Fabrics of Fantasy – IV

“You better be good!”….

Shriya grabbed the crystal curved vase and threw it at his head. Straight hit. He tried to dodge, missed and reeled backward under the impact on his forehead. Shriya shrieked at her own violence. With a maniacal look, and blood oozing down the wound, Krish lunged forward, right at her.

She was sweating. Sitting ramrod straight, hands shaking, she clutched the form next to her. Krish groaned in his sleep, and turned, switching on the bedside lamp. He opened sleep rimmed eyes and stared up at the fear and craze in hers. His eyes widened and he reached out to her.

“Shri ? Anything wrong?” Comprehension arose, as he queried, ” Nightmare?”

She was gazing at him, trying to forget the image of his mock, blood and that look. It was not real, she convinced herself. This was him, Krish. Not the one in the dream, how could she have done that?

Krish was panicking, at the wild look in Shriya. He tightened his grip on her arms and asked gently, “Shri, it was a dream, relax. Whatever it was that you dreamt…. ” He had tried to embrace her, but she fought back. Pushing him away, she tried to get out of the bed. She almost staggered on her feet, but stood and looked at him. In the yellow dullness, her confusion and anger silenced him. Anger?

“I want a glass of water. Am going down.”

“Shall I get it for you Shri? You stay here…” He spoke too late. She had already gone downstairs to the kitchen.

The water made a swishing sound against the glass tumbler. She brought it to her lips, stopped and stared. A crystal glass. She shuddered.

“What is wrong Shri? ” He was leaning against the doorway, hands folded across his chest, confusion and anxiety portrayed in those light brown eyes of his. She had to look away, but she could not manage. She appraised him, to keep herself from getting reminded about the dream.

Tall, tall Krish. Six foot two. Broad shoulders. Dimpled in the left cheek, very prominently when he smiled. Three cornered grins. Those expressions in those eyes could flicker and change as and when they wanted to, making it tough to ever decide what he was feeling while looking into his eyes. Her husband of a year and a half.

“Well, Shri, feeling fine already? What are you staring at me that way for? Am sure you are not feeling naughty. Your eyes don’t shine, like they always do,” he was smiling at her, trying to make her feel relaxed, blend her into reality.

She drank down the water in silence and took a second glassful. She refilled it a third time, decided against drinking and threw it down the kitchen sink. Switching off the light, she strode past him up the stairs, and into their room. He followed, anger rising in him. Before she could reach the bed, he pulled her by the arm and made her face him. “What is wrong, Shriya? No, I don’t mean this dream or nightmare or whatever. There is something else happening here and I don’t quite understand. What have I done that you can ignore me so?”

She shrugged him off and sat on the bed. Before she slept, she spoke, “Nothing is wrong, Krish. Nothing. You don’t need to worry. ” It was a long time before either of them slept.

Morning was like any other morning had been. Both of them rushed through, getting dressed for work, stuffing in a light breakfast bite, and there was not much to be spoken in the hurry. They worked for the same investment bankers, both in the Financial Engineering Department. Shriya was an analyst, with Krish being her executive manager.

It was always a reason for much voluble bantering among their friends. They had been college mates, Krish a couple of years her senior. Still, they had hardly come across each other until that fated mountaineering trip that they had enrolled in at college. They were members of the Hobbies Club, and around 20 of its members, including our Hero and Heroine, had taken up a fancy to explore the delights of the Satpura Ranges in Central India. To cut a long, romantic story short, as if to demonstrate that their love was eternal and historical, they had fallen madly in love near the Pandava Caves at the Pachmarhi National Park, among tigers and foxes, hornbills and peafowls, sal and bamboo and a broken tree house stair, from which Shriya had slipped and Krish had helped.

Madly in love, yes. Shriya thought warily. It had been a celebrated coincidence that they both got recruited at the same concern. A whirlwind courtship later, it had been marriage. She winced. It was all confirmed madness.

At work, things were different. One could hardly see the factor that the two were a couple, if one did never know before. They followed the strict code of superior-assistant relationship, at least Krish stuck to it, while Shriya resented.

It was not fair, was it? How could Krish act so indifferent at work and then expect them to be total lovey-doves at home, just a few hours after insulting her for her sub standard work. She checked her anger, her work had not been exactly appreciable the last few months, but that was because of him too. Him and his newly recruited vamp of an analyst. What a name that girl had! Viral. Shriya had wondered aloud what the name meant, and Viral had quite firmly cleared the doubt. “Viral means precious, in Sanskrit origin. It is generally a boy’s name, Shriya. My parents expected a boy and chose this name, but I landed unexpected. They were in love with the name that they named me by it.”

Yes, she had landed unexpectedly in the middle of the souring relationship between Krish and Shriya.

Weird parentage, by the way, which set of self-respecting, child-respecting woman and man could call their child Viral? Kind of described the character, Shriya fumed.

It was not true that Krish had been all attention to her before Viral, but there was even more distancing now and she was sure that she was not imagining it. Viral was not strikingly smart, nor pretty in Shriya’s critical eyes, but she had a certain oomph factor that irritated. She was like ‘all girl’, that had men around the floor getting floored.

Her cubicle was so near Krish’s cabin. It was not coincidence, it had been alloted to her by Krish himself. Shriya was almost at the other end of the floor, with not so much as a peek view into his glazed glass workplace. Again, Krish’s deputation.

Something in her flared. What had gone this wrong between them? Why did he hate her? He must, else, at that meeting….

Last month had been a reality-nightmare. Or day-mare, whichever. They had all been present at the quarterly performance analysis meet, with conglomeration of the various managers and sub level executives. Krish had been one among them, and for some proud moments, Shriya had positively glowed with satisfaction seeing him there. Catching his eye, she had winked with a wide smile, and been rewarded with him reverting his attention back to the papers in front of him. He did look downright handsome in that light gray suit, and she could not look elsewhere. She did not bother too, about anybody watching her. After all they were married and could not a wife stare at her husband ?

It was somewhere in the middle of this preoccupation that she had heard her name being called. She smiled, and sorted out the papers in front of her. She was to give her report of the industry research and pitching that she had carried out. She had started out confidently, and spoke her way through the brief two side summary in her hand. She smiled as she finished, more at Krish than at anyone else. But something was wrong, they were waiting, not saying anything. She had looked around the group, gesturing with her hands that she had finished.

“Where is the merger modeling for Sun Systems, Shriya? ” This was Krish.

She had been confused, and with rising panic, “Merger modeling? I did not… uh, I did not know I was expected to present it…”

“Did not know? I had sent you a mail regarding that, and I am sure I did give out a list of things that had to be taken care of before this meeting.”

“No, I… It was not on the agenda,” she had accused.

“When did analyst’s reports feature in detail in the agenda? This is sheer ignorance and indifference.”

She had been startled at the hardness in his voice. Tears threatened their way out, and she sat in mortification, in front of a crowd of 25, humiliated and ashamed.

The Finance Manager, as affable as ever, had broken into the silence that had prevailed and addressed Krish. “It is maybe ignorance, but I am sure that the young woman was not indifferent, Krish. She will make up, am sure. ” He turned to Shriya, and had continued at her bowed-down head, “It is okay, Shriya, as long as you make good the lost time and submit individual copies to the executives and common information sheets to the departments. Okay?”

Shriya had nodded, grateful at the suggestion. Things might have been salvaging, and she could have almost smiled, when Krish spoke with controlled anger, ” That modeling is important and will have to be the final draft. You better be good.”

It had rang out all around her, stressing his warning and rage, amplifying it, in front of people who mattered in the organization, weakening her as if she was but an incompetent novice who could not tell an A from a B and failed miserably in routine work.

She cleared her mind now, recalling herself to the present. It had to be so, just as she was sure it was. Krish was interested in Viral, and trying to keep Shriya away, if possible, permanently. What else could explain the long hours that Viral spent with Krish, discussing work, glowing with the pride of important assignments, while Shriya practically withered with all the book keeping and excel-sheet stuff ?

That evening found them at home with hardly a word and some coffee to share.

“Want to go out for dinner?”

“No.”

“Why Shri, there is this new Italian eatery down the next street that has picked up quite a good reputation…”

“I know. I don’t want to go. I am not hungry,” she added, as if in explanation.

His eyes shadowed over and as if in exasperation, he confided, “I am quitting the job, Shri.”

“Quitting? Why suddenly? Lost interest? “

He smiled, a sad smile. With some difficulty and after a pause, he continued, ” Lost interest? Not at all Shri. Just that… it is tough carrying on there with you around. I have to make an extra effort to not keep glancing at you from time to time, not keep staring. I have to keep reminding myself that at work, we are committed to the company and have to give our best, and not, er…, flirt around. It is tough you know, even at meetings, not to keep staring at you across the table, it is silly in fact. I over reacted last month, and have been feeling guilty. I could not talk it over with you Shri, it hurt to remember the tears that day in your eyes. I had to show I was not affected, after all it is a corporate world. Viral bears most of the workload, again my overdoing, because I did not want people to assume favoritism, if I assigned you to it.”

“Is that why you put me at the other end of your cabin?”

“So that I could work without giving in to the urge to sneek glances at your through the glass? Yes.”

“Krish…”

“Sorry Shri.”

“K, you could have told me things. I imagined worse than you could have thought possible.”

“Like, maybe that I was interested in or involved with Viral?” he asked with the tease returning in his eyes.

“Yes, but,… Monster, you knew it all along!” she gave him a hard punch in his arm.

“Hey, hold it. Of course, I knew it. Added to the jealous effect in you that we men so love to see in our girls.”

“Maybe it is a good idea you are changing jobs, K. I could have kept punching you at work now that you have ‘enlightened’ me.

“Nah… You would have changed places with Viral, and kept making eyes at me, looking irresistible though the cabin glass, with poor me all heated up…..”

“Stupid, stop supposing things…. want to eat out?” she blushed, hurrying to stop him making her feel, well, feel all womanly.

“No we can order out.”

“And have a candle lit dinner at home?”

“Great idea, want me to invite Viral ? Maybe you can act the perfect waitress and serve ….,” he laughed and dodged the plastic vase that she threw at him….

[Aparna, Just could not think of making the story any other way, since it was your start line Maybe next time Appu, I will make it more Mills and Boons - ish ]