and after about a minute, he decided in negative. He quickly locked his phone when a friend walked by.

He couldn't stop thinking about it, why would she call her? They decided not to contact each other for a few months at the least. They knew it was near impossible to restore the friendship they shared, as the families were now involved in the break and it was going to be extremely awkward.

They did not want any harsh words to be shared among the families, so it was for the best to avoid contacts. He stood there, tapping the phone on his palm, the gears in his brain running to come up with various scenarios.

Curiosity got the best of him and he quickly dialed the number. Shakily he pressed on the green button, bringing the device to his ear. A beep was heard before a robotic voice spoke, “the person you are trying to reach is out of the network coverage area. Please try again later”.

He sighed, quickly disconnecting and tried to call again. The same robotic voice spoke, making him disconnect before the voice could deliver the same message again.

“Is it gonna take a while?”,  the customer called out from his seat.

“Sorry sir, I'll be right back”,  he mumbled, as he pocketed the phone and rushed back after grabbing a pair of gloves and a trimmer.

To know why she called, he'll have to wait till lunch.