chapter 14

       But after a few long rings, Richa hung up. A mother’s heart is not at peace until she is assured of the safety of her children. Chetana just wanted to be assured that her daughter was fine and was ready to pay anything for it. She dialed Richa’s number again but her phone had been switched off. Tears swelled up in Chetana’s eyes. All she wanted was to hear a few words from her daughter but Richa wasn’t willing to do that much for a mother who had toiled so hard to bring her up.“Let’s have a cup of coffee. There is a lovely coffee shop over there.” Sam said as he sat down on a chair near her and placed his books on it. “The children have driven me nuts.”He shook his head and smiled as he reminisced about his encounter with his students in today’s class. Chetana didn’t reply and sat staring at the ocean with gleaming eyes.“Hey, what happened to you?” Her gloomy eyes hinted that something was terribly wrong with her.“I am fine.” Chetana wiped her eyes and drew a long breath.“Okay,” Sam nodded. “Even if you don’t wish to share anything with me, I have something priceless to share with you.”“What is it, Sam?” His mysterious statement kindled her curiosity and she instantly turned to him, leaving all her agonies behind.“It’s the story of Sonia’s relentless faith in love and her exemplary power to forgive her philanderer husband Kabir.”“Who are Sonia and Kabir?” Chetana asked, her moist eyes now bright and vehement.“They are man and wife.”“No!” Chetana waved her hands in negation. “Not that, I…”“Yes, of course, they are,” Sam cut her off before she could complete her sentence in order to tease her.“Sam!” Chetana warned. “Tell me, how do you know them?”“Kabir was once my colleague in the office,” Sam clarified, “and the story dates 10 years back.”“Okay,” Chetana said bubbling with exuberance. “Let’s have the story.”“No,” Sam turned his back to her.“Why?” Disappointment took over Chetana again.“There is no such thing as a free lunch, ‘Mrs’ Chetana,” Sam deliberately emphasized the word ‘Mrs.’ to pull her leg. “If you want to listen to the story then you have to pay for it.”“Fine,” Chetana opened her clutch, “how much do I have to pay.”“You have to pay for my coffee,” Sam ordered.“Done, sir,” Chetana said as she got up, “let’s go to the coffee shop that you were talking about.”*      * “The coffee is so delicious!” Sam said as he took the first sip and then added cocking an eye at Chetana, “It seems even more delicious when someone else is paying for it.”“What about the story, Sam?” Chetana struggled to suppress her laughter that threatened to spill out any moment.“Yes, of course.” Sam raised his coffee mug to her. “Shall we begin?”“Sure!” Chetana raised her mug and took a sip from it. Mumbai, 10 Years Ago… I was in a hurry to reach the office that day. I was working in the Mumbai branch of an MNC at that time and had a meeting with a client who was very precious to our company. As I wanted to counter-check every preparation on our part, I rushed to the office early in the morning. Nobody had arrived at the office by then and the empty cubicles stared vacantly at me as I ran towards my cabin. I had to make minor changes to the presentation I had prepared for our meeting with the prospective clients. Just as I switched on my laptop, my phone rang.“Hello, Sam!” Sonia sounded a bit low over the phone. “Sorry to bother you so early.”“That’s fine, Sonia.” I tried to appear cheery though I was really curious to know what had made her call me that early.“I can’t get Kabir over the phone,” she said in a teary voice, “he left early in the morning without even having breakfast. I am really worried for him.”“Kabir is in the office?” I was perplexed.“Yes!” Sonia said promptly. “Don’t you guys have a meeting today with some really important client?”Her reply confused me even more as Kabir was not in the team that was going in for the client meeting. I remained silent as I tried to solve the tangled threads of the mystery.‘Maybe the boss made some last-minute changes that I am not aware of…’ I wondered, ‘Am I still in the team or has he kicked me out without a prior notice?’“Sam, are you there?” Sonia’s voice shook me.“Yes, Sonia,” I said, “I was busy with my work so I couldn’t check on him.”“He is busy too,” Sonia complained, “and that’s why he isn’t answering my calls. Please ask him to have some breakfast first. He is ruining his health for his work.”“Okay, Sonia,” I tried my best to reassure her, “I will do that right away.” A choking feeling of enigma took over me again as I hung up. I decided to check it out and hurried towards Kabir’s cabin.“Kabir?” I called out as I didn’t get any reply after knocking several times at the door of his cabin.“Is that you, Sam?” Kabir asked without opening the door. “Just give me a minute.”I kept waiting outside, wondering what secret web he was weaving to nab the deal from the client.“Oh! Hi buddy,” he greeted me with a sheepish smile.My jaw fell as I saw him shamelessly flaunting his bare upper torso in the office. A thousand questions popped up in my mind but they all were instantly put to rest by a female voice.“Who is it, Kabir?” A gorgeous lady walked out of the washroom of his cabin.“It’s Sam, my friend.” Kabir turned to look at her. “You know him, don’t you, baby?”“Oh, yes! How are you, Sam?” Sarah said as she approached.“I am good, Sarah,” I said politely while constantly glaring at Kabir.“Why don’t you get ready, honey?” Kabir stole his eyes away, “I will drop you at the airport.”“Okay.” Sarah nodded and went back to the washroom with her vanity case. Kabir turned his back to her and placed a finger on his lips hinting me to remain silent. I obliged him till Sarah had locked herself again in the washroom.“How the hell did you know that I am here?” Kabir whispered as he dragged me out of his cabin and closed the door carefully behind him.“Sonia called me and asked me to tell you to have some breakfast.”“I had a stomach full,” he said with a dirty smirk.“And the remnants are still sticking to your face,” I said pointing my finger at the lipstick marks on his face as I turned towards my cabin.