The Balcony

Chapter 13

Kajal sat in the cab slightly dazed. She didn't want to think about what just happened. She tried to divert her thoughts to work. She pulled out her organizer and pen and poised the tip of the pen on the paper. She wrote number 1 and waited for the list to form on its own. Normally, it would. Lists were a no brainer for her. Then, she looked at the post-it she had worked on in the morning. Just when she thought she could count on work to distract her, her efficiency got in the way. She made a tsk sound and exhaled deeply trying to let out her irritation. She pulled out her phone and wrote a text to Naina. She hit send before she got time to regret it.

Kajal: I have another reason not to date him.

Naina: Ah! So we're still thinking about him, are we? ;)

Kajal: He is engaged.

Naina called immediately. Just as Kajal kept the phone to her ear, she heard her sister go, "WHAT?"

Kajal let out a weak chuckle and said, "Yeah..."

Naina asked urgently, "Wait but how did you find out?"

Kajal replied, "I ran into his fiancée just now. She was looking for his address."

Naina let out a low whistle and asked, "Ugh! How was she?"

Kajal said, "Shiny and pretty. Mostly pretty."

Naina groaned and replied, "Typical! You want me to come over and beat him up?"

Kajal giggled and replied, "Shut up! I was merely filling you in on the situation. So that you would stop bugging me about him once and for all."

Naina scoffed, "Right!" Then in a kinder tone, she said, "I'm sorry. I promise not to bug you about this fellow anymore."

Kajal smiled and said, "Okay I have to go now. I'll call you later, okay?"

Naina said, "Yeah sure. Bye!"

Kajal felt strangely lighter talking to her sister about it. She could now relax and get back to regular life. She spotted her favourite coffee shop and asked the driver to stop. A cappuccino is just what she needed today! Just thinking about the drink made her heady with relief. She decided to get the chocolate chip muffin as well. Cornflakes wasn't going to cut it today.

She slipped out of the car and marched up to the store. She picked up her order and stopped when she heard her phone ping. She pulled out her phone and read a message from her mother talking about another blind date that her grandmother wanted to set up. She groaned and pushed the phone back in her pocket. This is when she heard, "You know I won't bite if you sit down."

She looked up sharply and saw Vikramaditya sitting at the table she had randomly stopped at to read her message. He was dressed in a crisp white shirt and black trousers. He looked completely at ease reading the paper and sipping a cup of coffee. Cappuccino she noted. Does this guy have to mirror every habit of hers, she asked herself mentally. But her eyes went back to him. He looked even more attractive than she last remembered. Then she remembered his equally attractive fiancée and walked away.

"I didn't realize I was that forgettable."

She looked back at him and said, "You're not."

He pushed back the chair next to him and said, "I've heard people on Earth say hi when they run into acquaintances."

She made a face and said, "Hi. Now, I need to get to work." With that, she turned around and took a few steps. Then carelessly she turned around, walked back to him and said in clipped tones, "By the way, your fiancée stopped by. She is looking for you while you sit here sipping coffee."

His eyes widened at that. He set the coffee cup down and looked at her carefully. After a few seconds, he asked her in a low tone, "Lisa is here?"

Kajal wanted to smack her forehead. Lisa...Even her name was sophisticated like her clothes. She frowned and replied, "Yes Lisa is here. She is currently knocking on your door. And I need to get to work. So if you'll excuse me."

She took a few more steps towards the door and felt a warm hand encircling her arm. She looked down at it and then up into his eyes directly. Her first subconscious thought was to wrap her fingers around his grasp on her arm. She quickly snapped out of it and asked, "What?"

He asked, "What floor number did she have in the address?"

She looked at him incredulously and said, "She had a flat number. 1105."

He pursed his lips and observed her quietly. She shook her hand out of his grasp and said, "What?"

He said in a very sombre tone, "You know I didn't take you for a homewrecker."

She felt her jaw drop. She shot back, "What? Are you crazy? I have never hit on you. Not even once. How dare you suggest I would even think of doing something like that?"

His eyes glimmered with humour as he said, "I never meant me. I meant poor Mr.Joshi. You know he's been married for over twenty years right?"

She asked in utter confusion, "What in the world are you talking about?"

He crossed his arms across his chest and looked thoroughly amused as he said, "You sent some girl to Mr.Joshi's flat that is flat number 1105 instead of the right one."

She widened her eyes and clapped her hands to her mouth. She went, "What? I sent your fiancée to Mr.Joshi's house instead??"

He leaned in and whispered, "You sent someone else's fiancée to someone else's house. I am not engaged. At least not that I can remember."

This time she truly did smack her forehead. He shifted back quickly so as to not be hit. She looked at him and saw him standing there holding back laughter. A smile slipped through that façade though. She burst into laughter looking at him and asked, "So who is Lisa?"

He merely shrugged in response. She looked daggers at him and said, "Wait so you were making fun of me?"

He shot back, "Were you jealous of my fake fiancée?"

She scoffed, "You give yourself too much credit. Anyway, I have to go work. I will...Bye." With that, she turned around and walked towards the exit. Just as she pushed open the door, she heard him call out, "Bye Kajal."

She didn't look back. She did smile.

Author's Note: Yeah. I know! LOL! Sorry if you were disappointed in the last chapter. There is a lot to catch up on with the Juliets. But I must take your leave for today. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 13. Thanks! - S