Paper Mache Love : #2 All Over Again

The second story in the series Paper Mache Love. A two part story. Here is Part I

All characters, incident and places are purely a work of fiction. However to give it a little authentic feel certain incidents, places or otherwise references have been used for creative reasons.

All over again

Over the years I had understood that what made my talks popular wasn't particularly what I said in my allocated time but it was these little impromptu Q & A sessions that I held at the end of each talk. This worked as an advantage for both the audience and me. Whenever I saw the interest in the audience lost I would end my talk and jump to these Q & A sessions. They were mighty popular. If the truth be told this was actually suggested by Kavya. She always had a way with people. Almost everyone that met her fell in love with her. "People need to hear what YOU think, not what YOU think they came to hear" she had told me once. 

Kavya, the social butterfly, the heart of the party, the problem solver, the pin-up girl of the hostel, she was all this and so much more. Kavya, the doting mother and loving wife. My wife and the mother of my children. The thought of kavya brought a smile on my face. How lucky was I to be married to her. She was indeed special. In all her special ways.

"Whats the difference between erotica and porn?" asked a sophomore drawing whistles from the guys in the audience. I was brought back to the auditorium from my thoughts about kavya.

"Rishi! whats the difference between erotica and porn" she asked again. I always made it a point for my audience to address me by my name. "It builds a connect" Kavya had said.

"Umm..To be honest I'd have say it's mostly the lighting" I said to a round of applause and whistles. My audience agreed. I thought to add that the treatise Kama-Sutra had listed 77 positions that when practiced would provide the pleasures few humans would have experienced. I chose to not elaborate on my answer that would go on to cover Dharma, Karma, and other facets of Indian Philosophy. I had won my audience. "It's a talk, not a tutelage" Kavya had reminded me time and again.

By the time I was done with the Q & A sessions it was almost 19:00. I took the car that the Rockefeller Foundation had provided back to my hotel. I just wanted to eat a little something and go on to Hangout with kavya. She'd be waiting. I hate being away from her.

The Rockefeller Foundation is a philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. My favorite city in the whole wide world after of course amchi Mumbai! City Beautiful. My hotel was close to the auditorium, I always made it a point to request to be put up close to where I was supposed to come and deliver my talks. As I entered the lobby of my hotel, the receptionist told me that there was a call asking if I had come in. "Kavya!" I thought. As I ran up to my room I realized the time difference and it felt like someone took my heart and crushed it into a million pieces.

Dejected I decided to head down to the bar to get myself a couple of drinks. It'll be a while before she'd be waking up. On my way to the bar I asked the receptionist to hold all calls and have someone inform me. I'd be at the bar.

By the look of the bar it seemed pretty up market. And the people were all enjoying themselves. I went straight to the bar and ordered my usual, 'Old Monk large with three ice cubes'. I almost knew how stupid I must have sounded as I said those words. I tried to cover up but was surprised to see a smile on Ricky's face, my bartender that night. 

Ricky or as I later found out Rakesh, was from Delhi and was working at the hotel as a bar tender.The patron of the hotel was an Indian. I had a couple of more drinks and my thought went back to Kavya. We both stayed on campus but I had never imagined ending up marrying her. I ran my fingers over my wedding ring. It was a platinum love band. She too had a similar one. We had our words engraved on both. Of course I had heard about her, who hadn't!. The complete hostel was head over heels but at that point in time I was dating someone else and it never mattered who Kavya- the hottie was.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts about Kavya that it was only after a while I realized  I was actually staring someone. In the dim light of the bar I couldn't see clearly. To save myself the embarrassment I smiled to this stranger across the bar and went to the washroom to relieve myself. I was hoping by the time I'd return the stranger would have left. When I came back to occupy my seat at the bar to my surprise finding the stranger gone made me happy and kinda sad, as if a known face in the bar was gone.

A mutual friend had first introduced us. Kavya was dating someone at that time but she always had time for me. We started spending more and more time together. Living in the campus together gave us enough reasons to keep spending time with each other. Then one day just like that, just like so many times before, the girl I was dating decided that I was not "enough". I was angry, sad but most importantly all my social interactions were cut-off. I had cut off from all my social circles except Kavya. I had tried to cut her off too but she was adamant, she wasn't going anywhere. "You do what you want to, I'm sitting here and not going anywhere and if you want to walk off. Go ahead I'll follow. I'm right here."

After my 8th I think I had lost track of how much and what was it that I was consuming. A faint fragrance of a concoction of different fruits brought me back into the bar. The bar, now gyrating to the boomy bass bring dropped by the resident deejay. I turned left as if being drawn by an invisible string of fragrance to find this maiden with a perfect hour glass figure.

Sitting in one of those high bar chairs, it was as if Aphrodite herself had descended into the bar and had chosen to sit right next to a mere mortal like me. She was wearing a LBD, Little black dress that did little to hide her curvaceous body. She had all the right weights at all the right places. It seemed to me that an expert craftsman had meticulously chisel every part of her. Her hair which was so bouncy that she had shifted all on one side in one swift move, revealing a collar bone with an infinite love tattoo. 

To be continued.