Cold Love (12 page)

She continues, in a mocking
tone, “Huh! Instead our Government keeps telling Pakistan- ‘We won’t sit on
bi-lateral talks until you tackle terrorist organizations targeting India from
Pakistani soil!’ I mean, are we kids Arjun? We won’t talk? C’mon, what kind of
a strategy is that?”

“I know. I know, Riya; relax,
I know everything.”

“Arjun… I know you are
already doing so much for this case… but please, end this all, Arjun. I want to
see you win …”, she holds Arjun’s face in her palms, “I want to see my country
win this war against terrorism. Isn’t there some way to end this cold war once
and forever?”

“Riya! C’mon, don’t get
emotional!” Arjun feels uneasy when her hands touch his face and her tone and
manner become increasingly intense.

Riya smiles back and composes
herself immediately, “No, I’m not emotional, Arjun. But I’ll say this. I am so
very proud of you! I really am! I am so glad to say that you are my friend!”  

Arjun nods smiling as if to
say thanks. “Don’t worry, Riya, I won’t let these murderers off so easily.” He
gets up and walks out of the house when Riya shouts from the balcony.

“Arjun!... will you be at the
MBA party in the evening?”

“Oh! I had completely
forgotten about it; thanks for reminding me. I will try.”

“I will wait for you!”

Arjun walks off and finally
gets into his car.

Later in the day while
driving to the court, Arjun couldn’t help but think about Riya… his best
childhood friend… his constant source of support. Is he slowly falling in love
with her … does she love him as well? He had never looked upon Riya as a lover…
not until now.

The last few months have
changed everything. She was no doubt his best friend since childhood, a partner
in all his childhood exploits. He may have been guilty of having taken her
friendship for granted, assuming that she will always be there for him. But
times evolve and as adults, we no longer have the same simple thinking that we
used to as kids. She is so beautiful now, Arjun tells himself as he visualizes
the slip earlier in the game and their eyes locking in together in a romantic
glance.

But he shakes his head
vigorously as if telling himself to wake up. He cannot afford to think about
anything other than work. This case means everything to him. Riya is right;
they have an opportunity here to end this war of cross border terrorism once and
for all. And getting the verdict in India’s favor is the critical milestone for
that vision.

Arjun reassures himself that
his work and his commitment to his country goes above everything else.
Unfortunately, love is not a convenience he can afford at this point in his
life.

Party… Love and War

At the MBA school, the senior
students have thrown a party for this batch of students, as it happens every
year. Riya looks at her watch. It’s almost ten. Arjun had responded to her
message saying he would be there by about 9pm. Fashionably late as usual, she
tells herself. After a few minutes, Arjun does eventually walk in. A few
friends speak to him at the door. Riya spots him, excuses herself from her
friends and starts to walk towards him. She is wearing a beautiful off-shoulder
gown with a scarf around her neck. Arjun sports a crisp black suit.

“Hi Arjun. How are you?”

“I am good. You look lovely
in this dress.”

“Thanks. You too,” she waves
her hand, “look OK!”

Arjun smiles. “All right;
tell me first Arjun, what happened at the court? Was everything ok?”

“Come, let’s sit down; I’ll
tell you!” They walk up to a sofa settee and sit down. “I think we may have got
him! I gave my statement backing yours. We will know the outcome in a week but
from internal sources, it’s looking good.”

“Wow! Congrats!” Riya hugs
him. 

A few friends approach them;
Arjun meets and greets his pals. Puja has come to the party too. Riya and Arjun
soon split up and into their respective groups of friends. A Caucasian girl in
a fashionable mini skirt comes around and greets Arjun.

 “Hey handsome! How have you
been?”

“Hi Eva! Good!”

Eva hugs Arjun and, much to
everyone’s surprise, kisses him on the cheek. Riya immediately notices and is
clearly perturbed. Arjun introduces Eva to everyone as his classmate from
California. After a while, Eva invites Arjun for a dance but he tries to avoid
it. Eva tries to drag, him pulling his arm.

“C’mon be a sport Arjun. No
excuses!”

“No seriously, Eva. And…
sorry, I have a sprain in my leg.”

Eva lets go and comes back to
sit on the sofa edge next to Arjun, as if almost on his lap. Arjun tries to
shuffle a bit. Riya can’t take it anymore and gets up. Arjun notices her leave,
so does Puja who follows her friend to the bar.

“Hey, what happened! Why did
you get up?”

“Nothing!” Riya responds
casually, “Just wanted a refill”. She requests another coke from the barman.
Gradually after an awkward and long silence, Riya blurts out, “Who’s that girl
anyway?” mumbling to herself, “Stupid!”

“Do I sense some jealousy?”
Puja deliberately teases her friend.

“Why should I be jealous?”

“Just asking Riya! Eva was in
the same class with Arjun in California. Arjun tells me she was really after
him… but bhaiyya didn’t give her much lift. Poor girl!”

 “What poor girl? Can’t she
sit properly on a different sofa; there are so many seats vacant? Look at the
way she’s clinging on to Arjun!”

Riya notices Puja giggling,
obviously enjoying the moment.

“What? … Puja! Are you my
friend or hers?!”

Suddenly Puja gets a call
from Rakesh and walks out of the party to speak to him. Meanwhile, Riya notices
another elegantly dressed Indian girl approach Arjun. She is wearing a long
flowing black gown. Arjun gets up and greets her with a warm hug. When Puja
returns, she walks over towards the new girl and hugs her too.

“Hello Sanju didi!” Puja
greets her, “How are you? When did you come from California?”

“Today! And when I came to
know that you guys are here, I thought I’d bash into the party to meet you
guys!”

“Great! Good that you did!”
Puja responds. 

Sanju was Arjun’s classmate
in Switzerland, and Arjun considered her a muh-boli or “word of mouth” sister.
Puja had known her as a good friend too through Arjun for a long time. 

Meanwhile, back at the bar,
Riya got even more jealous watching things from a distance. Arjun, Sanju and
Puja were laughing and gossiping merrily, having a good time… without her. At
that very moment, a well-built classmate approaches Riya and asks her for a
dance. Riya tries to avoid him gracefully.

“Sorry Vishal. Not today. I
am not in the mood.”

“C’mon just a bit; one dance
Riya?”

 “Really sorry! I am not
myself today. Please don’t mind. Some other day, please Vishal. Ok!?”

“Ok babe.” He nods gracefully
and walks off.

Arjun has been watching Riya
as well. He gently asks Puja in a hushed tone to tell Riya about Sanju; to
specifically tell her that he looks upon Sanju as his sister.

 “Ok I will!” Puja
understands very well what Arjun meant. She gets up and walks towards Riya. A
nice song starts at that moment and Sanju asks Arjun for a dance. He cannot
refuse and they hit the dance floor together. Sanju is exceptionally graceful
in her dance, and it doesn’t take long before everyone is cheering the couple.
Sanju looks mesmerizingly beautiful in her smooth moves and Arjun matches her
step for step.

Meanwhile Puja eventually
returns to her friend at the bar.

“Where were you, Puja?” Riya
demands anxiously.

“C’mon Riya!” Puja holds her
hand. “Let me introduce you to someone special. Do you remember I used to tell
you about Sanju?”

 “No I don’t!” Riya responds
sternly.

“Hmmm… OK… Can I ask you
something Riya?” Puja continues with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, “why
are you jealous watching other girls with Arjun?”

 “No I am not! Will you please
stop it?” Riya replies desperately. “Anyway, who is this girl Sanju now? As if
one mini skirt wasn’t enough! You were meeting her so merrily as well… Just
look at them dance!”

Arjun and Sanju are looking
absolutely fabulous together and it is killing Riya to see them at the centre
of the dance floor. Puja decides to tease her friend a bit further.  “That’s
Sanju. She was a research scholar with Arjun at CERN. They were really close
friends. They spent a lot of time together. You know they won the college
ballroom dance competition together as well. Sanju forced Arjun to enrol!” Puja
is enjoying the uneasiness and jealousy that she can openly read on Riya’s
face. 

“You know Riya, I think Arjun
is deliberately trying to tease you tonight,” Puja continues, “I think he wants
to hear those three special words from you.”

“Please, Puja! It’s nothing
like that!”

“Don’t lie Riya! Your eyes
are saying everything tonight!” she smiles mischievously. Riya ignores what
Puja is saying as she watches Arjun instead. She gulps her coke in one go,
obviously now getting extremely agitated at the way Arjun has ignored her, when
she had been waiting for over an hour to meet him. A tear takes shape at the
edge of her eyes. Puja fails to notice that.

“Anyway, listen!” Puja continues,
“I’ll have to run in a few minutes. I need to meet Rakesh.”

In the midst of the dance,
Arjun pauses to look at Puja and Riya and gestures at both of them to come
over. Riya doesn’t move. In a moment, Arjun and Sanju start walking to them
instead.

“Hi Riya. This is Sanju… She
is…”, Arjun tries to introduce them, but Puja interrupts at that very instance.
“Yes bhaiyya. I’ve told Riya about Sanju already.”

 “Hello Riya! So you are the
little princess who has helped our Arjun on the case! I have heard so much
about you. So nice to finally meet you!”

“Nice to meet you too,” Riya
responds a bit coldly to Sanju’s friendly gesture.

“Bhaiyya, I need to run. Rakesh
is waiting for me.” Puja finally decides to go.

“Oh OK! You carry on then
Puja. I’ll see you later.” Puja takes leave of everyone and rushes out. Before
leaving, she gently murmurs into Riya’s ear, “Tell me everything about the
party later tonight, OK?” Riya simply nods at her friend.

“Riya! Would you… like to
dance?” Arjun invites her.

“Maybe later!” Riya declines,
still seething with jealousy as, at that very instant, she spots Sanju’s hand
on Arjun’s shoulder. I guess she would not have felt offended at the slutty
American girl Eva dancing with Arjun. But Sanju was an elegant, graceful
princess, her designer evening gown reflected her class and style, and moreover
she looked absolutely fabulous with Arjun.

 “C’mon Riya, please join
us,” Sanju tries to convince her as well, but Riya smiles and gracefully
declines the invitation. Arjun and Sanju carry on to the dance floor. After a
while, when Riya is speaking to her other friends, Vishal approaches her again.

“Hey Riya. You OK?” Riya nods
yes. “Can I get you a drink?”

 “No. I am good, thank you!”

“You want to dance?  C’mon!
Just one dance!” Vishal persists.

Riya decides to accept his
invitation this time and she leads him to the opposite end of the dance floor,
away from Arjun. After a while, Sanju leaves as well and after seeing her out
to the door, Arjun returns to the bar looking for Riya. He spots her at the far
end of the dance floor with Vishal, and decides to wait at the bar for the song
to end. The song ends in a few minutes and Arjun gets up to walk to Riya. The
next number starts almost immediately and Riya spots Arjun coming towards her,
so instead of ending the dance, she deliberately decides to continue dancing
with Vishal.

The next song is a slow
number and a few couples have gone into a ballroom waltz dance routine
clutching their respective partners romantically close. Riya gets uncomfortable
when Vishal tries to do the same and places his hands around her waist. Riya
retreats immediately, taking a step back away from him. Arjun, sitting at the
bar, has been watching intently and notices a discussion between Vishal and
Riya, as she excuses herself and starts to walk out of the party. Vishal
follows her.

Arjun gets up from the bar as
well and follows them out.

“Hey Riya. C’mon dear!” Vishal
tries to convince her to return, “This is the song we should be dancing to.
It’s a really great number!”

“Sorry Vishal. I am a bit
tired… please.”

Vishal holds her hand and
tries to lead her.

“Vishal! I am not comfortable
with dancing to this song. Sorry!”

At that moment, Vishal
squeezes her hand, offending Riya.

“Please let go off me Vishal!
What are you doing?”

Vishal does not budge and
whilst still holding her hand, in the tussle, he pulls off her scarf as Riya
tries to get away. Arjun has been watching in the background and decides to
intervene. “You heard her, buddy! She doesn’t want to dance with you.”

“Oh Arjun. Mr. Big Shot! Did
anyone ask your opinion?”

“Well… No. But you know I
love poking my nose everywhere. So… just chill out buddy!”

“Then you must know also that
those who poke their noses in other’s businesses stand the risk of going back
home with a broken nose.”

“Oh. Very interesting!” Arjun
smiles, “That will be a nice change!”

“Yes, it will be, buddy. Just
back off! I’ve been the Mumbai Inter-college boxing champion for three
consecutive years now.”

Riya intervenes, getting
really concerned at the tone of the conversation.

 “Vishal please! Will the two
of you just take it easy? I don’t want to dance anymore. That’s it!”

“You heard her, Vishal? Can I
have Riya’s scarf please!”

“This scarf is in my hand. Finder’s
keepers! If you can, try taking it away Arjun.”

 “Vishal what bullshit is
this!” Riya shouts, extremely agitated now.

“If you had asked I’d have
given it to you sweetheart! But now… it’s in my hand! So if anyone has the guts
to get it, let them try!”

“I don’t need it OK. You can
keep it. C’mon Arjun!” Riya pulls Arjun’s arm and is about to start walking
away.

“Hold on Riya… I want it…,”
Arjun replies calmly. “I want that scarf Vishal.”

“Arjun! I said I don’t need
it!”

“I want it!” Arjun repeats
slowly.

“Yeah. That’s spoken like a
man, Arjun! Riya doesn’t need it. So whoever wins gets to keep the scarf.
Right?”

“Vishal stop it! Arjun, let’s
go,” she tries pulling him but Arjun doesn’t budge.

“C’mon, Arjun. Let me place
this scarf with due respect on this tree twig. Don’t worry Riya, it’s just a
boxing game… after all we are all friends here, aren’t we!? Right Arjun?” Arjun
nods slowly. “The last guy standing gets to keep the scarf. Simple?”

He turns to Riya, “This is
not about you any more, Riya!” 

Riya looks at Arjun
helplessly, “Arjun, what madness is this?”

Arjun raises his hand,
shushing her into silence. Vishal has already taken a boxing stance. Arjun gets
ready as well and they start the fight. Vishal swings wildly at him but Arjun
ducks easily. A few good punches continue with both the guys hitting each other
in tandem. One jab from Vishal hits Arjun on his lips, but Arjun retaliates
strongly and Vishal is eventually weakened by every punch from Arjun.

A final punch from Arjun
throws Vishal on the grass. Arjun is about to jump for one last blow to end the
fight when Vishal raises his hand from the ground gesturing to Arjun to stop.
Arjun stops just in time, his fist a few inches over Vishal’s face. Vishal
raises his hand for a handshake; Arjun grabs it and pulls him up to his feet.