“I’m sorry Martha, I’ll be careful in
addressing you next time. Now let’s get back to work. His guard was up and he
was distant once again. She went to her desk and tried to concentrate on her
work but the coincidence between the similarity of names of the protagonists of
her novel, Juan and Myara and John and Martha nee Mara struck her to be too
unusual to be ignored. And to top it all, Sarah? The Princess Sara! It was as
if all her protagonists had walked into the real world.
She could even draw
parallels in their circumstances. Sara had scaled the hills of the shrine to
bring Juan back, failed and become bed-ridden due to her depression. John’s
fiancée had vanished in a skiing expedition. Juan was handsome, blonde and
one-eyed. Ditto John. Myara fell for Juan. She, Martha was about to fall for
John. After she confessed the truth to herself, she was amazed. In fact it felt
eerie. She shivered as she felt the hair rising on the nape of her neck. She
was about to have a panic attack.
She closed
her eyes tightly and let the feeling pass by clenching her teeth and curling
her fists into balls. She hadn’t slept properly last night, only for a couple
of hours. She needed rest. Her thoughts were in disarray. She felt like seeing
Dr. Benedict Hussey. She needed his strength. She couldn’t wait to see him.
She’d ask Norman to take her to him the next day. Today, he’d be very tired and
busy. The intercom on her desk rang, even as she realized that it would be
Norman’s call. Slowly she rose and then fell back in her chair, as if
paralyzed. Her mind had gone totally blank.
“What’s
the matter Mara? Are you all right?” remarked John as he rushed to her side. He
was scared by the wan look on her face and her listless demeanor. He picked up
the still ringing intercom’s receiver and said “Hello? Yes Norman, she’s on her
seat, but….” He heard the receiver being disconnected at the other end and knew
that the Boss was on his way to see what was so wrong with his fiancée! Norman
arrived with a concerned look on his face and looked askance on John. He could
see that Martha appeared to be too zapped to talk. She didn’t even bat an
eyelid when she saw him. She had seen right through him and appeared as one who
had seen a ghost.
Norman shook her shoulder slightly and Martha’s head flopped downward on
to her table. Both Norman and John were too confused and scared to disturb her.
They decided that they’d prod her after 10 minutes if she didn’t sit upright or
call for an ambulance. After about 5 minutes, Martha bolted upright in her
sitting position and was completely baffled when she saw the two handsome men
peering at her as if they expected her to do something strange right then! She
didn’t realize that she had already behaved very strangely, just some minutes
ago.
She laughed
as she saw them gaping and waved her palm in front of both of them and burst
out laughing hysterically. John and Norman glanced sideways at each other and
joined in the laughter. None of them had the heart to tell her that the joke
was on her. Rather than a joke, it was a worrying incident. They couldn’t make
head or tail of it. But Norman knew that it was time for another trip to Dr.
Benedict Hussey.
That evening,
Norman asked her whether they could visit Dr. Hussey again, that is if she
wanted it. She jumped at the opportunity. “Let’s go tomorrow. I’m looking
forward to visiting him again. He really makes me feel very calm and peaceful,”
she said eagerly, like a small kid who had been offered an outing at a favorite
mall! He lightly stroked her head. He felt like hugging her, but refrained as
John was still there at his desk, sorting through some manuscripts. He wanted
to maintain the office decorum.
Though neither
Norman nor John had commented about her fainting spell, she knew and felt it in
her bones that all wasn’t well with her. She needed to be more careful. This
was becoming a frighteningly regular occurrence. She feared for her sanity and
prayed to God to give her the strength to tide over this crisis that had arisen
so unexpectedly in her life. Her orderly life of 45 years was going hay-wire
and giving her jitters. Maybe it was menopause.
But even she
knew that it wasn’t so simple an explanation, but a rather complicated one, one
that probably only Dr. Benedict Hussey could fathom and help her overcome. She
couldn’t wait to see him the next day. His mere sight would be enough to calm
her nerves. His words, would of course, be like balm on a battered mind and body. She
retired for the night early after a light dinner of salmon sandwiches and coffee.
She had an uneventful night, as she had firmly banished all thoughts about the
day’s disturbing event from her mind.
Norman had
left the office in charge of John and come to pick Martha from her cottage. He
found her fresh and chirpy. She looked heavenly in a navy blue and grey outfit
that underplayed her luscious curves and made her look elegant and gorgeous.
Her blonde hair appeared slightly damp as though she had just washed it and
forgotten to blow-dry it. Her make-up was light and classy. The perfume that
she wore just blew him away. He felt like pulling her into her bedroom and ……
“Why are you smiling like that?” she asked him even as she half-guessed
the reason and blushed uncontrollably. He grinned even more as she nervously
fiddled with her purse to lock the door. “Relax, Martha. I’m not going to jump
on you. Come, let’s go,” he said, gently taking her slender arm in his and
reveling in its warmth and softness. Even Martha felt good and smiled shyly at
him. Though she still didn’t remember about any of their previous meetings,
that were before she joined his office, she felt happy to be with that
protective man. She liked him but that was it. She couldn’t imagine being in
love with him! And she was supposed to be his fiancée!
To be continued....
The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
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