“Hello…”
“Ma’am, I am sorry. I was feeling sick, so only I couldn’t lift your call. I couldn’t even inform you because I was sleeping from last night”
“It’s ok Raju. I understand.”
“Please don’t tell to Sir about this.”
“I won’t. But, do come out of your house and look outside. I am confused which is your house.”
Confused Raju, came out and watched from his balcony. He waved to me and talked over the mobile.
“What happened ma’am. Anything serious?”
“No. I was very much worried about you. That’s why I came to see you.”
“Ok. I will come home. You please go back home ma’am.”
“Why Raju? Won’t you invite me to into your house?”
“But this place is almost like a slum ma’am.”
“So what? There is nothing wrong in me coming to your house right?”
“No no. Not like that”
He came down and took me to his house. Actually, I shouldn’t say it as a house, it’s just a room. But I loved that place. He has just one room. The rest is open space. It’s in the fourth floor, and from where you can get a nice view of the nearby places. Especially the beach. The whole place looked like a heaven to me. As we entered the room, it was filled with his dresses completely. A typical bachelor’s room. He was trying to clean his place, since I was there. For him I was like a queen. So, he tried his level best to show that his place is one good palace. As I was sitting and looking around, he made tea for me.
“Hey, you are not feeling well, and why are you doing this?”
“Its ok ma’am. You have come to my place, and I should make you something.”
“Raju, stop treating me like a guest. Look at me like a normal friend”
“Ok ma’am.”
“And, please stop calling me ma’am. It really makes me feel old. Am I talking like a boss to you. I am friendly to you right? So call me with my name. FYI… It’s Janani.”
“Ok ma’am.. err.. Sorry, Janani.”
He felt very uncomfortble saying my name. But I really liked it when he said my name.
He was trembling while talking to me.
“Are you alright Raju? You still seem very sick”
“No Janani, I am all right.”
“Liar.”
I went near him and I touched his neck with my hand to feel his fever. It was hot.
“Did you take any medicines?”
“No, not yet”
“Are you crazy? You are not a kid. Don’t you know to take care of your health?”
He was smiling.
“I am not scolding you to smile. Realize what is happening around. You were there with me to make many big decisions in my business. Even today I had one meeting. But I couldn’t attend that without your inputs. I need you in all ways Raju. This is just a small thing, but I am trying to make you reach a good level. And I want you to take it seriously and understand what we are doing. Do you understand?”
“Yeah..”
I didn’t know whether he understood or not. But for me, he said yes.
“I missed you today. Infact I missed you for the last 2 days. I curse myself, that why I gave break to you on weekends. And this weekend, you didn’t even contact me by any means. I got you a mobile so that you can intimate me anything and everything. Why don’t you understand that?”
He was standing there silently without talking anything. Scolding him all the way, I went to the other side of the room, to the so called kitchen and made him some food to eat. He was not willing to let me do that. But since I was scolding him, he couldn’t do anything.