Five-Thirty AM - XXXVI

Noel and Mitul sat side by side in a corner of the VIP lounge at Mumbai Domestic airport. They’d arrived separately and met in the lounge, to avoid any unnecessary gossip. Now they sat over cups of coffee, her hand firmly in his, discussing the latest dilemma in their lives, namely, Dev and Myna.

Not that it was really a dilemma, per se. But it had the potential to blow up into one. Mitul was narrating her aunt’s call to Noel.

‘So she said that Myna should call back as soon as she got home,’ she finished. She took a sip and continued. ‘So Myna comes home, happy about the job. And we had to tell her this. Poor thing,’ she sat quietly for a while. He squeezed her fingers, gently. She held his hand tight.

‘Chachi was mad at her, of course. Told her she had to marry this guy. And then, Myna tells her straight off - Ma, I’m not going to marry that guy. And next week, I’ll tell him that to his face. Happy now?’ She did a good job of imitating Myna.

He smiled at that, knowing that this was a changed Myna, or rather, a Myna who had learnt to use her obstinacy for the right things. Selfishness is sometimes a virtue. ‘What did your aunt say?’

‘She started crying. The emotional blackmail thing. Myna stayed firm, although you could tell she was trying hard not to give in to her mother. She was digging her nails into my hand so hard. I really, really felt bad for her.’

He looked at the woman in front of him. He loved this side of her. She’d not only forgiven her sister for her childishness, she was now firmly in her camp to help her in her goals. No wonder he loved her!

Mitul sighed, looked away. He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face up to his. Public displays of affection was one thing Noel was uncomfortable with or rather had been uncomfortable with. But with Mitul, he didn’t really care who saw him, or how they saw him. He. Just. Didn’t. Care. So he leaned forward and gave her a kiss to cheer her up.

‘How’s Dev?’ she asked, after she took a few deep breaths.

‘He’s suffering. But he deserves it. He had no right to speak to her the way he did. But why’s she not taking his calls?’ he asked.

‘She needs space right now, Noel. She needs to be away from Dev, to understand what she wants out of that relationship. I’ve no doubt at some point they’ll find each other, but right now, she doesn’t need him in her life.’

‘It’s hitting him hard,’ his voice was sad for this friend.

‘I know,’ she said. They sat there in silence for a bit, and then their flight was announced. His phone beeped at the same time with a text message.

‘It’s Naval,’ he said, as he read it. ‘Their flight is landing around about the same time ours is. So he wants us to wait, and we’ll go home together.’

‘They as in?’ She was nervous. In two hours, she would be meeting his brother and who else?

‘His fiancee, Pakhi,’ he explained.

‘Pakhi?’ she frowned puzzled.

‘Pakhi is Bengali for bird,’ he said.

‘She’s a Bengali?’ she was surprised.

Noel nodded. However, before he could say anymore, their flight was called. They picked up their bags and walked to the gate.

The flight to Goa was short and uneventful, and they waited till everyone was off the flight, before getting off to avoid inquiring eyes.

They waited by the gates as the Delhi flight landed and soon the passengers began streaming out of the gates.

Mitul watched as a tall man, almost as tall as Noel, and almost as handsome, strode out of the gates. His hair was brown, and his eyes as green as his brother’s. He had the same lean physique. She’d have known anywhere that this was Noel’s brother, there was so much resemblance between them.

With him was a tall slim woman, at least five-eight, with dusky skin tones, brown eyes and short straight, chin-length black hair. She had large almond shaped eyes, and a small straight nose. Her lips were full but not too full. She didn’t wear much makeup, just a hint of mascara and lip gloss. Her skin was glossy and completely free of any kind of blemish.

Noel walked towards them, and was enveloped in a hug by Naval. He then hugged Pakhi, and turned around to introduce Mitul, who’d been standing a little to the side, watching this family reunion.

‘Naval, Pakhi,’ he put an arm around her waist, possessively, smiling down at her, ‘this is Mitul.’

‘Hey, Mitul,’ Naval gave her a warm smile and then impulsively hugged her.

Pakhi was smiling widely at her, and gave her a hug as well, ‘welcome to Goa.’ She had the typical melodious voices that Bengalis had, but the accent was pure American!

‘Thanks,’ she said.

The four of them headed out, and were soon on their way home in the car their father had sent.

‘When’s Naveen coming?’ Noel asked from the back seat. He sat at one end, with Mitul in the middle, and Pakhi on her other side.

Naval sat up front, and half-turned in his seat to answer him. ‘He should be here later tonight.’

‘He’s got an important presentation to complete,’ Pakhi added.

Mitul watched as the conversation flowed around her. Her eyes flew to Noel, and found him looking at her, his eyes narrowing in that manner that told her he wanted to be alone with her. His hand was across the back of her seat, his thumb lightly caressing the skin on the back of her arm. She leaned back against him, as he turned to the others and continued talking to them. All of her was focused on that thumb and what it was doing to her senses.

They drew up after a longish drive at a bungalow styled house, with a long verandah running across the front. It reminded her of the cabin in cottage country. Matthew and Maria came out to greet them, and finally Mitul was face to face with Noel’s mother.

She was a short, petite woman, dressed in a sari. She cupped Mitul’s face in both her hands, kissed her forehead and said, ‘welcome to Goa, Mitul,’ in a very sweet voice. She couldn’t help but smile back at her.

‘Mama, now that Noel’s girlfriend is here, you’ve forgotten me?’ Pakhi was laughing as she hugged her future mother-in-law.

Mitul was a little shocked to hear herself addressed as Noel’s girlfriend. It was official! He WAS her boyfriend! She looked at him with wide eyes and saw almost with incredulity, that he’d blushed!

‘How can I forget you, my Nightingale?’ her mother-in-law kissed Pakhi’s cheeks and said. ‘Welcome back, my dear. When are you going to make an honest man out of my son?’ she asked teasingly.

‘Soon, Mama, soon,’ she assured her, laughing.

Noel’s father put his hands on Mitul’s shoulders and said, ‘Welcome to the Figueiredo family, Mitul, my dear,’ giving her a warm hug.

Bags and rooms were sorted out. Mitul was shown to a small, cosy room, with flowery curtains, and a flowery bed spread. Noel came in with her bag and put it on a side table, before taking her hand.

‘Come on, I’ll show you my room,’ he said, leading her out.

He showed her into his room, and shut and locked the door. Putting the bag down, he barely gave her time to absorb anything, before lifting her up and sitting down on the bed, her jean clad legs on either side of his.

She looped her arms around his neck, her fingers playing on the skin of his nape and in his hair, noticing how serious he was, his eyes narrowed as he looked at her with that intense gaze.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.

He didn’t say anything, his hands moving up her back to cradle her head as he brought her closer. Her lips parted, knowing what was coming, but surprised when she found herself stopping just before he kissed her. She could feel his breath on her lips, but he wasn’t closing the gap. She looked into his eyes, then brought her palms around to cup his cheeks, the stubble rough under her skin, before lowering her head a fraction and placing her lips on his.

It was still new to her, this taking the initiative thing. But she was learning, and learning fast. Noel loved it, reveled in it when she took the lead. His hands slipped under the waist-length top she wore, stroking the skin, feeling the little jolts go through her as his fingers found her breast and cupped it. She opened her mouth in a gasp, and his tongue darted in. She stroked his tongue with hers, feeling desire coiling in her stomach. She shifted in his lap, and he groaned as her butt came into contact with him, his fingers gripping harder on her bra-covered breasts.

He pulled away and looked at her. ‘How am I going to keep my hands off you for the next two days, girlfriend?’ he growled.

She blushed and hid her face against his neck, before softly licking the pulse in his throat. He moaned at that, tilting his head, allowing her to nip at it with her lips and her teeth, sighing in pleasure as she found his Adam’s apple and sucked on it. His fingers slid down her stomach, finding the little ring and tugging on it. She let out a soft gasp at that, the sensations shooting down to her core. He lay back, his hand going to her hair, pulling her up for a punishing kiss, as his fingers dug into her back. She could only cling to his shoulders, spinning away in the vortex he created with his tongue. He rolled over her, his hardness fitting into the apex of her legs, letting her feel how ready he was, his hips gently rocking into hers. She groaned softly, ‘Noel!’

‘Oh God, babe, what you do to me!’ he whispered huskily into her ears, his lips and tongue finding all the nooks behind her ears, kissing every inch of her face, his blood racing, thundering through his veins. Her hands roamed restlessly over his back, feeling the muscles bunching, moving, tugging at his shirt, trying to get it off him.

‘Noel?’ there was a knock at the door. His mother was calling him. With a stifled groan, he dropped his forehead on her shoulder, his hands still playing with her breasts, that had somehow come free from her bra. Her eyes flew open, looking up at the ceiling, realizing where she was!

She tried to push him away and sit up, but his hips had her trapped.

‘Noel?!’ His mother called again.

‘Coming, Ma,’ he called back, quickly kissing Mitul on the lips, before sliding off the bed.

‘Is Mitul with you?’ she called again.

He sighed and grinned ruefully, holding out a hand to help her up.

‘Yes, she is, Ma,’ he called. ‘We’ll be right there.’

‘All right. Tea is ready, come to the dining room,’ she called, before they heard footsteps going away.

‘Sorry,’ he said, as they straightened up, before heading out to find the rest of the family.

Tea was a boisterous affair.

Pakhi and Naval had evidently decided that it was too hot to walk around in formals and changed into shorts and shirts before they had tea. It was also evident to Mitul that Pakhi had been here on numerous occasions. She found out that Pakhi worked with Naveen, and she and Naval had been engaged for two years now, and they evidently lived together in Delhi. It also seemed like the Figueiredos had no problems with these very modern living arrangements, even though here Pakhi had her own room, as did Mitul - which seemed a bit strange. For now, the Figueiredos were intent on making her feel comfortable.

After tea, the brothers and their girlfriends decided to go for a walk on the beach. Mitul switched into a fitted pair of rust colored shorts, with a white silky chemise on top. She added a transparent white blouse on top it, and slipped her feet into flip flops. Coming out of her room, she saw Noel had also changed into a pair of shorts, and like hers they were fitted, but dark blue in color. He’d teamed a thin white buttoned shirt with it, lying loose on his hips and crocs on his feet.

They talked softly, letting the sea breeze blow its salty flavor through them, as they sat in a quiet corner of the beach. The sun had set already, but night was still a little while away. Mitul sat between Noel’s legs, leaning back on him, his arms loosely wrapped around her waist. Pakhi leant on Naval, their fingers interlaced as they chatted and learnt a bit more about each other.

Naveen finally arrived with his family around ten that night, having picked up a car at the airport itself. The house erupted with the sounds of the new arrivals and it wasn’t until late that everyone settled down on the roof top, the children finally asleep and tucked away.

Mitul was getting used to the teasing that she faced now from the family. She liked Naveen and his wife Shelley, she could see the love that this close-knit family had for each other, and she felt warmed in the presence of it. They accepted her whole heartedly in their midst. She also realized that Noel was treated as the baby in the family, and she by association was the baby’s girlfriend! Which she found highly amusing and fodder for future reference. No wonder Shomu bhaiyya called Noel ‘baba’ and her ‘baby’!

She’d called her parents to let them know that she’d arrived safely, and had been surprised when Maria had spoken so familiarly with her mother.

She sighed. This was bliss.

Noel turned to her as he heard her sigh. ‘Sleepy?’ he murmured. She shook her head. The breeze was getting cool, and she rubbed her arms.

‘Ma, it’s getting cold. I think we should go downstairs,’ he said. The others agreed and one by one they all got up, gathering up the cushions they had brought with them to sit around on.

Noel dallied a while, until everyone left except Mitul who was waiting for him.

‘Noel! Shut the door when you come down,’ yelled Naveen from the depths below.

‘Okay!’ he yelled back, before going and closing the door.

She looked at him, surprised. ‘What? We’re not going down?’

‘In a bit,’ he said, walking over to her purposefully.

******