FUEL FOR LIVING PART 5‏

PART 5

“Hey, have you been waiting for too long?” asked Vidya as she approached Anand, who was standing in front of his car gazing at the stars.

“It’s never too long waiting for you Vidya!” said Anand with a smile. Vidya shot him an amazed look as she opened the door and saw Sindhuja sleeping on the rear seat.

“She slept off? What did you do to her? Its’ never that easy with her!” exclaimed Vidya. Anand felt his heart fill with so much happiness that for a second he thought it might burst.

“She’s a darling! You don’t know how to make her sleep” said Anand feeling proud within. They got inside the car.

“Oh yeah, now you give some motherly lessons to me!” said Vidya from the back seat with an annoyed expression.

“Oops, that was supposed to be a light hearted comment. So, am I going to get the privilege of spending my evening with Sindhu tomorrow also?” asked Anand as he steered his car to the right.

“I guess so! It might be like this for the whole week.” said Vidya with bitterness in her voice.

“Marvellous! It couldn’t get any better!” said Anand grinning.

“Oh yeah, and for me it’s getting worse. My appraisal was pathetic and with CRR on the way, I wouldn’t be surprised if I get a CRR4. This issue I am working on might get escalated any minute!” said Vidya exasperated.

Not wanting to show that Anand didn’t understand much of what Vidya spoke, he just nodded his head and said “Oh its ok Vidya! Things will get better. Don’t worry.”

At the moment, without any warning, a memory from the past played in Vidya’s head. It was third semester at college and she was just about to appear for her ‘Digital systems’ lab exam. She wasn’t thoroughly prepared for the exam and she feared she might fail in the exam. She was nervously chewing on her nails when Anand who was passing through the corridor, noticed her and reassured her that everything will be fine.

Vidya fondly looked at Anand and smiled.

-----

Anand and Sindhuja spent next three evenings with each other. On Friday as Anand was dropping Vidya and Sindhuja at their place, he got a funny idea.

“Its time, you people get to taste the food made by the World’s best cook.” announced Anand.

“And who is it, may I know?” asked Vidya in a mocking voice.

“It’s me, of course! You both are invited to my place for lunch tomorrow. Sindhu baby, do you want anything in particular?”

“Gajar ka halwa” replied Sindhu almost immediately.

“Done! So it’s a deal. I’ll be here to pick you guys by 1.” Said Anand and left.

------

It was 2 by the time Anand reached Vidya’s place.

“You are late!” complained Vidya.

“I know but my lunch is surely worth the wait!” said Anand and drove them to his place.

-----

If there was any house hold chore Anand enjoyed doing, it was cooking, and he was certainly good at it. He rarely cooked, but when he did, he rocked. Vidya and Sindhuja soon were convinced that he is the best cook they have known, even if he may not be the World’s best.

“Mate, this is soooo gooood. Yummmmyyy” said Sindhuja licking her lips after eating a spoon full of gajar ka halwa.

“Anand, you seriously took me by surprise! I never knew you can cook so well.” said Vidya.

“There is heaps about me that you don’t know yet.” Said Anand subtly and lifted Sindhuja up and took her out to the garden to play while Vidya tried to make sense of what Anand had said.

As Vidya sat there watching, she could see herself and Venkat playing with Sindhu when she was younger. She saw Sindhuja holding on to Anand’s shoulders as he lifted her and threw her up in the air. She could see Venkat running behind Sindhuja to catch her. She saw Sindhuja hitting into Anand’s stomach while he acted like getting hurt. She could see Venkat hugging and kissing Sindhu.

Sindhuja’s shout jolted Vidya back into the present. She realized she was swaying between the past and the ‘now’. “Mmmooommm…Mooooommmmmm! Come here, let’s play”

Vidya ran up to Sindhuja and joined them. They played hide and seek, with mostly Anand or Vidya being the catcher. When it was Sindhuja’s turn, she argued it was unfair on the parts of adults to have a small girl do the catching job. Anand and Sindhu even managed to pull a prank on Vidya. When Vidya was blindfolded, breaking the rules Anand and Sindhu left the garden, sneaked into the house and watched Vidya try in vain to get hold of either of them. Poor Vidya realized the prank only after hearing uncontrollable laughter of both Anand and Sindhu. Removing her blindfold, her decision to go crazy on both of them for pulling the prank on her was short-lived when she saw the angel of her life laughing. Since Venkat’s death, none have been able to make Sindhu laugh out so loud. Faking toughness, she still made Sindhu the catcher as punishment for pulling the prank on her.

Anand enjoyed playing with them. He enjoyed watching Vidya trying to get close to Sindhu and then back away soon enough to escape from Sindhuja’s little hands. He enjoyed seeing Sindhu move with an unbalance, her hands desperately stretched out to catch one of them. While Vidya was trying to get close to Sindhuja, Anand caught her elbow, pulled her close and gazed deep into her eyes. Vidya caught completely off guard, stared back at him and felt something stir within her. Anand let go off her in an instant and Sindhuja was soon holding on to Anand’s trousers shouting in joy.

That little incident made Anand not very proud of himself. He had acted on his instinct, on his need to hold Vidya. He shouldn’t have done it. That must have made her uncomfortable, he told himself. He wanted to speak to Vidya and explain himself to her. He called her that night around 9.

“Hello Vidya? Anand here!”

“Hi Anand!”

“I need to talk to you in private. Can I come home now? Or can we meet tomorrow?” asked Anand

“Can’t it be done over the phone?” asked Vidya uneasily

“No, it can’t be. I won’t take much of your time.” said Anand.

“Alright, maybe we should talk right away since Sindhu is fast asleep. Just give me a missed call when you are at the door.” said Vidya.

“Ok, I will be right there.” Said Anand and rushed to his car.

To be Continued..............