A Bend in the River of Life (37 page)

Before getting down from the car Rana kissed her fondly and said, “Heather, many thanks for your wonderful company this evening. Drive safely. We will talk during the next week. You will let me know when and where we will meet on Friday. Good night.”

Thus the seeds of an endearing relationship were sown.

Over the weekend Rana settled for one of the town houses in Regent Park, the one facing the South. During the week the lease agreement was signed and he got the key to the house. Further, he bought the furniture that had been chosen already. The furniture would be delivered on Saturday morning at the new house. He also got his blue Jaguar from the company. So by the time he was due to meet Heather on Friday evening, he felt like having regained his freedom again.

May be, Rana was dreaming! For, well and truly, freedom is a far cry from the terrestrial trek. It is futile to look for and find unfettered freedom in the vortex of the River of Life, for numerous are the burdens of responsibilities that are strewn over its expanse, where the crowning glory adorns only a chosen few, who are endowed with that rare courage and incisive vision, which indeed set them free of all the perceived earthly obligations and enable them to savor the real taste of freedom.

Heather could hardly restrain her curiosity for the house Rana was supposed to decide upon during the course of the week. No sooner
they got together than she asked, “Rana, have you finalized your house yet?

Rana responded, “Yes Heather, as indicated to you last week, I finally decided upon one of those Regent Park town houses; the one facing the South. The lease agreement has been signed, sealed and delivered and I got the possession of the house. I also bought the furniture that I had mentioned to you. They will be delivered tomorrow morning at the new house and I will move in during this weekend.”

Heather was visibly excited. She congratulated him and asked, “When can I see the house?”

Rana responded, “Well, Heather, if you have time you can see it tomorrow morning.”

Heather said, “I have nothing much to do. As you know, Paula and Joshua will go to their father. So I can come and help you arrange the furniture.”

Rana said, “Heather, I have marked every piece of furniture indicating the specific area of the house where they should be placed. In terms of my agreement with the furniture vendor, the delivery people will arrange the furniture according to my plan. However, you may give any useful suggestions. There are always rooms for improvements.”

Heather said, “Rana, it would be my pleasure to help you in any manner you desire.”

Rana said further, “Heather, and that is not all. Immediately after setting up the furniture I have to rush to the shopping mall to buy my china, cutlery, pots and pans, pictures and wall hangings. You can help me buy those articles and appliances also, if you so wish.”

She smiled and said, “I love doing those things also.”

He said, “Heather, this exactly is the reason that I have mentioned it to you. I know that you would have liked to help me buy the furniture, but I can guarantee that you will like the furniture I have
bought. Also, I have another request to you. When the furniture is arranged as marked, please go round and see if the nooks and corners are filled up or if I need to buy few more pieces to cover them up.”

She said, “That's not a problem. So when and where do you want me to meet with you in the morning?”

Rana replied, “I think it would be best if we meet at the new house at nine in the morning. You can leave your car there and we will take my car to go to the mall. You have to show me the way to the mall.”

She said, “Oh, I see you've got your car also.” He said with a flourish, “So Heather, you can see that I was not exactly counting stars during the week.”

Heather responded, “Yes, I can see that you have really organized yourself.”

He said, “Fortunately so. No one wants to stay in the hotel forever. At least, over this weekend I will be living a normal life.”

She said, “I understand what you are saying. And for my selfish interest, I do not have to continue my friendship with you in a clandestine manner.” They both laughed.

Switching back to the décor of the house, Rana said, “Heather, let me tell you before I forget, tomorrow when you visit the house please look carefully at the color of the carpet and tapestry before we go to the market.”

Heather asked, “Why are you saying so?”

Rana said, “So that you can choose the matching china.”

Heather said, “Rana, I see that you know little bit of everything.”

Rana said, “It is the culture of a prestigious multinational corporation that when you work for them you have to learn everything in life, not just the paperwork and the selling skill.”

Next morning, Heather and Rana had their maiden tryst at his new residence. As he led Heather to show the interior of the house, she cooed out, “Congratulations Rana! This is one of the best addresses in London. You would really enjoy living here.”

Fortunately enough, the furniture people showed up on time to
deliver and set up the furniture as planned. Rana said, “Heather, I only hope that you like the furniture.”

She carefully looked at them and said, “Rana, you have very good taste. They are exquisite and would blend very well with the architecture, tapestry and carpet. Probably, I would have chosen exactly the same furniture.”

Rana said, “Many thanks for your compliments.”

When the furniture was set up to their satisfaction, they went to the mall to buy the china, cutlery, household appliances, rugs and wall hangings. Next two days Rana saw the goodness in Heather. She helped him not only buy those articles but also arrange them in a manner as if it was her own house. She even helped him buy groceries and cooked the first meal that they ate together with relish.

Shortly thereafter, Rana went to visit the territory under his supervision along with his boss Mark Harrington. It was primarily an introductory trip, getting to know the countries, the people, the markets and the operations of his bank in the continent. The trip was planned in a manner that would enable them to cover the CEO's offices and principal branches in each country in the entire region in two weeks. However, the trip had to be extended due to cancellations of flights. In the process, Rana quickly learnt about the paucity of flights between the destinations in Africa, hindering the flexibility of travel within the continent. From the standpoint of saving precious managerial time for travel between two African countries, it was often better to fly to Europe and take a flight back to the desired African destination. In the process, the actual flight time and expenses might increase, but it would be more than compensated by freeing up precious managerial time. However, by juggling with the itinerary a little, they completed this important introductory visit. From the next time the planning and frequency of these visits would be entirely Rana's responsibility. So in addition to gathering the knowledge of banking in the continent of Africa, he was able to learn the tricks of travel also.6

On his return to London, he picked up the thread of his relationship with Heather. She was elated to see him back and thrilled to receive a few gifts that Rana brought for her from various places in Africa and Europe. Soon the frequency of their dating that began as a Friday night event, increased to three-four nights a week. The River of life has a mysterious way of increasing the intimacy in a relationship in a graduated scale and setting them apart when the roleplay comes to an end. Swayed by the togetherness and severance the River of Life weaves its way through the playfields of humanity to its distant destiny.

However, a good mother as she was, soon she was confronted with a sentimental dilemma. As the frequency of her staying out late increased, so did her uncomfortable feeling before her children. Thus she thought of introducing Rana to them. But she was hesitant to invite Rana to her home, for she perceived her home to be modest compared to Rana's town house. One day she subdued her inferiority complex and brought the proposal to him, asking, “Rana, can I ask your favor on something very important to me?”

He answered, “Sure Heather, you can; you always do. Why are you so hesitant today?”

She said, “Can I have the privilege of inviting you to my home this weekend? I would like to introduce you to my children.”

He said, “Heather, you are making me feel terrible. You are inviting me to your sweet home and it would be my pleasure to go and meet with your lovely children. Why are you so apologetic?”

With a surprising humility she said, “I thought of inviting you many times, but you live so well that it was kind of embarrassing for me to invite you to my modest home.”

Now it was Rana's turn to feel embarrassed. He said, “Heather, I never make friendship on the basis of status or wealth. What makes you think that you are beneath my dignity? Have I ever been high-nosed with you? In terms of status, you are a co-owner of your business and I am just a senior employee of my bank. I am happy and
proud to have you as my friend. What is weighing heavy on you is the burden of the family which you have been carrying singlehandedly for a long time. Life does not remain stationary forever. Change will soon come to you also. With regard to visiting your children, I remember that on the very first day we went out, you told me while taking Irish coffee in your famous pub that we could plan something to enjoy the long Bank Holiday weekend in September. That holiday is now round the corner. This will be the perfect occasion for us to discuss with your children how they want to enjoy the long weekend and plan it to their satisfaction.”

So they decided that on the Friday evening of the same week Rana would pay a visit to Heather's home in Hampstead. They would dine out with her children at a restaurant in the vicinity of her home and exchange pleasantries and probe their youthful minds.

The visit to Heather's house was an eye-opener for Rana about her modesty. Contrary to what he was given to understand previously, she had a nice house in a neat middle-class neighborhood with a small garden in the backyard. He was very impressed with her well-mannered children, both in their early teens, happy with whatever they were blessed with. Moreover, they sounded mature and responsible for their tender age. Heather drove Rana and her children to a nice restaurant not far from their home. In course of conversation with them Rana came to know more about Heather.

She was born in the British Gentry, in a family known to be wealthy. However, the River of Life never flows straight. When Heather was twelve, her mother passed away suddenly following a simple cold and fever. Surprisingly, her father got married the second time even before the first anniversary of her mother's passing. Not long after her marriage with Heather's father, her step-mother took control of everything in the household including her father. Since then things went downhill for Heather. She did not have the opportunity to complete her high school. At the age of sixteen, with the recommendation of the best friend of her deceased mother, she
got a job as a staff of the royal household. However, what future can hold for a royal domestic staff? Her mother's friend again came to her help. Among several businesses that her family owned, one was flower business. That business really flourished when they moved to the current premises of the Hamilton International Hotel. By virtue of this flower shop at the largest hotel in Hamilton Hotel chain in the United Kingdom, they became the sole suppliers to the flower shops of the sister hotels of the chain. Heather joined their flower business twelve years earlier. Obviously, she had the blessings of her mother's friend. However, by dint of her hard and intelligent work Heather earned her admiration. In three years she was made the Manager of the business. With business growing rapidly, the owner began giving Heather some ownership in the business little by little. Currently she owned 20% of the stock of the company. What a great story under adverse circumstances!

Nevertheless, as her career seemed to be progressing in the right direction, her marriage was swerving to the wrong. She married her high school boyfriend at the age of eighteen. Early on, all seemed to be well. But after ten years of happy marriage, her husband became another victim of the oil crunch that brought deep and prolonged recession to Western Europe, USA and Japan. He lost his job and remained unemployed for a long time and in the process became wayward. He began drinking heavily and returning home late. Unfortunately, the economic problem dragged on for years in Europe and Heather's husband sank deeper and deeper into self-inflicted quagmire. Worse still was awaiting him, when he began using force on Heather under the influence of alcohol. Even the children became disgusted and disrespectful of their father. Divorce, therefore, was an unfortunate but inevitable necessity and was completed few months before Rana met Heather. At the end of the dinner and the revelations of the evening, Rana invited Heather and her children to spend the long autumn holiday weekend at his place. She did not expect this and was visibly moved.

Next day they met, she expressed her sincere appreciation saying, “Rana, thank you so much for inviting Paula and Joshua. They are not really keen on visiting with their father and they have no one else to invite them. My father passed away long ago and even otherwise my step-mother would never invite me or them. So they are looking forward to spending the long weekend at your place.”

Rana responded, “Heather, the pleasure is mine. I will extend to them exactly the same affectionate welcome as I would to my children. But only you know what sort of activities they like; what kind of food they relish, and what type of entertainment delight them most. So let's plan the long weekend in a manner that their stay is not only enjoyable, but also memorable.”

No one knew what they saw in Rana's eyes by spending one evening with him over that dinner at Hampstead. However, Paula and Joshua found immense pleasure in staying at his home during that holiday weekend. Perhaps they were looking for a place where there was a father-figure much closer to their imagination than their own father, whose unruly behavior influenced by his atrocious drinking habits evoked nothing but disrespect from them. It was obvious to Rana that they were good kids and the unfortunate disharmony between their parents affected them very dearly. In course of conversations in presence of their mother, Heather's fifteen-year old daughter Paula said that her own small flower business on a cartwheel in their local Hampstead Mall would do much better if she had the use of a car for home delivery to the neighboring residential districts. It was clear that the parental turmoil made Paula and Joshua introspective about the future and they had been preparing themselves for any possible future debacle. They loved their mother and did not want to put her through further financial stress than she had already been undergoing as a virtual single mother over a decade. Rana saw in their eyes the reflection of his own childen. Later he discussed Paula's ideas of better delivery mechanism for her small business with Heather and obtained her consent to give
Paula a surprise gift of a small Volkswagen Beatle on her sixteenth birthday, just a few months away.