Five-Thirty AM - XXV

Dev really hadn’t meant to call Noel away on Monday morning. He had every intention of letting Noel stay and spend time with his parents. But there were problems, and Noel had to go in for some rehearsals. Usually the rehearsal happened before the shooting, but the script had been tweaked. Noel had a fair chunk of dialogue to memorize.

So it was only Mr. and Mrs. Figueiredo and the faithful Shomu at home that Monday morning.

Shomu sat down to tell them about Mitul. That Noel baba had her photograph on his bedside table. However, when he went into Noel’s room to get the photo it wasn’t there! He told them that Mitul seemed like a nice girl, but what she was doing here, he had no idea. They had sat in the living room, talked and drunk coffee.

However, he could tell them that Dev and Noel had often discussed Mitul in his hearing, when they thought he wasn’t listening. From what he understood, Noel baba now did not want to be with Mitul and Dev baba was angry about it.

It was at this interesting juncture in the tale that the doorbell rang. Shomu ran to open the door to a very pleasant-looking couple in their late-forties-early fifties.

They said they were looking for Noel.

‘You must be the Puris,’ said Mrs. Figueiredo, coming up behind Shomu, folding her hand in a namastey. ‘Please, come in.’

Mr. Puri shook hands with Mr. Figueiredo. ‘Nitin Puri and this is my wife, Swati,’ he introduced themselves.

Mr. Figueiredo likewise, introduced himself, ‘Matthew and my wife, Maria.’

‘Please, have a seat,’ Maria said. When they all were seated comfortably, she continued, ‘we’ve heard so much about you and your family. Thank you for opening your home to him.’

‘It was our pleasure, believe me. We loved having him stay with us,’ Swati smiled. ‘He became such good friends with our daughters and their fiances. We just had to invite him for the wedding.’ She held the card in her hand.

‘Oh, I am sure he will be more than happy to attend,’ Matthew assured them.

‘We would love to have you join us as well,’ Nitin finally spoke up, seeing his wife’s unspoken plea. ‘And I will not take no for an answer,’ he said firmly, handing over the card, to which he’d added their names.

Matthew chuckled and said, ‘well, when you put it like that, how can we refuse? it would be my honor to attend the wedding.’ He took the proffered card.

‘Weddings,’ Swati corrected. ‘The twins are getting married on the same day. So it’s a double wedding.’

‘That’s wonderful!’ exclaimed Maria. Like all women the thought of a wedding sent her into a tizzy.

‘By the way, where is Noel? Piya said he’d be here?’ Swati was looking around.

‘He had to go for some rehearsals this morning. Something came up,’ his father said.

‘Oh! we’re sorry to miss him. I’m sure we’ll see him soon,’ Swati replied. ‘We really didn’t expect a Bollywood actor to be so down-to-earth and real, he has no airs, nothing.’

‘Thank you,’ said Matthew humbly. ‘He’s the baby in the family. And though we tend to spoil him, we’ve tried to give all our sons the right upbringing.’

‘And it shows,’ Swati said sincerely. ‘He’s a wonderful human being. The six of them had become so close in such a short time, that we felt it was one large family.’

Swati had just pointed to the big fat elephant sitting in the room, in their midst.

‘The other five being your daughters, their fiances, and your niece, Mitul, I believe her name is?’ Maria asked. She was curious to know more about this girl that seemed to have captured her youngest’s fancy.

‘Yes,’ said Swati, ‘Mitul, is my younger sister’s daughter.’

‘I see.’

‘She introduced him to us. She’s writing his biography, I believe.’

A thick awkward pause followed. Nitin got up, clearing his throat. ‘Swati, we have many other places to go to. I think we should take our leave.’

And so the Puris and the Figueiredos parted ways until they were to meet again.

At the elevator, Nitin looked at his wife and said, ‘well, they seem like nice people.’

‘Hmmm,’ was the noncommittal answer he got.

In the living room, Matthew stood looking after them. ‘Quite nice folks,’ he remarked.

‘Hmmm,’ was the noncommittal answer he got.

*****

Noel returned back from rehearsals in the evening. He was heading into his room, when his mother stopped him.

‘Noel,’ she called from the living room. ‘Come and sit with me for a bit.’

‘Sure, Ma,’ he came back and obediently sat down.

‘The Puris had come by,’ she said. ‘They invited us, too.’ She smiled at him. ‘They seem like nice people.’

‘Oh, they are,’ he answered honestly. ‘I had a great time with them. You’d love the twins. They look identical and are completely different.’ He smiled reminiscently.

‘And what about Mitul?’ she asked. ‘What is she like?’

‘She’s my biographer, Ma.’ The changed timbre in his voice didn’t escape his mother’s notice, nor did the heightened color in his cheekbones.

She raised her eyebrows questioningly. ‘Do you like her?’

He looked his mother straight in the eye and said, ‘It’s immaterial, Ma. Writing a biography has nothing to do with liking or not liking a person.’

His mother looked at him with what he called her ‘teacher’s expression’, that said ‘Are you trying to hide something from me?’ ‘You brought her home, Noel,’ she rebuked gently.

He gave an exasperated laugh and said, ‘Ma. It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t like me that way. So whether I like her or not, doesn’t matter.’ He finally gave in to the frustration in his heart.

She sat back. That wasn’t quite how she pictured her baby’s love life blossoming. It was heart wrenching to see him looking away from her, red flags in his cheeks. He abruptly got up and walked into his bedroom and shut the door.

Memories of the time when he would do that came roaring back into her head. ‘Noel!’ she got up and knocked on his door. ‘Noel! Open the door! Noel!!’ she was almost frantic, beating on it with the flat of her palm.

He flung open the door. ‘Ma! What’s wrong?’ He grabbed her arms and then hugged her. ‘What happened?’

‘Nothing,’ she said, hugging her son tight, her heart still pounding in fear.

‘I’m not going to do anything stupid, Ma,’ he said, pulling back and kissing her forehead. ‘I love you too much for that.’ He hugged his mother again.

*****

The lounge Piya had picked was a jazz bar. The theme was New Orleans. A small jazz band played music in a corner. Red, and gold and black dominated the room. A handkerchief sized dance floor held a few couples swaying to the beat. The small group had found a round table by one of the banquettes and were sitting and chatting. Noel and Dev had also arrived and Noel introduced Dev to them, much to Piya’s relief - that his date was really a male friend! Piya-Jiya’s uncle’s son and his girlfriend had also joined them, and were quite surprised to find a celebrity in their midst. Mitul and her sister were yet to make an appearance.

Noel found his glance flicking to the door every so often looking for her, while he nursed his one glass of red wine. He was glad he was in company where he could relax and be himself.

Dev excused himself to go to the washroom, and left the table.

Mitul and Myna were running late, surprisingly, because of Mitul. She’d been agonizing over what to wear, until she settled on a hunter green flowing thigh high sheath. The shoulders were held together by strings only at the very top. The chiffon material of the dress flowed loosely over an under layer of darker green silk. Around her neck she wore a chunky beaded necklace of topaz and silver, which complement the washed out color of the flowers printed on the chiffon. The same stones studded the wide bracelet on her wrist. Nude stilettos raised her by a good three inches.

Noel felt something inside him stop and start racing as soon as he saw her, his Earth goddess, come walking slowly towards him, her hair flying softly with each step. She looked sexy and sultry and beautiful all at the same time, without even trying to. She was gold and green and brown, and he just wanted to drown in the lushness of her. He drank in the sight of her, feeling like he’d been parched for ages and had just been given a whole well to drink from. His eyes fell on the silver anklet that glittered on her right ankle. The sudden tightening of his body told him he didn’t have to worry about his body betraying him. It already had!

He didn’t even notice the girl next to her, tall, lissom, leggy and gorgeous in a coral dress - who made a beeline for their table as soon as she spotted Piya. Her eyes fell on Noel, widened and she slid into the banquette next to him, leaving Mitul to sit across the table from him. A flurry of introductions brought him back to earth.

‘Noel!’ said the leggy, lissom lady. ‘I’m Myna, Mitul’s cousin.’ She held out a hand.

He shook it and smiled. ‘Nice to meet you, Myna.’

‘Nice to meet you, Noel,’ she giggled. ‘Can I get something to drink?’ she turned her head and asked the person standing next to her, assuming it to be a server.

Her mouth dropped open as her eyes fell on Dev. ‘You!’ she snapped. ‘What are you doing here?’

The others at the table stared.

‘Actually, you’re sitting at my seat. That’s my drink,’ he smirked. ‘So the question should be, what are you doing here?’ he asked her.

‘Well, I’m sitting here,’ she said, passing a hand possessively through Noel’s arm. ‘Just go sit beside Mitul Di,’ she waved her hand dismissively in Mitul’s direction.

Dev looked her up and down, picked up his glass, and sat down next to Mitul. ‘Hey, Mitul, how are you?’ he asked her gently, hugging her shoulder.

‘Dev,’ she smiled genuinely. ‘I’m good. How are you?’

‘What can I get you to drink?’ he asked her, leaving the arm around her shoulder.

‘Wait a minute.’ Myna was now totally confused. ‘Mitul Di, you know this guy?’

Myna nodded. ‘Dev is Noel’s friend,’ she said. ‘Dev, that’s my cousin, Myna.’

He grinned at Myna, raising the glass in mock salute at her, ‘Maina,’ he said. He watched the flare in her eyes with satisfaction. She was reminded of the last time he’d done that to her. ‘We’ve met.’

Piya raised her hand. ‘Just how do you know Myna, Dev?’ she was the confused one now.

‘I’ve bumped into Myna a couple of times. She does tend to ... leave an impression,’ he said suggestively.

Noel choked. He’d suddenly figured out who Myna was! Dev’s Ms. Chanel No.5! He’d been sitting there next to her, the perfume overpoweringly strong in his nose, and suddenly it all made sense! He choked. With laughter. Dev smirked. Mitul glared at Myna, as she rubbed her hand on Noel’s back soothingly. The rest of the table just looked on baffled.

‘Piya, you never told me you knew Noel,’ Myna said. They knew the hottest new hunk in town and no one had told her?

‘Actually,’ Jiya replied. ‘Noel is Mitul’s friend. That’s how we know him.’ She was leaning back on Rajan, feeling rather pleasant on her second glass of pinot grigio.

‘Mitul Di, how come ...?’ she started asking, when Mitul cut her short.

‘How does it matter who I know, Myna,’ she said. She took a sip of the wine she’d ordered, only to look straight into Noel’s eyes.

She shuddered from the jolt of that one look. It was intense, passionate and full of a raw hunger that he made no attempt to hide. She gasped at the shock.

Piya was watching with growing anger as Myna draped herself over Noel and completely monopolized him. She could see he was just being friendly, but Myna being Myna was undigestible at best. Mitul had grown progressively quieter, even though she did contribute to the conversation. Dev kept taunting Myna, who ignored him. She wondered for the hundredth time why she’d even thought of having an evening out. It was a complete disaster!

The other three couples escaped to the floor, leaving Myna, Dev, Mitul and Noel sitting there.

‘Noel, come and dance,’ Myna said.

‘Sorry Myna, I’m not in the mood to,’ Noel said.

‘Oh come on!’ she whined. ‘Just one dance’ll make your mood better.’

He looked across at Mitul. She refused to meet his eyes. ‘Okay, just the one dance,’ he agreed.

He led her onto the floor, holding her loosely, not attempting to bring her any closer, although Myna kept attempting get as close as she could.

Dev watched her wondering why, even when she behaved like this, he still wanted her.

Mitul just wanted the earth to open up and swallow her.

‘Excuse me, Dev,’ she said, standing up. ‘Washroom,’. He watched her walk away and turned to look at Noel, who was watching her back over Myna’s head.

Dev sat there alone, and after a while, he realized that he had been sitting there for quite some time, and there was no sign of Mitul. He got up and casually walked out. He couldn’t hang out near the ladies’, so he stepped out of the club into the cooler air of the night on the terrace. A dark figure stood at the edge of the terrace, looking up at the stars.

Mitul had been miserable all evening. She had half-expected him to be there, seeing how excited Piya had been about tonight! She’d thought they would just talk politely as they usually did. She would get a chance to take him aside, explain to him what had happened.

But now, here he was. Dancing with Myna, while she was the one who wanted to be dancing with him! All the reasons that she’d had for pushing him away, had come back to haunt her again.

She wasn’t going to cry, she thought. No more. She’d shed enough tears over Noel James Figueiredo.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around.

Dev. ‘Hey,’ she said, in a small voice.

He looked seriously at her for a long moment. ‘I came to find you. You were gone a long time.’

She gave a sad smile and said, ‘thanks!’

‘What are you doing, Mitul?’ he asked.

She frowned, puzzled. ‘What am I doing?’ she asked.

He sighed. Seeing Maina with Noel was eating at him. But he had to make sure Mitul understood first. He’d handle Maina later.

‘Are you just going to let that cousin of yours walk all over Noel?’ he leaned against the wall, arms crossed, the question casual.

Mitul could sense that this question had undertones that she was not yet aware of.

She sighed and looked back into the room through the glass doors. Noel was dancing rather sedately with Myna. His eyes followed hers.

‘What can I do?’ she asked still in that same small voice. ‘Noel will always be surrounded by women. They will always want a piece of him. He’s dating that model. I know that as an actor he will always have women around. But I can’t be sitting around waiting for him to throw me a crumb of his attention. And then if someday he gives in to that temptation, I’ll ... I wont be able to take it.’

She shook her head, wondering why she was telling Dev all this. ‘I had wanted to tell him about it, the day I came to the studio, but he became distant, polite. And I couldn’t. So I pushed him away, again’ she said softly.

‘To protect your heart,’ he finished for her.

She looked at him surprised he understood her.

He surprised her even further by smiling at her. ‘Did you ever think that Noel is also trying to protect his heart?’

‘What?’ she was shocked.

He nodded. ‘I think I should let Noel tell you himself. Do you still need time to talk to him?’ She nodded. ‘Okay, but first, go get him,’ he said.

She looked uncertainly towards the door and then back at him. Impulsively, she gave him a hug and said, ‘you’re the best!’ She walked back confidently into the room.

Noel watched over Myna’s head, as she came in, followed by Dev. He couldn’t read the expression on her face, but she walked right up to them, and tapped Myna on the shoulder.
‘Can I cut in?’ she asked politely. Myna glared at her before relinquishing her place.

Piya grinned and looked at Anuj. He held her close and said, ‘I told you they’ll find a way to make it work.’

‘Yes, you did. But if they hadn’t, I’d have banged their heads together to make them see sense!’ she said fiercely, before being silenced by a long kiss by him.

‘Pay attention, Piya,’ he said softly, letting her lips go for just a second. ‘I don’t want you thinking of any other man when I kiss you.’

She agreed enthusiastically, and kissed him back.

*****

Noel couldn’t believe his eyes when Mitul cut in. He held out his hands to her, and she placed her tiny hands in his big ones. He brought her left hand to his chest, holding it secure, while he placed her right hand on his shoulder. His left hand snaked around her waist pulling her close, flush against him. Her eyes widened as she felt the heat from him over her skin.

‘Hi,’ he said in that husky voice.

‘Hi!’ she replied.

They didn’t say another word. Just looked into each other’s eyes as they danced, oblivious to the rest of world. At some point, he looped both his hands around her waist, pulling her closer still. He lowered his face into the cloud of fragrance and silk that was her hair, her face buried in the crook of his neck and sighed deeply. He was at peace. Lord knew what Dev had told her there, whatever he did, it seemed to have worked. Mitul was finally back where she belonged. In his arms.

*****

Dev was sitting alone, swirling his glass of Scotch, when Myna walked back to the table. Her back was stiff with anger. He smiled at her, the smile of a predator when it sees its prey. She sat down and raised her chin, before downing her glass of wine.

He raised his glass at her, leaned forward and said, ‘so we finally meet again, Maina.’ He took a sip, savored the taste before swallowing it. ‘It’s been a while.’

She glared at him, as she raised her empty glass at him. ‘It wasn’t long enough.’

‘Tell me, Maina,’ he sprawled back, lazily. ‘Why are you so angry with me?’ He seemed genuinely curious.

‘Why couldn’t you have kept Mitul Di on the terrace?’ she answered him with one of her own. ‘I was just getting to know Noel.’

‘So you’re cousins. I told you I felt I should know you,’ he was still smiling.

‘Yeah. We are,’ she dismissed. ‘But right now, she’s where I should be,’ she growled looking at Mitul and Noel dancing, envy writ large upon her face.

Something changed in his face, became harder, harsher. He narrowed his eyes. ‘Are you really that blind? Or can’t you see beyond the nose on your face?’ his eyes glittered with suppressed rage.

‘How dare you?’ she said.

‘I dare, because someone’s gotta tell you,’ he muttered. With a swift move, he got on his feet, grabbed her arm and before she knew what was happening, he’d dragged her half-way across the room to the terrace.

‘Let me go!’ she hissed, frantically trying to twist her arm out of his grip. His fingers only clamped down harder.

He didn’t stop until they’d reached the terrace. He pulled into a shadowed corner, pushing her against a wall and let go, his big shoulders blocking any escape route.

Myna was genuinely scared now. ‘What’re you doing?’ she asked, her eyes wide, panting from both exertion and fright.

He ignored her question, leaning into her, his face inches away from hers. His beautiful eyes, now hardened into pebbles. ‘Tell me, Maina, what have I ever done to you for you to treat me like shit?’

She glared at him, and looked away. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, the shadows on his face truly frightening her. But she refused to back down.

‘Because men like you are a dime a dozen,’ she spat out. ‘All you see is a pretty face, and you start chasing it.’

He stepped back. ‘Is that what you think?’ his voice was low, dangerous.

‘You’ve been hitting on me from day one. What else am I supposed to think?’

*****