Second Chance (Vol.1) Squandered

34: Spinoff - Friends Forever - Flu's 7th year with Clu

(Hi - Parts 31-39 are on the spinoff characters Clu and Flu. Aditya enters their lives in part 34. To continue with the AdiYa story jump to part 41- yours truly MissWW)

Flu snatched the ringing phone off the bedside table. The hotel staff had checked all the pubs, bars, lounges and restaurants but could not trace Miss Chloe B___. But earlier in the day Miss Chloe B___ had requested and picked an extra key card to the room. Flu thanked them and apologized for the inconvenience.

Flu paced the room. She was torn between waiting, calling Croco(Clu's Chief of Detectives in Paris) and/or Adi. The thick carpet was marked with a pattern of Flu's anxious foot treads in the last half-hour of pacing the room. Just when she succumbed to her dread and was about to call Adi, the cellphone buzzed in her hands.

It was Clu. Of course, she was fine. What could happen to her? Her cellphone had just activated. Of Course, She was with Paddy! She wanted to spend some time with him so Flu should go to sleep. Paddy would drop her. Clu had picked an extra key card at the desk so she could open the room without disturbing her.

Flu let out a sigh of relief and asked them both to be careful. She reminded Clu they were not in Paris. There was no Croco here to save her skin. She was not sure how much Clu listened to before ending the call.

She called the front desk and asked them to call off the search for Miss Chloe B____. Flu again thanked them and apologized for the inconvenience caused.

She tried to sleep. It was scary to live in a foreign land. It was scary to be alien. No. It was just Clu and her wild nature that made her anxious. For many days now, Flu had been worried for Adi. Clu wouldn't send Flu anywhere alone and she was missing Paddy too. So it made perfect sense for both to fly to Mumbai.

Flu felt as if they knew Adi for many years though they had met only less than 2 months ago. Flu and Clu had been going through a rough patch when they first met Adi.

In 6 years Clu had forced Flu to emerge from her complexes. There were the occasional relapses but mostly their life was good. Clu and Flu both loved the photography and art courses they occasionally enrolled into and their frequent weekends at the manor. They were both making a mark in both digital art and photography albeit anonymously. Anna would have been proud of both. They were inseparable and happy.

Clu spared no expense on Flu. Flu's wish was her command. It took almost a year for Flu to realize the power she had over Clu. Flu then openly manipulated Clu. Flu's 5 birthday demands were proof; started small but ended big. On her first birthday with Clu, Flu demanded no more drink-n-drive adventures. The demands in the following years were: must be home before 11pm, choose sleeping partners wisely and drink in moderation.

Flu loved demanding her birthday gift from Clu; wielding her claim on Clu but hated the day otherwise. Clu allowed her to remember the dead loved ones but also forced her to "celebrate" her birthday.

On her 23rd birthday, Flu wanted Clu to quit smoking. She was asking for the impossible. She wondered if she should have instead put a limit on the number of cigarettes Clu smoked per day. But Clu shocked her by agreeing and promised there would be no ifs and butts about it.

But they also hit their rough patch on that very same birthday.

All Flu's old fears and guilt that she suffered at 17 came back to haunt Flu with a vengeance. Clu had been looking forward to a year of globetrotting but Flu refused to join her.

Clu was miffed but would not vacation without her. Clu had not learned to give up. She tried negotiating a truce with Flu every other day; cajoling/threatening/ emotional blackmail.