Chapter 5

Kavita was chopping vegetables while Radhika tossed an apple from the fridge towards her side.

‘Chop this too, I like fruits in my salad.’

‘Yeah, and this salad costs two hundred bucks and 10% tax!’

‘Fine, fine I’ll make it. Just get me a bowl of salad, I’m dying with hunger Kavita!’ Radhika held her tummy and fell on the couch.

‘So, what about that guy, eh?’ Kavita started dicing the apple with her expert hands.

‘What guy?’

‘Aarush, the guy we left at his apartment last night?’ Kavita was interested in him more than Radhika.

‘What about him? You know him better than me, you should know!’

‘Nah, I don’t know him personally as such, I just know him as Koel’s boyfriend. Koel was his ex, for whom he was die-hard serious. Poor guy, Koel left him too brutally, and after that, he never let any girl near him.’

‘Whatever. Don’t talk about him, just change the topic.’

‘Why? Did he say something to you? Tell me…’

‘No, just leave it, Kavita!’

‘He’s a nice guy by the way…’

‘You…’ Radhika tossed a cushion towards her, and she missed it by an inch.

‘But this love-affair, I’d ask you to stay away from it. My ex, remember?’

‘Yeah Kavita, I don’t want to curse that poor man anymore now.’

‘Poor man? He was a dog, miserable swine I tell you! The moment we broke up, that man appears at my door, and has the audacity to say that he was cheating on me with another woman, who was almost double his age, such a creep!’

‘Who asks you to make boyfriends online then? They’re all creeps online anyways, you never know what a guy is, unless you meet him, know him, and that can’t be done online.’

‘Yeah right. But now I’m done with all this bullshit. I’m just waiting for the call from my on-site project and after that I’ll fly to Dubai, and then, no looking back.’

‘You mean no boyfriends?’

‘No, I meant, no Indian boyfriends, only Arabian-Sheikhs!’ They both laughed. Kavita squeezed some dressing over the salad, and brought two big spoons with the mixing bowl. They had the salad straight from the bowl to minimize the labour of washing dishes. Living independently has its own pros and cons after all!

‘He asked me if something happened between us last night, such a weirdo I tell you!’ Radhika spoke after a long munching and crunching of salad.

‘Who? Aarush?’

‘Who else?’

‘Haha, he’s a sweet little heart-broken guy. He might have been paranoid after knowing that a girl entered his apartment after such a long time. Since his breakup with Koel, rumours are that he hasn’t let a girl even enter his apartment because he bought this apartment for Koel, so that they could live together.’

‘Cruel girl, and poor guy. I really pity him now.’

‘But don’t fall in love with him in this pity, Radhika. I’m telling you, he’s a very difficult man. If he also falls in love with you, you’re trapped forever! He won’t let you leave…’

‘Kavita!’ Radhika almost screamed at her. She was taking things in totally opposite direction.

‘I’m not falling in love with him, damn I don’t even know this man!’ Radhika wiped of the sweat that had formed because of the over-thinking that Kavita forced her to do.

‘C’mon, anything can happen. I have seen worse case scenarios, things happen so quick that you can’t even hold the pieces together. It just happens!’

‘This is my life, and it’s totally in my control, so chill…’ Radhika splashed some water over her face, wore light slippers for the day, and walked out.

‘I’m going for a walk in the park, you want to come?’

‘No, I’m planning on gaining some more weight.’ Kavita took out a huge chocolate bar from the fridge and started munching on it.

Radhika took a quick stroll, played with some neighbourhood kids, talked to their old-grandparents, and walked back home. This was her daily routine since she had moved in to Mumbai. Her colony-mates loved her for the person she was! She always cared for others, and helped everyone. Not everybody was like her in his big-city after all.

‘Hey, while you were gone, someone was missing you too badly.’ Kavita commented as Radhika entered.

‘What? Who?’

‘Guess?’

‘No!’

‘Yes!’ Kavita giggled.

‘What the hell does he want now?’

‘Nothing, I’m just kidding, he called in to say that he’s sorry for whatever he said, and he also said that your pink-hanky is at his apartment, and that he’s planning to return it.’

‘No, ask him to keep it, I don’t want it back!’

‘Radhika, don’t be so rude man, he’s a nice guy, and someone who is genuinely concerned even for your ‘hankies’!’

‘Shut up, will you?’ Radhika tossed her slipper at Kavita. Her phone buzzed.

‘It’s him, isn’t it?’ Kavita excitedly sprawled.

‘Wait, it’s a text message from him. He says – meet me at CCD tomorrow, I owe you a treat for making me reach home safely and your handkerchief is also with me that I’d like to return.’

‘Why is he being so formal and obsessive?’ Radhika sighed.

‘Because he’s an engineer and heart-broken. Good luck!’