Page 10 of You Had Me At Annyeong!
Spring–Summer
‘Alice and I will be at the spa. Do NOT call her! I’m warning you, DO NOT BUG US,’ Timira yells into Bhaskar’s ears as he nearly chokes on his cuppa and makes a face. Timira, Alice and Bhaskar are in Bali for a friend’s destination wedding. They have decided to stay back an extra few days and make a holiday of it. ‘We must get Tim away for a few. Just to take her mind off the matter,’ Alice had told Bhaskar before they booked tickets. Bhaskar promptly informed his boss at the tech giant he worked for that he would be working from home for a week, while Alice passed on her appointments to her trusted colleague Sunaina, who not only worked at Alice’s salon but also ran a successful make-up channel on YouTube. They had moved schedules around despite just having come back from a holiday. Something Timira is grateful for—grateful for them and for their love for her.
‘Must you yell right into my ears, idiot! Why will I bug you guys anyway? FYI, I’m not a clingy husband,’ Bhaskar barksback at Timira before adding weakly, ‘Oye! Has Alice told you otherwise? That I’m clingy?’ Timira looks lovingly at her pint-sized, goofball, corporate superstar best friend who stares back at her with panic-stricken eyes. ‘Nahin bey! Will you relax?’
She gently squeezes his shoulders before pinching them hard and running out laughing gleefully, leaving Bhaskar mock yelping in pain. The large organic cotton tote she loves (with the words‘I like men in my life the way I like sugar in my coffee: WITHOUT ANY’ emblazoned on it) swings wildly under her shoulder as she fills the corridor with the squeaky sound of her noisy flip-flops. She narrowly escapes colliding with someone as she rushes into the elevator. She is already ten minutes late for her ‘couple’ massage appointment with Alice.
The man who has stepped out of the elevator has just come back from a swim. With water dripping from his hair, sand all over his Crocs-covered feet and a damp towel that looks rather embarrassed about not being able to do a great job of covering his broad shoulders, he senses a little storm headed his way. Still light on his feet from years of playing football, he deftly avoids the storm as she sweeps past him, muttering ‘Excuse me’ under her breath and dashing into the elevator like it were a lover’s arms. Wearing an amused smile, he starts to walk away but stops when he stumbles upon a kitschy purse lying on the ground, some of its contents strewn about: mints, lip tint, hemp cigarettes and a couple of glossy visiting cards.
Now slow in his movements, he first looks around to see if a probable owner is in the vicinity.
Might these belong to the storm outside the lift?
Finding nobody, he slowly bends and scoops everything up: The tint is red—same colour as the human storm’s small mouth—and the little bottle half empty, the mints are now adorning the carpeted floor like polka dots on a 1960s dress, the cigarettepack is brand new, and both cards bear the same name, Timira Leia Marak—Independent PR and Image Consultant.
* * *
‘What was I supposed to do, Ally? They literally asked me to bugger off,’ Timira replies, a little irritated, when Alice enquires yet again if leaving the job in the heat of the moment had been the right thing to do.
This is so unlike Alice! She’s usually the first to stick up for herself and has always berated me for not prioritizing myself before others. Why is she doing this?! Hang on! Is this what I think it is? Has someone put her up to this?
Timira turns towards Alice and, unbeknownst to the latter, casts a withering look at her.
Alice and Ma have been talking. 1000 per cent.
Seed of doubt firmly planted in her mind, Timira prattles on, pretending to be unaffected and unaware and doing a good job of it too!
You think you have me fooled? Hah! I’m on to you. I’m so on to you!
‘… in any case, I’m glad I don’t have to endure all that speculation about me and Rod. Makes me sweat just to even think about it. Not like I was doing something unethical, right? I mean, Marbella had no policy about intra-personnel dating. And, he wasn’t personnel anyway. You know what I mean?’ She looks expectantly at Alice, who chooses to keep mum. ‘Ah, whatever! What’s done is done!’
Timira tries to appear nonchalant but deep down she’s questioning her actions and starting to wonder about their consequences.Maybe it was my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten involved with a client. Such things work out only in movies.
Alice takes a deep breath and calmly reminds her that the news will spread irrespective. So long as she works in the same industry, she will be gossiped about and people will wonder what truly happened. They will try to dig deeper, whether she likes it or not. To what extreme can she let this affect her? Change careers just because she wants to be blemish-free?
‘You can’t wish your past away, Tim. And running away and hiding only makes it look like you are guilty. If you feel like you did nothing wrong, you shouldn’t hide like a criminal. And if you feel like you were in the wrong, then it’s all the more reason to not hide. Own up to it and get on with life. It’s okay to make mistakes. Life doesn’t stop. Cut yourself some slack!’
Timira grumbles but stays quiet because she knows Alice is right.
‘You should’ve thought of this before getting involved with Rod. I had told you repeatedly that it was going to be tricky. Mixing personal and professional lives is not for everyone …’
‘Yes, yes, you were right and I was wrong. Okay?’ Timira cuts in impatiently and joins her palms in a namaskar as she bows her head. Alice cocks her head lightly and Timira smiles with a cheeky grin.
‘Sorry, sorry, go on. I was just acknowledging the truth. You did warn me beforehand and later supported me wholeheartedly. Like you always do. You are the best!’ Timira makes finger hearts at Alice who is wearing a more serious expression on her face.
‘Timmy, I still don’t understand how nobody at your workplace found out, you know. Or even the paps. The infamous Mumbai paps! You do realize you were playing with fire, don’t you?’
‘I WAS going to tell everyone once it was, um, you know, official. You know what it was like, with Rod, his reputation. Orjust the fact that a celebrity like him was with a regular person like me.’
‘You didn’t tell your folks, babe! Like, I still can’t fathom how you kept it from them. I mean, they’re like the chillest peeps ever!’
Timira mutters incoherently and Alice almost barks at her.
‘Speak clearly! What fresh new excuse are you cooking up?’
‘What excuse? Think they’d have taken kindly to the news of their daughter dating a famous man infamous for his philandering ways and scandals? Think they’d have welcomed him, a single father, with open arms? Oh, Alice. You expect too much of them. You always have! Trust me, I know better than ever to.’
‘C’mon, Tim. You never gave them a chance. There’s no way of telling what would’ve happened if you had …’
