Non-erotic Bonds of Love by sfraza

[pastispresent]

Chapter 5

Author's Note: Thanks everyone for the stupendous response. I am sorry for the delay, I was confused how to move this story forward or to move it forward at all. Please let me know your suggestions/feedback as always.

Neeta sat fuming at her desk. The past fifteen days had been a whirlwind of meetings, releases and deliverables and she hardly had time to catch a breath in between.

It was the onset of winter in Denver. There was a nip in the air as days got shorter and nights cooler. People had start wearing jackets and mufflers to work; if at all she could see any people around. Her office was in the suburbs and it was as deserted a landscape as could be.

Due to the cold weather Kabir and Neeta had decided to buy a vehicle which they would share for six months. They had looked up a couple of individual sellers in Craig List as it was supposed to be cheaper and Kabir was as miserly a desi as one could be found. As days gone by, Neeta had become a little weary of Kabir whose jokes were getting stale and repetitive and who passed almost all his evenings in the bar sipping beer. Neeta realized she was bored to death almost wished to find a silly cheerful Indian girl for company.

On a sunny Sunday they both went car hunting on a borrowed vehicle. The Toyota was in a terrible condition and at least 15 years old. The suspicious lady selling it was frail and emaciated and she looked at them as if they were termites. Kabir t and Neeta made a quick escape on hearing the exorbitant amount she quoted.

Next stop was an elderly man whose Honda at least looked decently maintained. Kabir asked for a test drive and he insisted on a license. They both had Indian licenses and this guy was not convinced they had the international permit to drive. “Don’t want a run the car into the neighbor’s house, man!” he raised his hands up.

Neeta was almost done car hunting by that time, but they had to make a last stop at an Indian’s house. Milind Joshi.

They rode up to a small house like so many others in the neighborhood but with an impressive courtyard. “So, what do you think, third time lucky”, Kabir casually asked her as he called up his number on the phone.

“I do not think so Indians are the most miserly, he will most probably try to sell us an accident hit run down Toyota with engine problems for as high a price as possible,”

Neeta retorted; exasperated with how the evening was turning out to be. She was tired. She wanted to go back and sleep to wake up early the next morning and make her routine video call to India before the family went to bed. There was a huge difference between the time zones and it was getting increasingly difficult to keep up with it.

A well-dressed man appeared in the driveway. He was quite lean muscular and tall. He hardly appeared desi, his gait and posture were all western. Neeta wondered if he was even Indian. Maybe a second generation. He had sunken cheeks, small buried eyes, and sand pepper hair.

He addressed them with a casual, “Hello how are you doing”.

Kabir grasped his hand in a warm handshake reserved only for fellow Indians in a foreign land, “We are good how are you doing”

Neeta merely nodded.

“The car is in the garage, come take a look”, he led them to a huge garage where a sleek convertible was parked near a not so old Toyota. It was the best-looking vehicle Neeta had seen all day.

“It is 10 years old, automatic, never been in an accident, in an excellent condition and I sound like my own advertisement” he laughed a little self depreciatingly. His small eyes exuded warmth. He did seem like a genuinely pleasant person.

Kabir tried to have small talk with him; Neeta however preferred to get straight to business and she started to inspect the car.

“Where do you work? How long you have been in the USA”.

Well, maintained seats, not leather but the fabric did not look old.

“Infotech, no I am a US employee. As a matter of fact; I am Canadian; shifted here two years back. Here take the keys”, he addressed her suddenly. She took it.

The engine made good noise.

“I fell in love with the mountains, just could not leave.”

Gear was smooth. Air Conditioner worked. There was no funny odor either.

“The mileage is a little too much for a 10-year-old”, he turned to her again. He was more interested in showing off the car than in the chat but was too polite to end it, “I drove around a lot” This time the warm smile and gaze was exclusively directed at her.

How old was he?

Neeta took it out for a test drive, Kabir still chatting up to Milind about how different this land was from India, about family back there. Neeta cringed, Milind was not a desi. He did not care about India or meeting fellow Indians. But he was keen on selling and was generally agreeable. He even spoke a few sentences in Hindi and laughed at his pathetic attempt. The car, of course, had nothing bad going for it.

Neeta was glad that finally their deal could be sealed. She asked for the price. He asked for 4800 $.

Neeta offered $4000.

He smiled at her as if someone inconsequential and told her, he won’t go for less than $4500 and only because they were from India. Neeta felt that he was mocking them and Kabir for playing the desi card. She suddenly felt fury bristling through her at his impudence and arrogance, the same wrath she had felt so many times in India, so many times at her own hubby. At her own helplessness, her lack of freedom.

“Our price is not negotiable, thank you very much for your time”, she told him stiffly and turned around leaving Kabir dumbfounded. He stumbled behind her, gave her ‘What the hell’ look but to his credit drove off noiselessly.

After a few minutes, he ventured to speak. “Madam,” he told her lightly, “we will not get a car this way, did you never shop in Indian markets and bargained”. She remained silent.

“Car was good”, he spoke again regretfully. He was aware something had happened but was not sure what and was not really interested in finding out either. No wonder he drove his wife mad.

“Sorry Kabir”, Neeta apologized a little sulkily. She was not his wife, he did not deserve this from her.

“I got a little pissed off by his attitude. I thought he was mocking us” Why cannot she be like that with her own husband, accepting her mistake, meting out a sincere apology. Maybe when you were in a marriage the equations changed.

Kabir shrugged, “Ma’am, even if he was, So what. Even at 4300 dollars the car was good enough to take. How long do you plan to walk to Walmart for groceries? Winter is coming.”

Neeta remained silent.

“He was a little cunning, though, I could tell the moment I saw him”, Kabir added after a little while.

Neeta giggled. She now felt in control and was plain happy that she behaved the way she did. She was glad for once that she did not care of what will happen if she did not stick to the social norms.

“Why don’t you call him and say we agree for 4300 and finish the registration yourself. Just do not bring me in. I will pay my half”. She offered a truce.

Hmm, Kabir said nonchalantly. He was not going to call, Neeta knew. Kabir agreed to things, he did not initiate.

Two days passed, and Neeta thought the chapter was over, but the next Sunday she walked into Burger King for lunch and saw Milind having his big king burger on the counter. He stood directly facing her and was as surprised as her at the coincided He waved at her and she nodded, feeling a little awkward. She went to the counter ordered a chicken sandwich. She would have taken a takeaway, but it was a 10-minute walk back to the hotel.

She took her place as far away from him as possible near a window overlooking an empty parking lot. It was a cold and dry day as usual out there.

He approached her. “Bought a car yet” he inquired lightheartedly.

She laughed, “No, did you sell yours yet”

“Oh, shouldn’t be that big a problem”, he nodded his head and pointed towards the table “May I sit down.”

Neeta was surprised at this request and felt uncomfortable. But she gestured him to go ahead. What could he want with her now? She waited expectantly for him to start a conversation.

He went in for small talk. Denver, the weather, when did they come. How was her company? What role did she play etc.

Milind’s presence was magnetic. His eyes though small were appealing and expressive. His way of speaking sophisticated that cut across cultures and geography. Here was the man who would be comfortable anywhere. He seemed genuinely interested in her and Neeta felt her cryptic replies were appearing rude, and she was conversing with him more and more. It was as if he was gently coaxing her to open. But to what end was something she could not understand, he did not look as if he wasted his time chatting with almost strangers or needed to.

“Oh you are married with two big kids; how did you manage to leave them for so long”, Milind was genuinely astounded.

To Neeta however, it was like rubbing a fresh wound.

“How old are you”, she snapped back. She was behaving with this man like an old frustrated spinster.

“33”, he was not offended, his eyes had rolled back a little at the abruptness of the question, though. “And you?” This was his charm Neeta thought, it did not seem like he ever got annoyed.

” I’ am married with two big kids, you should not ask me this”, she was four years older than him, so there was no reason to feel intimidated by him; at least in her culture.

“Oh, I assure you, you look quite young” Milind added chivalrously. Neeta felt pathetic, she felt like an middle aged married lady fishing for compliments. Her face must have shown embarrassment for Milind changed track quickly.

“So, the Toyota, let us say 4.3 and settle it, you know you will be stealing it from me at 4K and I can assure you it is a good car.”

So that is what it was all about. The car. Good, he was trying to sell. Neeta remembered that he was a marketing guy, something in public relations. Selling was his profession Maybe that’s all what he was trying to do since the moment he saw her. Sell the goddamn car. He must have taken her stubborn refusal as a challenge.

But Neeta was in no mood to haggle, anymore. Kabir had been extremely lazy and was more interested in playing buddies with the US professionals to fix their immediate problem. She realized the onus lied on her to fix stuff.

“Let us go and get the car checked by the mechanic first and see what comes out of it”, she told him diplomatically making sure the negotiation remained open-ended. If he thought of her as a hard-balling bitch, so much the better.

But he was a marketing guy and was not easily fooled. He expanded his shoulder broke into his warm smile as if at a victory won and said “Excellent, I know a good mechanic”

They exchanged numbers, fixed up Monday noon as rendezvous time to go to the mechanic and both came out of the restaurant at the same time. He offered her a lift back to Hotel, but she refused.

The convertible was parked outside. It must have cost a fortune. Milind looked glamorous and caddish as he jumped into it and waved her goodbye. Neeta wondered if he was married as he rode by. Not likely, she decided. Married men did not look so goddamn pleased with themselves all the time; their wives would not let them be.