The Logical (Wo)Man

The London Life

One thing that Sia learned in life was that it was all about adapting to change. And that “Change” is the only constant. It was almost a month she had moved in to London with Shouryajit. Her routine started with early morning breakfast, then a bit of online job hunting, followed by cycling to work (part-time in a small-scale Consultancy firm) and then teaching orphan kids in a nearby NGO. She was not allowed to contact anyone back in India, except for her family. At first it made her agitated but gradually she made peace with all of it. Besides, her little students were a sweet distraction from her mundanely controlled life.  

The house was guarded heavily by security and there were bodyguards allotted for Sia too. At first, she rebelled on the idea of being followed everywhere but then Shouryajit (being himself) made a mutual agreement where she would be guarded only when she is not in a public place.

Shouryajit’s tightly packed schedule was a blessing in disguise. They didn’t see much of each other, except for Sundays. Even if they were married, they were living together like flat-mates. They slept in separate rooms interconnected by a door and he made it a point to watch his contractual wife sleep peacefully every night.

Shouryajit’s Point Of View

“She looks so innocent!” I thought, looking down at her unimpeachable face.

“Yes, and you will creep the sh*t out of her if she finds you staring like this.” My mind had to interfere.

I wanted to lye down beside her, take her in my arms and go off to sleep. She amazed me since day one. And the more I found out about her, the more I wanted to take our relationship to the next level. She was arrogant, short tempered and would do whatever she thought was right. But, she was straight forward. She would rather say it on your face than your back. This no falsity, no non-sense nature of her intrigued me to the core. Most women I dated, would initially act innocent and later would throw themselves at me to become Mrs.Datta but she was completely different.

I respected her for what she was - strong, independent and genuine. She had to give up a lot, even before she met me but that didn’t break her at all. On the contrary, she emerged stronger. I still had her file in my office which was truly impressive. Her past never mattered, but her decision did. She could have easily chosen a luxurious life by marrying that moron, but she chose her self-respect and her family’s reputation over everything. Her never yielding nature made me want her more and I have to admit that I might have fallen for her already.

“Did you forget something?” Her sleepy voice made me freeze.

It was past midnight and I was not supposed to be in her bedroom.

As usual I coughed.

“I.. I was searching..”

“For?”

 “Cough syrup”

“Oh! Do all lawyers lie or is it kind of your specialty?” she smirked as she rubbed her eyes like a baby.

There she goes again. My mind was wreaking havoc as I wanted to kiss her hard.

“Sia I..”

“Come here” she said in a friendly tone.

I went near her bed. She got up and asked me to sit. We were now facing each other.

“I know you watch me every night while I sleep. Also, you follow me to my office and sometimes peek inside the school to watch me teach the kids”.

“How did you know that?” I was surprised.  

“Female instincts. Besides I have noticed your convoy many times parked just a block away”.

“I wanted to make sure that you were safe”. I explained

“I am cool with it.” her reply made me gasp.

For the first time we agreed on something. It felt good. I never wanted to force her for anything.

“I was wondering if we could be friends. Real ones. Not like the first time at Chilos.” Her voice melted my heart.

I was the one who actually ruined her life in order to save myself and she wants to be my friend. Quite extraordinary, I must say.

“Then you don’t have to watch me from your car and we can go for coffee after work maybe?” She continued.

“Sure. It’ll be great!” I couldn’t stop my silly grin. Why on earth am I behaving like a lovestruck teenager?

“Also, did you kiss my forehead in the flight to London?”

I don’t know why but I cannot lie to her. As if she could watch my inner soul, if there’s one. Yes, I did kiss her forehead that day. She seemed like an angel, sleeping beside me.

“Hmm” I nodded not looking at her with guilt-stricken eyes.

She started laughing.

“You look just like one of my students who got a good bashing” she giggled goofily.

I instantly pulled her by the waist and kissed her. She was truly adorable and I couldn’t keep myself anymore. I kissed her for long, slowly cherishing her soft sweet lips. And when she finally broke off, we both were short of breath.

“I don’t think friends kiss. Do they?” She was blushing like an apple.

“Sometimes they do” I winked at her.

We both smiled.

“Good night” she gave me a slight push but I didn’t want to go.

“I ll see you tomorrow” I smiled.

That night, I had the best sleep that I lacked for years. It was like a dream, but the kiss lingered on my lips like a proof of the event.

******************************************************************************

It was a Sunday. The only day off for me. Although I had to go through few legal documents early morning and set up a few meetings for the coming week. When I came back from gym, Sia was in the kitchen. Usually, she sleeps till mid-morning on weekends. So, I was a little surprised to see her busy cooking something.

“Hey! Good morning!” I greeted her.

“Oh. You’re back!

“Up already?”

 Yes. Aj Sunday(Today’s Sunday). So, thought of making something special for breakfast”.

“But where’s Jina?”

Jina was our Mexican cook. She was in her late forties and mother of three. She was also a CSR case and my company hired her as my cook.

“Oh, she’s on leave today.”

“Achha..(Okay)” The nice aroma made my mouth water.

“Ki ranna korcho? (What are you cooking)” I asked.

“Loochi and Alur Dom” (Loochi - A Bengali dish made by frying well kneaded flour cakes, Alur Dom – lightly spiced and slightly sweet potato curry made with onions , tomatoes and spices).

“That is incredible! I haven’t had it since ages” my face lit up in amazement. Although it contained a lot of calories but as a true foodie by heart, I could never deny this dish. 

“Go freshen up. I’ll serve it hot “she said with a smile.

I went in and quickly showered, then changed into my casuals and hurried back to the dining room. As she served the mouth-watering dish, I started savoring it instantly. It felt nostalgic. When we were kids, mom used to make it on every weekend. It was one of my favorites.

“How’s it?” She asked.

“Divine.” I muttered.

“What about you? Tumi khabe na?(Won’t you have it?”) I asked.

“Haan. Later”.

“Why later? Come sit.” I made her sit in front of me.

“Accha” She agreed. Now it was my turn to serve her breakfast. She looked at me in awe.

“Breaking stereotypes” I smiled.

As she had her food, I thanked her for the sumptuous breakfast and also mentioned how it made me nostalgic. Then we went onto sharing funny incidents of our childhood. How I used to transfer the Loochis from Shouranya’s plate to mine and she would cry her hearts out. Sia laughed just like one of her students which made me feel like pressing both her cheeks. She looked damn cute when she giggled. For the first time I was speaking my hearts out to someone whom I knew only for few months, yet it felt good.

She also got along well with Stacy and Jina. They were like friends given their age gap, always chitchatting and laughing. Sometimes, they even went out for shopping. Okay I know this as my guards follow them everytime. I know I breached our verbal agreement but it was for the good.

“So, are you liking it here?” I asked her.

“Yeah sort of. I miss my hometown though” her smile had a glimpse of sadness.

“Maybe we can visit Kolkata in few months. Got some work there.”

“Oh, that’ll be great!” her eyes lit up instantly.

“By the way, I wanted to ask you something” she sounded a bit worried.

“Yeah sure. What is it Sia?” I asked in a calm voice. Deep down I was afraid about her picking up the topic of our contractual marriage and asking me to leave her. Honestly, I would never do that. I had to know that she was safe. My eyes had to see her innocent face at least once in a day. I won’t disown the deep emotions, that was building up gradually inside me, not anymore.

“Our Akshaya Foundation is running out of funds. Actually, one of our biggest sponsors have stopped donating due to their ownership change. So, I was thinking if you could..”

“Sure. I’ll prepare a cheque for the foundation tomorrow. You can put an amount as per the need.”

“Shourya. I don’t want the money just like that.” Which I knew.

“I didn’t exactly get you.” I wanted to confirm that my line of thinking was correct.

“I’ve heard about the CSR events at your company. So, I thought if they could sponsor us and in-return I would work for them.”

And I was correct!

“But right now, the only open position is that of an office clerk” I replied.

“That’ll do. Actually, I shouldn’t have bothered you but it’s a bit urgent”.

“Sia, I have told you this before , and would repeat it again. Your happiness is my responsibility. Any issues you face should reach my ears first.”

We were clearing the breakfast table as I continued “But are you sure about it? I mean you’re more than qualified for this position “I tried to convince her out of it but in vain.

This woman would never take anything for free. Her dignity and sense of responsibility made me crave for her even more. Despite my requests and offerings’ she took a part-time job in a consultancy to meet her finances. Though I support her individuality and independent mind but I wanted to see her in a better place.

“I know that and I promise I’ll never let you down” she assured.

“Okay I will recommend the case to our HR, tomorrow”. Besides, it would be great to see you in office, I grinned in my mind.

“Thank you so much” she smiled.

I could see her innocent eyes getting cloudy. I brought her near me while wrapping her waist and kissed her forehead.

“Hey, don’t worry, I am sure it’ll work out” I whispered in her ears taking in her heavenly smell.

Then I held her face in between my palm and she suddenly blushed with tears in her eyes.

“You know you’re cute”. As I said she looked up at me with those enchanting eyes.

“And beautiful” I reached for her lips when my damn phone started buzzing.

As I took it, she freed herself and went into the kitchen while smirking at me.

“But we are not done yet” I complained with a smile.

“Yes, we are” her words made me want to chase her, hold her by the waist and nail that kiss on her delectable lips.

I answered the phone. It was one of my junior, who called about the Coulson Inc vs Samuel Anderson case’s first hearing due for tomorrow at the sessions court. After a brief discussion on the terms, I asked him to set a meeting in the evening. As I cut the call, my eyes searched for her.

“Where did she go?” my mind was wild. I couldn’t see her in the kitchen. As I went into her room, I could hear her singing inside the bathroom, while taking a shower.

After a while she came out wearing a towel and I couldn’t stop my eyes from savoring her curves. She was quite surprised to see me there and I suddenly grabbed her and held her against the wall.