Broken Hug

The Plan

With their arms around each other’s shoulders, they turned their footsteps. They went through the rain, as it poured out in torrents. They crossed the food court and reached the guest house.

They took the stairs to the second floor. As soon as they stepped into the room, their kisses began with a new froth of passion. In between their kisses, they removed their clothes, he pulling at his shirt and trousers, she pulling off her tee, her skirt and the leggings.

Rohan removed her bra and panty, and continued kissing her again and again. She kissed him as she removed his brief. He held her and then they gently fell on the bed. He rained her with endless kisses. She moaned, while thunder crackled outside. She lay cocooned into his body as he brought himself down with all gentleness and a soft seething passion. She clutched his back and wrapped her legs around his waist and moaned. And like the Baiyoke Tower’s capsule lift, she saw herself and Rohan being lifted higher and higher into space filled with passion.

After endless seconds they lay spent on the bed, Rohan’s arm around her body and her hand on his chest. She opened her eyes. His eyes were closed. She rubbed his chest with her finger. He opened his eyes and gently pulled her closer. She responded, snuggling closer to him. The sound of rain came from outside, puncturing the silence of the room. He looked at her, as he moved his hand a bit. She looked at him and he smiled and gave a kiss on the tip of her nose.

“Where’s Max and Raj?” she asked.

“They are out shopping,” he said and stopped. He stretched his hand and took the cell phone from the bedside table. “When do you have to go home?” he looked at the watch in the phone. “It’s 2:42 pm now.”

“Around six is fine,” she said.

He called Raj and told him he would meet them around six in Terminal 21. Then he went to the washroom. “Fai is with me in our room.”

“Ok, no problem. We are shopping. Call us when you want to.”

He switched the air conditioner on and brought its shutters down. Then took two chairs, turned and placed them in front of it. He picked her yellow tee, the pair of leggings, her skirt and her inner-wears and placed them on the back of the chairs. He looked at her. She was sitting with the sheet around her. He got a fresh towel from the washroom and gave it to her. Then he took out a tee from his bag and a fresh pair of pyjamas. As she wore them, she detected the smell of his body lingering on the tee, and instantly, her eyes closed as she imagined him close to her. Then she wrapped the sheet around her and began pressing the towel over her head.

“Your clothes will dry up in no time,” he smiled and sat next to her. She leaned her back on him, her head on his chest.

“When is your flight tomorrow?”

He hesitated, pretended not to hear and looked at the window. She asked him again.

“It’s at 2 pm.”

“Which means you all have to leave the hotel around 11 am.”

“Um, I guess so,” and he squeezed her hand and continued towelling her hair. “What will you do tomorrow, Fai.”

She was quiet. “School will be off by 2 pm.” She paused as her mind wandered away. “I’ll come to BACC by 3 pm.”

“You have some work there?”

“Yes. Very important work.” She turned her head and looked at him. “I’ll miss you so much, that I’ll go there. The paintings will comfort me.” She put her arms around him. “The silence there will talk with me.”

He kissed her on her head and held her tightly. “I love you, baby.”

She turned her head and kissed him on the mouth.

The sound of rain had stopped by then. Rohan got up and opening the balcony door, looked out. It had stopped raining, and the sky had begun to get clearer. Fai’s clothes had dried up.

“Will some coffee do for my honey?” he asked with a loving tone in his voice.

She smiled and nodded as she picked her inner wears.

He called up the room service and ordered for two cups of cappuccino. He opened the balcony door, and pulling the double couch to it, they looked out, drinking their coffee.   

She looked at the time after a while; it was five-thirty.

“I’ll have to leave, Raw-han,” she sighed, her face still buried on his chest. She disengaged herself in slow measures from him and got up. His white tee was on the bed. She picked it up. “Can I take this?”

“Yes, of course.” He smiled, nodding.

She took it to her face and inhaled deeply. Standing close to her, he could hear the sound as she took her deep breath. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

“This will be one of your closest things to me. Your smell lingering in it. And now it’s with me.” She put her hands around his face and kissed him.

He kissed her too, and she allowed his passion to rain down on her.

“The last talk I’ll have with you tomorrow will be when you are in the aircraft.” She said.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” He smiled. “This going away is not the end of our life.”

They went down. A taxi was waiting outside the guest house. He stood at the door. She stood next to him. Both looked at each other. He drew her close to him and kissed her on the mouth. She did the same and both held each other close.

Tears filled her eyes. She wanted to fight them but lost the courage. Then she said the most amazing thing. “You live with me in all that we have seen around here. And now Bangkok is closer to me because I’ve given my heart to someone of another country here in this city.”

“That’s the way to speak, Fai.” And he kissed her on the tip of her nose.

He opened the door, and she bent and entered the car. With her eyes on him, she rolled down the windshield a little; and he held her hand. He nodded and smiled; she nodded and smiled. The taxi began moving.  

*

Fai lay in bed.

            Fai: I’m in bed. And u?

            Rohan: In bed too.

            Fai: I’ve just sent u a pic of myself with ur tee on.

            Rohan: Ya, just got it. Um, u look nice. See, I’m so close to u, and I’ll always b that way, darling. Love u. J

            Fai: Too J   

*

Next morning Raj and Max were ready with their luggage around eleven in the morning.

“Try to take up a cheaper place, Rohan,” Raj said.

“Rohan squeezed his arm. “Don’t worry, bud. And take the gifts to my parents.”

He saw them off in a taxi outside the guest house.

Rohan returned to his room. He turned his head from one side to the other. Had a good time with my friends, though I had to abandon them at times. Thinking of the turn of events, he dozed off.

His cell rang all of a sudden. He stirred. It was Fai.

“You must be comfortably settled in the plane,” she wanted to know.

“Yes, more or less.” He felt a bit guilty. “Where are you, Fai, and what are you doing?”

“I’m in the bus. And going to be in my wonderful place.”

“You mean BACC?”

“Yes.”

“Um, let me guess. In about forty-five minutes you should be there, I suppose.”

“No. in thirty minutes. I’ll send you an e-mail tonight, Raw-han.”

“Oh yes, please do. I’ll wait for it.”

“Bye Raw-han,” and Rohan heard a peck. “Have a safe flight.”

He kissed back on his phone. “Bye.”

Rohan put on a pair of jeans. He checked himself in the mirror. He paused in between. His heart was racing, thinking of the excitement which lay ahead to unfold soon.

He went down. The sun was not hot, but the weather was humid to an extent. How the streets looked different though it was usual to others. He recalled it was only twenty-four hours ago it had been raining and Fai and he had been etching memories in the rain. Yes, it was a rain of two hearts, and it filled him with warmth. And he had read the warmth in Fai’s eyes too.

He soon reached the crossing and walked to the other side and up the steps leading to the ground floor of a building. A small makeshift stall was selling cold drinks. From here the BACC was in full view beginning from its entrance.  He sat on a stool, took a cold drink and watched.

Ten minutes passed. He saw ladies moving with shopping bags. Some children stopped at a stall selling fruits. An air-con bus stopped, and Rohan craned his neck. Three men got down and two boys and one girl got up. No, Fai was not around. He turned his head at the entrance. It was empty, and the glass doors glinted when a passing car threw the reflection of the sunlight from its windshield.

Will she arrive?

He got up, paced about; went and stood at the entrance; he scratched his arm. God, please, please… where is she? Tell her I love her.  His palms became misty. His throat began to dry. Where’s the bottle. There! And he went back and grabbed the bottle. The owner, a young man with a cap on, was reading The Bangkok Post. He threw an irritated look at Rohan. Rohan then went to the counter and checked the other cold drinks bottle. Pepsi. Coke. Some local drink.

But who was that!