“I could kiss this good girl and spend the rest of the afternoon here
with you Martha, but I’ve an urgent meeting lined up later this evening, so I’ll
reserve my treat for another day.” As she saw the wicked gleam in his eye, she
realized that he was pulling her leg. She blushed a deep red and lowered her
eyes for some moments. To change the mood, she asked, “Norman how’s Nancy? I am
sure that you are regularly in touch with her. Can you take me to meet her? I’d
really like to have a nice long talk with her.”
“I wouldn’t advise you to do so, dear. For her, the end is near. Maybe
seeing you would disturb her greatly. Besides you yourself need rest and
…………..” he realized his faux pas and fell silent. As he saw Martha’s sad face,
he knew that he had touched her raw nerve. “Sorry, but let’s be practical.” He
rose, kissed her as she walked with him to the door and waved to her as she
stood on her porch, a lonely and tense figure. She hadn’t really needed Norman
to underline her ‘condition’ so bluntly. Maybe he was tactless!
She was so disturbed that she couldn’t sit still. As tears threatened to
spoil the rest of the afternoon, she decided that she wouldn’t wallow in
self-pity, but make good use of her time. Suddenly she chuckled as she found
that her legs had automatically taken her to her desk. She wiped away the tumbling
tears, sat still for a moment and started from where she had left off in the
morning.
The week before the marriage was the worst period in his life. He was
torn between an intense longing for Myara and duty towards his beloved mother.
He had pondered over the possibility of his mother warning Myara to stay away
from him. Why else would she not come before him? Whenever he saw her in the
distance, walking with the happy Princess, he’d feel as if heart would stop
beating. Would he never get a chance to talk to her again? Find the truth? He
wanted to at least profess his deep love for her and let her know that he would
always be hers; come what may!
Of course, that would in a sense mean betraying Sara and the trust of
her parents, but he didn’t have a choice. The heart always chooses its own
path. Now his heart was clamoring only for Myara. How long would his marriage
last, he wondered. With this thought, a more worrying problem raised its head
in his already troubled mind. Would he be able to have conjugal relations with
Sara? Surely he would be expected to father an heir to the throne of Regina?
On the other hand, whenever Myara sensed him looking at her soulfully,
her heart twisted with unbearable misery. She couldn’t even show her discomfort
before Sara. Her best friend who had stolen her beloved! She knew that she was
being unfair as it was the other way round! She or rather her heart had stolen
Sara’s suitor. She should have known that she was playing with fire even as she
had felt the first stirrings of love for Juan. Why hadn’t she quashed them
right away? She had no answer. Now she faced a lifetime of loneliness and
despair without her soul-mate.
The sharp ringing of the phone made
Martha jump from her skin. So engrossed was she in weaving her story that she
was irritated with the unwanted interruption. She thought of ignoring the call
but then decided against it. If it was Norman’s, he’d be more cheesed with her.
After all, he only wanted her well-being! “Hello?” She inquired softly. A
somewhat familiar, deep voice with an Asian accent made her feel rejuvenated and
excited. It was John D’ Costa. “I hope that I am not disturbing you Mara. I
just wanted to hear your voice. It has been so long since we’ve spoken to each
other.” She felt warmth coursing through her veins. This was real pleasure.
Hearing that someone missed you! Wow!
She took a deep breath that
sounded like a sigh to John. “I hope you are in good health Mara. I am worried
about you. Would you mind telling me what’s going on? Why has Norman literally
kept me away from you, you know, with your transfer elsewhere and all that
nonsense? Are we some brats who have to be separated to be kept from quarreling
all the while?” He sounded so earnest that Martha laughed loudly into the
receiver. She was imagining young siblings who earned that punishment, not
grown-ups like her and John!
“Relax John. Norman only has my best interests at heart.” She debated
whether to tell him the truth or keep mum. But she felt that he’d feel better
on knowing the truth. She decided to ask John to refrain from mentioning it to
anyone in the office; including Norman. “I’m sure that you are astute enough to
realize that I am suffering from a psychiatric disorder. You see, I have been
writing a novel for long, now. I have, of late, started hallucinating and
imagining that I am surrounded by the characters in my novel. I know that I may
sound silly to you. But this is the truth. I’ve been to a psychiatrist with
Norman.”
Impatiently, John butted in. “But what has all this to do with our
working separately? I just don’t see the point.”
Wearily, Martha said, “Please have patience John. I’m getting to the
point. You resemble the hero of my novel. His name is Juan.”
She waited to hear the loud hoot of laughter that rang down the line. No
doubt John was highly amused and thinking that the charade was being carried
too far! She was happy to just hear his voice. She felt wistful, just like
Myara. There, she was as it again! She came back to earth and pleaded, “John
I’ll disconnect the call if you don’t hear me out and keep interrupting time
and again.” Sensing the seriousness in her voice he sobered and said, “O.K.
shoot!”
To be continued...
The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
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