Inconvenient Relations (33 page)

“I said I’m sorry, didn’t I? And you don’t have to listen to me or do anything for me from now on…understood!” The tears stopped before they started.

He liked her better this way.

Watch out! Don’t let her push your buttons!

“That’s marvelous. Now you’ll do exactly as I say.”

“No way!”

“Yes way, Ms. Reckless. Here, take these.” He proffered a Snickers bar and a bottle of Gatorade.

“No, I’m not hungry. I’m going to wash up.” She stood up.

“Bloody hell! You’ve got to feed yourself and hydrate or you’ll be unconscious before daybreak, and I’m in no mood to take care of a sick wife.”

“Screw you!” she screamed.

“Exactly.” He chuckled and was requited when he saw her face turn beet red.

Without another word, she snatched the bottle from his hand, unscrewed the cap, and chugged down half the contents in one gulp before shoving it inside the pocket of her roomy cargos. Then with a defiant toss of her head, she started hobbling toward the river.

“That’s a decent start. Just make it a point to smile a little next time and…don’t drink the water!” he hollered after her, but failed to elicit a response.

***

“Wife trouble?” Andy Sr. inquired, loping over on his long legs to lend Shaan a hand after he spied him fiddling halfheartedly with the tent; his mind and eyes were focused on Ruhi who appeared to be treating him to a royal brush-off.

Taking his silence and dour face as an affirmative, the nimble and sprightly older man burst into a loud guffaw. With his brown eyes twinkling merrily, he clapped the younger man on his shoulder. “Women are man’s eternal affliction! They torture you endlessly, then kill you with a smile.”

“So? What’s the remedy?”

The man who looked barely a day over fifty, though he claimed to be all of three score and ten, said in a conspiratorial whisper while wagging a cautionary finger, “There ain’t no remedy, kid. I can vouch from forty-five years of experience. They can live without you, but you’ll die without them, so better get ready to toe the line! Just try not to let her know you are. Now can you figure why I do this crazy hike almost every day?” he asked with a wink.

Shaan acquiesced with a smile; it felt good to know there were others in this world who shared his kind of misery.

It took about fifteen minutes to set up the tent with the help of the old man, who could probably accomplish the task with his eyes closed. All the while, he rattled off stories of how he and his wife had met on a cross-country biking trip, fought like hyenas throughout, but then ended up making out in a log cabin; and he being the gentleman he was, “I believe in no abortion,” had made her accept him as her permanent partner, and they were now proud grandparents.

“She wasn’t willing to hook up at first, saying if she had a child she’d take care of it all on her own. It took me six months to persuade her, and by that time, I’d fallen deeply in love and couldn’t let her go.”

Eager to hear more, Shaan waited patiently, as the much lived and experienced old hat of the mountains grew pensive. His story had a familiar ring to it, in many ways resembling his own.

Night had fallen, but darkness could never reign supreme in the canyon for the skies came brilliantly alive, ablaze with the splendid display from a gazillion stars.

“Like some ancient wise man once said, there are no accidents, everything happens for a reason. We—you and I—wouldn’t be here right now hadn’t the river decided to carve the canyon millions of years ago.”

Then with a saintly incline of his sunburnt face, he said, “So I say let it flow, don’t fight, and you’ll be richly rewarded.”

***

Shaan wasn’t too sure about any rewards; at least Andy Sr. had gotten laid.

“He’d have laughed even louder had he known my plight!” he thought aloud, flinging another pebble as far as he could into the river. It sunk without a murmur.

“What plight?”

He turned his head and saw Ruhi standing next to him looking fresh and slinky like a wildflower—hair caught up in its usual slightly askew topknot with more than a few tendrils springing out, being merrily whipped about her face by the breeze. Her wet shirt now completely unbuttoned, exposed her cami, which hugged her saucy figure like a glove.

God, this torture is uncalled for! I want to kill her so bad!

“Stop looking like a cry baby and eat this!” She thrust a plate at him. “Tacos, reheated baked beans, and an orange, which I’ve peeled for you. Andy was nice enough to share with us when he saw we’d brought no real food.”

“Which Andy, Jr. or Sr.?”

“Senior. Why, does it matter?”

Shaan shook his head and glumly took the plate. She wouldn’t understand; perhaps I should take a dip in the river.

She stood there watching him eat in silence for a few moments. “Thanks for putting up the tent. I think I’ll turn in…” She hesitated before walking away; he saw her limp had worsened.

“Ruhi…no, wait!” What
an unfeeling creep I am!

He swallowed what was left of the meal and, after dipping the plate for a brisk rinse in the river, hurried after her.

She was sitting inside, tongue compressed between thinned lips while trying to gingerly to peel off her brand-new hiking boots by the light of a single bright LED lantern.

Kneeling at her feet, he said, “Here…let me.”

“No, I can manage.”

“Didn’t you agree to obey my every word?” he said, looking sternly at her.

She succumbed, none too pleased.

He drew in a sharp breath. Both of her feet were chaffed, bright red over most of the pressure points with a couple of large angry-looking blisters over the base of her right big toe and pinky.

Overcome by remorse, he said, “You must think me to be such a lout.”

“No,” she said, emitting a quivering sigh. “You aren’t at fault. It’s me… I’ve been leading you around so much all this time. It was only natural for you to think I was faking.”

He shook his head while regarding her hurt-and-angry-looking feet. “This won’t happen ever again.”

“You know I’d never lie to you,” she said sweetly, forgiving him in an instant.

Then procuring a safety pin from nowhere, she bent down, aiming the sharp end at one of the blisters.

He caught her wrist. “No, don’t! Are you nuts?”

“But that is what we used to do back home.”

“Then you
are
nuts! This way you can introduce all kinds of bugs, which may lead to infection and who knows…amputation too!”

“Aww…rubbish. Don’t be so melodramatic.” She laughed.

“I’m not stretching the facts, just telling the truth. Haven’t you heard of those skin-eating bacteria that thrive on the flesh of beautiful young women?”

She stared at him wide eyed for a moment before allowing the corners of her mouth to relax into a smile.

Grinning, he said, “Let me brainstorm the guides. I’m sure they’ll come up with some remedy.”

He promptly returned, armed with a first aid kit and a tall flask of hot water. “This is the right way, madam.”

Within a few minutes, paying no heed to her protests, he had tenderly washed, treated, and dressed her feet.

“That was so kind of you,” she murmured, her voice breaking with emotion.

“I’ve done just what you’d do for me. We are best friends and partners, remember? It’s my duty to take care of you.”

“Shaan…”

“Hmm?”

“I know I’ve been keeping you from something.”

“Now what would that be?” he asked eagerly, wondering if he’d finally succeeded in finding the key to her sacred realm.

Digging into the side pocket of the giant backpack, she whipped out his portable telescope. “See?” Brandishing it in front of his face, she said, “It slipped your mind, but I didn’t forget to pack it! How can you miss your date with the stars?”

Turning the instrument over slowly in his hands, he wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.

“Come and tell me if you discover a new galaxy, I’ll be waiting!” she said before hustling him out.

Now it’ll be a very tough prospect for a budding astrophysicist to evade the lure of the night sky, especially in a place which was known as a star gazer’s Mecca. Therefore, notwithstanding his deepest desires, Shaan soon found himself immersed into worlds, which were lightyears from his own.

“Gosh! I’ve never seen Saturn’s rings so clearly before. Ruhi’d love it! Damn! She must’ve been waiting for me.”

The entire camp had gone to sleep; the only sound that could be heard was of the wind as it played a mournful cello while careening lazily through the canyon. There was no sign of any stragglers, having their last bottle of beer or enjoying an after-dinner cigarette; the Andys had made it clear from the very beginning—no tobacco, alcohol, or illicit drugs.

He snatched a quick look at the luminous dial of his watch.
It’s been over an hour, and I meant it to be just fifteen minutes. It’s all her fault!

The lamp was out, but the tent wasn’t entirely dark. Silver rays filtering through the skylight gave the tiny enclosure a dreamy feel. He could make out her small form in one of the sleeping bags. Scooting down beside her, he listened to her quiet breathing.

Damn she’s asleep, dead to the world, while I couldn’t be more awake.

Chalo bacchu!
(All right, son) Guess you’d have to inaugurate the other bag, too. Better you bury your wants in a deep pit…nothing’s gonna happen. Curse the day I said I’ll wait for her.

Feeling supremely stifled, he yanked off his shirt and lay down on top of his sleeper, directly under the window, which provided a picture perfect view of the new moon right above. But there was no Venus to be seen.

She, who mattered most of all, had given him the slip.

***

There was a restless movement.

“I’m cold.” Her teeth chattered.

“Cold? But I’m not. Do you have a fever?” he queried, concerned.

“No. I’m just cold!” Ruhi said,

“But we don’t have an extra blanket.” Without further hesitation, he unzipped her bag and slid in, pulling her into his arms. She was shivering uncontrollably; her body cold as ice.

“Of course you’ll freeze if you sleep in your wet clothes,” he chided while forcibly getting rid of her still damp shirt and shorts.

“Please, not this one,” she beseeched, eyes awkwardly shy as he sought to dispose of her cami.

“As you wish.” He chaffed her hands then, holding her tight, rubbed her back, creating a warming friction and a lot more.

Gradually as the violent tremors ceased, her body relaxed, making him acutely aware of every shapely curve that fit snugly into his—an infallible means for his yearnings to grow even more intensely agonizing.

Not able to take it anymore, he said gruffly, “Let me see if the lining of my bag comes apart.”

“No, don’t go. Please?”

There was something bohemian in those eyes, which arrested him and stayed his tongue. He’d never beheld her quite like this before—skin glowing silver, lips of luscious plum, the planes of her exquisitely aligned features casting mysterious shadows, which he urged to discover. She was an ethereal creature from another world—his eternal dream and benevolent angel.

He shuddered, feeling her fingers draw across his cheek, then thoughtfully brush his lips.

“Stop doing that.”

“Why?”

“It’s unbearable. Don’t you get it?”

Her eyes glittered like the brightest of stars. “Then kiss me.”

“Wha…at?”

“You heard right. I said kiss me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes…”

“Doubly, infinitely sure?”

“Kiss me before I change my mind you sweet crazy ba—”

The remainder of the sentence was lost in transit when she found her lips crushed under his mouth by a pressure hard enough she tasted blood. The insult was so sudden and unexpected she failed to emit even the feeblest of gasps.

Recognizing what he’d done, he relaxed his grip on her back and grunted in sweetest apology, “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

The softest of kisses was then planted on the edge of her broken lips, and his tongue swept gently across, forcing the tender orifice open before plunging deep inside.

While her mouth thrilled at the invasion, his hands were left free to explore her naïve physique, boldly seeking and discovering what she’d so far considered privy only to her own self, making her at once cringe with abashment and the very next instant quiver with wanton delight at the exotic sensations evoked by his touch.

A thought fluttered into her mind, was it sinful to feel pleasure beyond comprehension? But then she didn’t care.

Insinuating his fingers inside her underpants, he manipulated them down, then with utmost familiarity smoothed over her shapely hips, and with brazen abandon scooped her compact behind. With another swift movement, he drew up her cami, causing her to draw a sharp breath when her bare skin brushed against his unclothed exterior.

Despite having succeeded in rendering her mind utterly paralyzed trying to deal with all the alien stimuli, his thirst remained unquenched. Instead, it fed upon itself growing stronger and more urgent.

Leaving her mouth, his lips deliberately worked their way down smothering her chin, her throat, and the rest of her supple flesh—tasting, feeding, absorbing, and in turn, giving, translating his passion in ways she’d have no difficulty comprehending.

Now completely at the mercy of her most basic instincts, she moaned, arching her back, digging her nails into his muscular shoulders, reveling in the feel of his breath on her naked skin.

“Oh my darling, you are so beautiful. Thank you for choosing me,” he uttered in an almost reverential tone as he moved up and thrust her pelvis against his. She gulped, surprised at the pain.

“Trust me. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

Slowly, patiently, he worked away on the tension, till she yielded and let him consume her properly and irrevocably.

The ritual seemed to go on for hours or did it last just minutes? There was no way she could tell. He appeared indefatigable and thereby relentlessly persistent; until finally giving up her grasp on reality, she fell into an exhausted dreamless sleep.