Chapter 55

55 The Flashback – I Missed Him

During the whole housewarming party, he was very caring and helpful. He even took great care of my parents. They were very impressed with all my friends. After seeing the type of acquaintances, I had, they were at ease for me to live alone.

Life was going on like usual. We would talk to each other every night about our day then would meet up for lunch and he would come with me every evening to drop me at my house.

And then one week he had to go to Germany to cover some festival. Before boarding the flight, he informed me that he would call me the moment he would land.

Hours passed by, but there was no call, no messages. That day I could not concentrate on my work. I kept checking my phone the whole day. Every second of every minute of every hour I kept fiddling with my phone. But my phone never rang, there was no notification.

I went home after a stressful day. I could not eat, could not sleep. I was living in a nightmare. I never thought not talking to him, not seeing him would cause me so much pain. But there I was tossing and turning in my bed.

I left him messages, tried calling him but his number was not reachable. My mind started creating nightmarish scenarios. What if his plane was hijacked? What if he was in a plane crash? What if he got kidnapped the moment he landed in Germany? I could never find him as I didn’t possess certain skills. I was not a spy. The most painful scenario was – what if he befriended a girl on the plane and forgot all about me?

My heart started aching. I was having difficulty breathing. I jumped out of bed and suddenly realised I could find out if his plane landed or not. I searched for his flight number online and found that he landed an hour ago but still there was no answer.

Clutching my phone close, tears streaming down my eyes, somehow, I fell asleep. Early in the morning, a faint ring broke my slumber. I could keep my eyes open. I looked at the phone and an unknown number flashed on my screen.

I was skeptical about picking up an unknown number that too the initials were not from India. I didn’t recognise the code. I let it ring completely. The ring died down. But after a second the same number flashed again. It meant someone meant to call me. But who that can be?

.....

Hesitantly, I picked up the call and brought my phone near my ears.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Ritvik’s voice streamed in. The moment I heard his voice I broke down crying. He was safe, he didn’t forget about me.

I controlled myself and asked, “where were you?”

“I tried calling you but realised that I didn’t get my international roaming activated before coming here. I am calling you from Hotel’s phone. I didn’t mean to trouble you. I am sorry, extremely sorry,” he explained.

“Do you have any idea what happened to me? How many disturbing scenarios my mind went through?” I shouted at him.

“Ritz!” (That was the nickname he used to call me by.) “I am sorry. I knew you must be waiting for my call. I tried getting my roaming activated but nothing could be done. I could not fall asleep without hearing your voice, so I called you. I hesitated for a bit coz I knew that it would be early morning in India, but I had to hear your voice even if you would be sleeping.”

“You think I was sleeping, you moron,” I shouted again. I was too angry at him.

“Then why didn’t you pick up the call the very first time?” he taunted.

“Because it was a new number,” I screamed.

“Hey! I am fine. I reached safely. Just a mix-up with my phone. Please don’t be angry,” he said softly. His manners melted my heart.

“Fine! Be safe and sleep well. Good night,” I said.

“Can’t we talk a little bit longer?” he asked.

“Do you want to spend all your money on international calling?” I scolded.

“Right! You are right as always. I will talk to you as soon as I get time,” he replied.

“Have fun, Vik,” finally I smiled.

“I miss you,” he chimed.

“I miss you too,” I replied. “Good night.”

I was about to disconnect the call when he interrupted, “Ritz!”

“Yeah!”

“I...” and he stopped.

“What?”

“Nothing, go back to sleep,” he changed the topic.

“Vik, what?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to ask what I should get you from Germany?”

“You idiot! Nothing. I want nothing. Just come back soon,” I said.

We disconnected the call and finally, I was content. I went back to sleep peacefully. The next morning, my face was showing all the signs of stress and a sleepless night. I had a puffy red face and red eyes. I applied ice on my face to reduce the puffiness and got ready for my office.

The rest of the week was boring without Ritvik by my side. I missed him in the morning, during lunchtime, on my way home, during eating, and at night. Some days he would call, some days I would just wait for his call and would fall asleep with my phone in my hand.

The weekend arrived and I wasted my Saturday eating ice cream and watching TV. I was a couch potato the whole day. I even fell asleep on the couch. The next morning, I woke up looking like a homeless person. I looked in the mirror and could not recognise myself.

Disheartened, I cleaned my house and went to take a bath. Finally, I cooked myself a healthy meal and placed the plate on the table. The moment I was about to put the food in my mouth my doorbell rang. I was not expecting any company, so I was annoyed.

Frustrated, I went to the door and opened it. I gasped the moment I opened the door. Ritvik with his all bags and baggage was standing at my door. His tired eyes started twinkling as soon as he saw me. I exhaled loudly and threw myself in his arms. He was not expecting such a reaction but was extremely happy to receive one.

I could hear his heartbeat increasing. I didn’t care that he was full of germs after travelling, all I knew was that he came back, he came back to me. Tears started streaming down my face.

“Hey, Ritz! I am here. Please don’t cry,” he said while rubbing my back tenderly. “Oh sorry, I disturbed you while you were eating.”

“Shut up!” I lifted my head, hit him on his chest and again buried my head in his chest.

“Hey! What will people say if they see us like this,” he said while looking around.

“Right!”

We both came in and shut the door.

“You came directly from the airport?” I asked.

“I could not spend another minute without seeing you. I missed you terribly. Being away from you I realised that you are an important part of my life. I have to see you every day,” he said.

In his own way, he confessed to me at that moment. I understood what he said, he understood what he said but I could not act on it at that moment. I don’t know why.

“You should freshen up,” I changed the topic even though my heart was ready to beat out of my chest. I knew that I too felt the same way he felt. I too realised that he was an important part of my life. He was like a routine for me.

“Right!” the disappointment was visible on his face. But he unpacked his suitcase and took out his towel and clothes. He had been in my house, so he knew his way to the bathroom. He went in and placed my food back in the kitchen. I waited for him to get out so that we could eat together.

But after a mere second. He shouted from the bathroom, “Ritz!”

“Yeah!”

“I cannot get the shower on,” he shouted.

“Oh, it’s a little jammed, you have to lift the knob slightly and then turn it,” I told him the way.

He tried and tried but the water refused to come out. “I cannot get it on,” he pouted.

“Oh, you idiot! Open the door,” I teased him.

The moment he opened the door, I gulped. He was shirtless with a towel wrapped around his waist. He had no abs but had toned muscles. Not a speck of fat was visible on his body. I lowered my eyes and moved towards the shower.

He had turned the knob, but the water was still not coming out of the shower head. I barely pressed the knob and water poured all over me. I moved my hands frantically to close the knob, but it was stuck. Ritvik too approached the knob and tried closing it.

But the water kept wetting us. My white t-shirt became transparent, and my nude bra became visible. We kept hard to turn the knob, but the rust had jammed it all the way. The water was all around our feet.

I stepped forward to get a better grip, but all the water pooled under my feet, made me slip. I was ready to fall down on my ass and get hurt. Suddenly, Ritvik swept me up in his arms and pulled me closer to him. My hands landed on his wet, toned chest. I stopped breathing. Our eyes met and everything else around us stopped. Everything froze.