Page 73 of That Same Old Love

During the next few days Samrat didn’t call her or send her any messages.

Mahi went crazy thinking it was because he was busy with the hot lawyer and didn’t want to waste time speaking to Mahi when someone younger and more beautiful was at hand.

Finally it was Saturday, the day Samrat was supposed to return to India. Mahi didn’t know what time his flight was supposed to land or whether he would come to his parents’ house directly.

Each time she heard a car pass by, she ran to her front door and put her eye to the peephole to see if that was Samrat.

That afternoon, Rajeev had come home for lunch. Mahi had just served him the trifle pudding dessert made with fresh cherries and pineapple. It was one of Samrat’s favorite desserts. She was getting some for her from the dining table when she heard a car.

Immediately she zipped across the living room and stuck her eye on the peephole. It had just been a neighbor’s car. Disappointed, Mahi looked at Rajeev to offer him seconds for the dessert.

“No. I’m fine. Are you waiting for someone?” asked Rajeev looking amused.

Mahi had been checking the peephole almost every few minutes whenever she heard something outside.

“No. I’m just waiting for some package delivery,” she said with a forced smile.

Although Rajeev had met Samrat a few times at her place and on some weekends in restaurants, Mahi never told Rajeev or even discussed with him about her relationship with Samrat. Rajeev liked Samrat and they usually had a lot of exclusive conversations with each other about cricket or investmentbanking that Mahi wasn’t interested in. She often had to drag them back to conversations that included her.

After Rajeev left her house, she texted her friends on her group chat.

Jhanvi: You are nuts! I love you, but seriously you are nuts!

She had told them about her last conversation with Samrat before he had stopped calling. They called her all kinds of fool but consoled her eventually saying that he didn’t seem like the kind to two-time any woman.

Mahi knew that about him and that was why she was worried. She thought he would fall for the hot and accomplished lawyer and break it off with Mahi.

Mahi: I’m going crazy thinking about whether or not Samrat will want to continue being with me.

Parvathi: Relax. Samrat will obviously be faithful to you and not even think about straying.

Mahi: I can’t relax. I’ve been running to my peephole every few minutes to see if his car is in front of his house. I think my peephole will fall out with all the activity.

Ashwini: Ha ha… at least some hole in your house is getting some action.

Jhanvi: LOL Ashu. That was classic! But really, how do you kiss your two children with that dirty mouth? ;-)

Ashwini: Heh heh… my mouth is an amazing multitasker. Ask my hubby. He’ll sing praises.

Everyone put laughing emoticons.

Smitha: Seriously relax Mahi. I know things are going to turn out fine. If Samrat is going to be back today, we’ll probably not hear from you until Monday. :-)

Later that evening when it was slightly getting dark and Mahi could still see the security sensors flashing away in his house, she truly felt crushed.

“Maybe he extended his trip to spend more time with his latest squeeze,” she muttered even though she knew she was being unfair.

Not wanting to spend time reading a book or watching television, she decided to take a long bath before going to bed. She had barely been sleeping from the past five nights, going crazy while imagining Samrat with another woman.

She stepped into the shower and drew the shower curtains close and sang along with a hip-hop song playing on her bathroom stereo. She was trying to distract herself and fight back the tears that were threatening to burst out given a chance.

She was almost done and was rinsing her body one last time, when the shower curtains were pushed aside noisily.

She screamed and turned to see Samrat, standing in a formal business suit with a tired but furious expression that looked like he wanted to kill her.

“My god Samrat. You almost gave me a heart attack. I thought you were Norman Bates. Luckily, I never saw you dress up like your mom and sit by your window during the nights.”

Mahi was having a word vomit due to her happiness and nervousness. She really hoped he wasn’t at her place to break up with her.

---