21-10-2022, 09:24 AM
A week or so later is when the first seeds of doubt were planted in my mind. I had forgotten to take my lunch box with me, a fact I noticed only around 11 a.m. or so. I had kept it under the dining room table as I had breakfast, so even Ketaki must not have noticed. So I called her up.
"Ketaki, I forgot my lunch box. I think it's under the dining table."
"Let me see." she said. "Yes, I see it."
"Okay. I'll send Fahim to pick it up."
"What?" Ketaki said in a panicky voice.
"I said I will send Fahim to pick it up."
"No no no. Don't do that." she said.
"Why?"
"Umm....I will bring it to you."
"You? Why do you want to take the effort? I'll send Fahim over."
"Sameer, NO!" she said emphatically, and I was taken aback. Then in a softer voice she said, "I have to get some shopping done near office anyway. And Pintu is at college right now, so I was thinking of going there. So I'll just drop it off myself."
"Are you sure?" I asked, confused.
"Yes. I'll just change and come. I'll leave the lunch box at your reception." she said and hung up.
I stared at the phone in confusion. And started wondering what the hell that was about.
That's when I started thinking about this in depth. The way she had abruptly ended the conversation that night I returned from Bangalore, when I started talking about Fahim. The way Fahim first just said "Ketaki" when he saw her, and after a long pause, added the "madam". Add to it the fact that when I had the old driver, Ketaki would accompany me to the car every morning and kiss me goodbye. Since Fahim took over, she stopped coming out of the house when I was leaving for work. Even in the evening when I returned, she wouldn't come out to the gate with Pintu like she used to.
All this led to just one conclusion - Fahim and Ketaki had some sort of a history, something that went beyond being just acquaintances from the village. Something Ketaki had not told me. And did not seem to want to tell me.
That night, after Pintu went to sleep, I sat on the living room couch and asked Ketaki to join me.
"Ketaki, I forgot my lunch box. I think it's under the dining table."
"Let me see." she said. "Yes, I see it."
"Okay. I'll send Fahim to pick it up."
"What?" Ketaki said in a panicky voice.
"I said I will send Fahim to pick it up."
"No no no. Don't do that." she said.
"Why?"
"Umm....I will bring it to you."
"You? Why do you want to take the effort? I'll send Fahim over."
"Sameer, NO!" she said emphatically, and I was taken aback. Then in a softer voice she said, "I have to get some shopping done near office anyway. And Pintu is at college right now, so I was thinking of going there. So I'll just drop it off myself."
"Are you sure?" I asked, confused.
"Yes. I'll just change and come. I'll leave the lunch box at your reception." she said and hung up.
I stared at the phone in confusion. And started wondering what the hell that was about.
That's when I started thinking about this in depth. The way she had abruptly ended the conversation that night I returned from Bangalore, when I started talking about Fahim. The way Fahim first just said "Ketaki" when he saw her, and after a long pause, added the "madam". Add to it the fact that when I had the old driver, Ketaki would accompany me to the car every morning and kiss me goodbye. Since Fahim took over, she stopped coming out of the house when I was leaving for work. Even in the evening when I returned, she wouldn't come out to the gate with Pintu like she used to.
All this led to just one conclusion - Fahim and Ketaki had some sort of a history, something that went beyond being just acquaintances from the village. Something Ketaki had not told me. And did not seem to want to tell me.
That night, after Pintu went to sleep, I sat on the living room couch and asked Ketaki to join me.
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