At the
restaurant, they had an elaborate three course dinner followed by the most
mouth-watering fruit custard dessert she had ever tasted. Both were too full
for coffee again and left after 10.30 p.m. Martha was feeling slightly drowsy
and found it hard to keep her head from nodding on to the doctor’s shoulder.
The Doctor had entertained her wittily throughout their meal and she had been
enchanted by the other side of his rather professional, stiff demeanor.
“You may
place your head on my shoulder Martha, I’ll not mind!” he said, as if guessing
her thoughts. She pretended to be too drowsy and nodded off to the side of the
closed window. When they reached home, she was fast asleep. The Doctor gently
nudged her shoulder saying, “Martha, we’re home. May we go upstairs, unless you
intend spending the night with me in this cramped car?” Martha bolted upright
and got out in a jiffy.
She was
feeling her heart fluttering at his closeness. Was she nervous, she thought?
Then she remembered the way he had been looking at her ever since he had
returned home from his clinic. He had appeared besotted by her. Yes, that was
why she was nervous about spending the night with him alone in his huge
apartment. She avoided looking at him feeling that he would astutely read her
thoughts. As they walked out of the elevator, she again had that uncanny sensation
of eyes following her movements from behind the closed door of their neighbor’s
apartment. Didn’t she have any other work to do? She wondered crossly.
When she
dressed for the night and again made a bee-line for the desk, the Doctor strictly
warned her, “Don’t overdo it Martha. Remember why you are here?” Feeling like a
chastened school-girl, she went in to her room and closed the door. She again
checked the bolt, Just in case! She
half-expected the Doctor to come knocking at her door. After midnight, she
slept like a baby and got up only to see that the Doctor had already prepared
breakfast. She felt very ashamed. She was taking the role of a patient too
seriously. She should have been the one who made the breakfast, in fact, she
owed it to him!
“Good
Morning Doctor,” she said. He looked from behind his newspaper and said
cheerfully, “So you slept well last night! Good morning Martha. Have some
French toast and coffee.” “Thanks Doctor, you are spoiling me!” “Martha, I’m
angry with you!” As a look of alarm and panic flitted across her beautiful
round face, he laughed and said, “You were supposed to call me Benny in
private, remember? I’m angry as you’ve not been calling me Benny, but the more
formal Doctor.”
“Oh,” she
laughed, secretly relieved. She had been expecting an admonition on waking up
so late. As she daintily started eating a piece of toast, she could feel his
eyes keenly watching her. He was looking at a tiny crumb that had found a cozy
place just near her pink lips. If only he could kiss it off her lips! He was
thinking. His heart was racing with excitement. She was looking so fresh and
gorgeous, innocent and warm… How would it feel like to hold her tightly in his
embrace? She averted her eyes and quietly kept eating, though she was feeling
terribly self-conscious.
She
furtively glanced at the neckline of her gown. It didn’t give away anything
except a slight hint of cleavage. As she looked up, she caught his dark gaze
and immediately felt her cheeks coloring in embarrassment. Would she ever
complete her novel with both of them so acutely aware of each other! She
wondered. So this was what happened when a spinster was in close proximity to
any male. She was sure that any other male's attention would have had the same effect on her.
On second thoughts, would it?
“Benny, I’m
planning on writing throughout the day, today,” she said, a tad too brightly;
to break the erotic spell that was engulfing both of them. He got her message
bang on. “Hands off” she seemed to be saying even as his thoughts were straying
into hitherto forbidden territory. With a very visible sigh he said, “I was
hoping to take you out to the marina and spend the entire day with you. If you
remember, today is Sunday. I’m free the whole day. I need a break from my
dreary routine Martha. Please, will you accompany me for at least half the day?
We’ll stroll around, do some shopping and have lunch on our way back. You can then
rest awhile and continue writing.”
Martha
knew that it would be improper if she refused to comply with his wishes. She
really couldn’t expect him to just waste his weekly off, sitting at home and watching
her write! “O.K. Benny! Let’s do it. I’ll be ready in 10 minutes.” She cleared
away the remnants of the breakfast from the coffee table and got ready. She
wore a frilly blue and white frock with a wide-brimmed white, felt hat and
carried a white sling bag. Her white strapped sandals completed the picture. She
had left her dark, long hair loose. It hung about in a very fetching way around
her shoulders and made her look like a 25 year old woman.
He wore
casual clothes, a navy-blue T-shirt and beige slacks with black sandals. He too
wore a black Stetson hat. Both of them looked like a honeymooning couple as
they joked and laughed, strolling hand-in-hand on the beach. They had held
hands almost naturally, instinctively. His grasp was firm and warm and hers was
soft and firm. He reveled in her touch. Contrary to her expectations, she
didn’t feel aroused by his touch. It was almost brotherly! All the better, she
thought. It wouldn’t complicate things for her.
John was
waiting just for her call in India. She suddenly felt very guilty. She had just
forgotten to call him after she came to the Doctor’s apartment. She hadn’t even
called up Norman. Belatedly, she realized that she had forgotten her cell-phone
at the apartment and she didn’t want to use the Doctor’s cell-phone. She’d just
have to wait till they reached the apartment in the afternoon and then call
both of them up. Since it was no use agonizing over her negligence, she decided
to enjoy herself till then.
To be continued....
The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
