Resurrection

A gush of cold wind greeted her face as she walked out on to the pavement. She had never known December evenings to be so chilly in Mumbai. She could hear the waves lash on the concrete on the other side of the road. Families, kids, friends, lovers, loners sitting by the sea talking, playing, laughing, cuddling and gazing at the night sky. She looked at the sign of the restaurant she had come out of, the red neon lights glared back at her. She fumbled in her handbag and took out a pack of Marlboro Lights. She took out a cigarette and put it on her full lips, leaving a pink impression on the butt of the cigarette. She put her hand inside the bag again, groped around a bit and cursed under her breath. 

Manicured fingers appeared near her lips clutching a lighter with a flickering light. She raised her eyes and a man almost materialized in front of her attached to the fingers. In a single glance she noticed his fair skin, deep set black eyes, jawbones and thick jet black hair on his head. She inserted the tip of her cigarette into the flame holding it between her two fingers and took a deep puff. The smoke warmed her body immediately. She looked at the man again who was now trying to light his own cigarette but the wind was too strong.

She took another puff from her cigarette and said, “thank you”. A cloud of smoke escaped her mouth.

The man looked up at her, nodded and smiled. She turned her eyes towards the car which was making all sorts of noises trying to find a decent parking space. Pedestrians passed her by, everyone seemed happy.

“Everything alright”, asked a deep voice. She turned around and saw the man with the cigarette speaking to her. She nodded. Her eyes fell on the black silk shirt and faded blue jeans that he wore on his athletic body. 

“Hi I am Kartick”, he said. She turned around and looked at his hand extended towards her. She didn’t take it.

“And you are…” he asked. “Not interested”, she said, completing his sentence. 

“Would you mind if I bought you a drink”, he asked with a chuckle.

“My husband would”, she said. He smiled. She looked away again towards the sea, putting her cigarette back on her lips. He looked at her body curvy at all the right places. Her knee length maroon colored dress fluttered in the wind as she hugged her slender figure. She turned around and found him admiring her body.

“And where is he”, he asked.

“In there, with his friends. It’s the eve of our anniversary.” she said nodding her head towards the restaurant. “And you are here, smoking, all alone”, he said. “Yeah he was talking to his friends so I sneaked out for a smoke. And why the hell am I even talking to you”, she said and started walking towards the street. She stopped as a car whizzed by her. A throng of children, with a bunch of balloons reaching for the streetlight avoided hitting her as they ran past by.

“I bet he won’t notice it if you sneak out with me”, she heard the voice behind her again, but continued to look towards the other side of the street. “Just one drink and you can be back before he even blinks”.

She turned around and looked into his black eyes. His eyes told her she won’t be able to escape.

“Look, you don’t even know my name”, she tried once again.

“Why do I have to know your name, it’s just a drink”, he replied, with a smile. 

Was it the smile or his eyes, she thought that she was unable to resist. She rolled her eyes in submission.

“There’s a bar just around the corner”, he said, as if he got the cue and started to walk.

“Just one drink and don’t get any ideas”, she followed him.

They entered a crowded bar and took two seats at the corner of the counter as Neil Diamond started crooning ‘Girl you’ll be a woman soon…’ They both ordered Vodka with some ice.

“So what were you doing outside”, he asked her.

“I told you I had come out for a smoke”, she gulped down the vodka and kept the glass on the counter, the ice cubes rattled.

“On the eve of your anniversary you leave your husband while you are in the middle of a dinner”, he said taking a sip of his drink with a lop-sided smile. She noticed the dimple on his right cheek. She gestured to the bartender and asked for another drink. She drank the liquid noisily. 

“Look here Mister, in three years of my marriage I have learned that my husband loves his business more than he loves me. And even during the dinner he was busy discussing business with his friends while his friends’ wives couldn’t stop gossiping. And I couldn’t stand any of those, so I came out. That’s it.” She said, finished her drink in one gulp and slammed the glass on the counter. He gestured to the bartender, who promptly repeated their drinks.

She finished her third drink in a couple of gulps without even blinking.

“I am done. You asked to buy me one drink I have had three, that’s a bonus for you. I am leaving. Thank you.” 

She tried to get off the stool, but she stumbled on her high heels. He jumped off his stool and held her by her hands. 

“Don’t even think about it, I am fine”, she said and pulled herself free but stumbled again. He held her by her shoulders and guided her back to the stool. 

“I have to go, my husband would be looking for me."

Something slipped from her hand and fell on the floor with a thud. Kartick bent down and picked it up. It was her mobile phone with a soft fabric cover with three alphabets embroidered in pink “Ira”. “I don’t think he would be or he would have called you by now. Ira”, he said. She looked at him with a hint of playfulness in her eyes.

“I bet he and his friends wouldn’t even bother about you even if you didn’t turn up for the rest of the night”, he said. She checked her watch it was almost half an hour since she had come out of the restaurant. She looked at his eyes, they were laughing mischievously. “I dare you not to go back”, he said in a mischievous tone.

“You mean you want me to spend the night with a complete stranger”, she said. 

“Who said we are strangers”, he replied. The bar started to revolve around her head. The bar tender pushed another glass filled with ice and a transparent liquid. She took a sip. 

“Can you do it”, she heard him say. 

“Do what”, she asked. 

“Spend the whole night with a ‘stranger’”, he nudged emphasizing on the word stranger. She looked at him with blurred eyes.

She put the glass down and got off the stool again. He immediately got off the stool and put his arms around her waist. She looked at his eyes but didn’t protest. She put her hand on his shoulders and they slowly walked out of the bar. They walked to a black BMW sedan waiting on the curb. He opened the door and she slid into the seat beside the driver’s. He took the wheels and started the engine. She threw her head back and closed her eyes.

Pictures of a wedding in a beach resort in Madh Islands started to flash in her mind. An entrance decorated with tulips, lilies and a thousand red roses declared the names of the bride and the groom. She was surrounded by her family and her best friend stood smiling by her side. Decked up in the finest jewelry and a red silk saree with intricate patterns of golden strands hand woven by the artists from Varanasi she sat on a chair which looked like was made for the queen herself. Even though it was an arranged marriage, it was exactly what she had dreamed of. He was the only son of her father’s friend and business partner who had studied at Wharton and had come back to India to look after the empire that their fathers had created. She saw images of her and him skiing on the Swiss Alps during their honeymoon. The first time they made love lying on the rug by the fireside, they had slept naked wrapped in each others arms through the night. After the short honeymoon he hardly got any time for her. She couldn’t remember when they got intimate again. Love making was reduced to a ritual, sometimes they would go on without making love for several weeks. She was tired of it all. Would her love life resurrect was all she was thinking while sitting in the restaurant listening to him rant about his business with his friends.

Ira opened her eyes as she felt the car take a sharp turn and enter the parking lot of a tall building on Pedar road. She opened the door and came out. She could feel a dull ache at the back of her head as she tried to stand on her high heels. Before she could think, his hands were around her waist and they were walking towards the lift.

As they entered the lift, she could feel the warmth of his body. She put her hands around his waist and he pulled her closer. She felt his mushy lips on hers and took in the smell of his after shave. She felt his hand slide lower down her back and raise her skirt. She felt the flesh of his hand gently caressing her thighs. The lift opened on the thirtieth floor and he moved back his hands to her waist. He took out a key ring from his pocket and opened a mahogany door. His lips were already on hers even before they had entered the apartment. With his fingers he slid the straps of her dress from her shoulders and began kissing her neck. She moaned in pleasure. His lips worked their way down, as her dress fell on the ground. Before she knew it his naked body was wrapped around hers in a fit of passion.

The next morning Ira woke up to the bright sunlight coming in from the bay windows. She was aware that she wasn’t wearing anything inside the sheets. She remembered what had happened last night, and immediately her lips curved into a smile. Her body felt wonderful and her soul felt satisfied. She saw a bouquet of red roses on the table beside the bed. She picked it up, brought it close and felt the soft petals on her face. She took in the sweet fragrance and then noticed a small tag at the bottom. She held the tag in her fingers and read, “To my beautiful wife on our third anniversary – Kartick”. She smiled and turned around he was still lying asleep beside her. She ruffled his hair, he opened his eyes. “Happy anniversary”, she said, took his head in her arm and kissed his lips.