The Right One!
Without fail, through rain or shine, Sub Inspector Tasha found herself at her annual family reunion.
And without fail, Tasha would find herself clutching her steering wheel in murderous irritation on the drive back to her home. And why, after such a nice event, would the Sub Inspector detect feel like offing her entire family?
Well, first there was the issue of her outfit. Tasha always wore in what she was comfortable that was t-shirt and jeans to work and occasionally one-piece dress and even in this reunion she showed up in the same blue-clad colour jeans with a formal t-shirt which led a huge debate between the elderly aunties, asking her to wear more of the feminine clothes.
Tasha would have still kept silent if the conversation wouldn't have gone further downhill.
Without fail, Tasha had once again been asked the famous question by her relatives
Why aren't you married yet?
Tasha snarled as she drove considerably faster than the speed limit. It was the constant query; Tasha had been assaulted by some form of that question since her adolescence.
When she was sixteen, another of her distant relative had taunted her about her dressing skills and male friends circle, some of the aunts even told her parents that they should keep an eye on Tasha's activities since there would be possibility of her having affair with one of her male friends.
When Tasha came to know about this she had nearly popped a vein and was about to go on a rampage of killing her aunts but composed her anger and told them that she was far too busy with her studies to concern herself with a hormonally driven idiot. Well, scratch that, she had simply said boy.
When she was eighteen, she had signed up for the police academy, intent to follow in her idol Acp Pradyuman sir's footsteps. At that year's family reunion, another Uncle had wondered why on earth she wanted to be a police officer. She ought to be going about getting herself a man. That Uncle nearly lost his jaw as Tasha once again composed her anger.
When she had turned twenty-three and was promoted to the criminal investigation unit. When Tasha's parents proudly announced the news at that reunion. She received applause, cheers and the inevitable "That's lovely, dear! Maybe there you'll find a nice young man to marry!" " But then again the congratulations were followed once again by some words which pissed Tasha off,
Her promotion at twenty-five to sub-inspector had earned her sighs and
"I know a nice young engineer!" from one of her distant aunt.
Tasha who was now twenty-nine and, after having refused the proposals brought by the distant relatives who had forced upon her, Tasha's relatives were getting restless. There had been a number of strange young men at this year's celebration. All of whom were recruited especially for Tasha. There were all kinds of possibilities: tall men, short men, fair skin, dark skin, young, funny, stupid, arrogant and humble…all at Tasha's feet, and kissing the ground she walked on. Needless to say, Tasha had taken one look at the situation, cast all her aunts a dirty look and proclaimed loudly
"You are all insane! Certifiably insane!" She had then slammed the door behind her.
Tasha loved her family; she really did. She knew they meant well. But how could a young woman is expected to endure hours of "Why aren't you dating?" without pulling out some sort of weapon?
Besides Tasha didn't have time to date. Police officers were on call 24/7. She was there to work very hard for the sake of peace in the city.
Tasha made a sharp right as she entered the vicinity of her apartment building. Turning off the ignition and slamming the door shut, she trudged up the stairs to her floor. Kicking off her shoes and heading to her closet, Tasha pulled out a pair of sweats before changing.
Five minutes later, Tasha headed to the couch with a cup of coffee. Switching the TV on, she found a late-night drama and settled in…the many suitors long forgotten.
It was Monday morning when Tasha reported in for work. Juggling some paperwork, Tasha proceeded to head to her desk.
"Tasha"
Tasha looked up.
"Yes, What is it?" Tasha asked while setting down.
Tarika took a seat next to her friend.
"So, how was the reunion? Did you have fun?" Tasha frowned and stood.
"I think we should get to work, don't you? After all, crime never sleeps!" Tarika narrowed her eyes. "Tasha…" she replied warningly.
Heaving a sigh, Tasha sat back down. "It was terrible. My crazy family brought in all these guys for me!"
"Why exactly are you complaining?"
"Tarika! I don't need a man! And that's all I heard for the fifteen minutes I was there! 'Tashu, why aren't you married yet?' 'Tasha, dear, look at this nice young man…he's a forensic doctor!'… I decided to just leave."
"Was the doctor cute at the very least?" Tarika asked mischievously.
"Tarika, focus. His cuteness or lack thereof, is not the point. They're crazy! The whole lot of them. And, hey, don't spread this around ok? It's so embarrassing!" Tasha replied while shuffling her papers.
"Of course not!" Tarika beamed. "My lips are sealed!" She replied, crossing her fingers behind her back. "Well, time to go, see you afterwards!" Tasha shook her head as she watched her friend nearly skip out. Turning on her computer, she began to input data from her latest report.
On the other side of the room, Vivek was watching a certain raven-haired, brown-eyed female inspector. She was also sub-inspector and was recruited year ago.
"Vivek!" He turned and came face to face with Tarika. "Tarika? What is it?"
She grinned conspiratorially. "What have you been looking?"
Vivek quickly turned his attention towards the file to avoid being caught.
"Nothing" he replied without looking at Tarika.
Though Tarika was aware of the whole affair but decided to kept quiet
"I've got something to tell you!"
Vivek raised an eyebrow at the woman's antics. "Do you?"
"Uh-huh. I've been told that this past weekend, Tasha's family set up a huge match-up for her!"
"WHAT!" Vivek shouted.
"SHH! Keep it down! I promised I wouldn't tell anyone." Tarika said innocently
Vivek's eyes narrowed. "It's good to know that you have such discretion."
Tarika scowled and turned to walk away. "If you are not interested then..."
Vivek reached for her arm. "Wait! Okay, Tell me," Tarika acquiesced and continued. "Well, turns out her family brought in a whole bunch of 'eligible young men' for her to consider. The fifteen minutes that she spent at the reunion were filled with questions about her marital status."
"Poor Tasha." Vivek imagined her shock at having been accosted by several men. He then couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of her storming out. Well, at least she's not interested in them.
"Vivek, are you listening?"
Vivek's head shot up. "Huh? Yes, yes I am."
Tarika regarded him suspiciously before nodding her head. "Good. Now you better act fast because I bet word's gotten around. " She grinned and sauntered off.
Vivek stared as he looked Tarika leaving the bureau. He thought, Tarika sure takes pleasure in all of this, doesn't she?"
When he turned to watch tasha again, he noticed she was absent from her seat. Setting out to look for her, he ignored the seniors who were observing them.
Walking through the department, Vivek could vaguely hear other officers calling out to each other.
…
Slouching into the break room, he headed to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup. Sitting at the table, he cupped his chin in his hand and wondered just where Tasha had disappeared to.
"Vivek! There you are! Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" Tasha stood at the doorway, tapping her foot impatiently.
"Tasha! I was looking for you too!" Vivek stood up quickly and nearly knocked over his coffee. "Oh…damn."
Tasha rolled her eyes and headed towards him. "Careful. Acp Sir has an assignment for us. We have to head out and investigate some new lead on that Murder case happened while bank robbery from last week. So let's go." She turned to head out.
"Uh…Tasha? Are you all right? You seem a little upset." Vivek's brow furrowed and he took a step towards her.
She raised an eyebrow. "Tarika told you."
"Uhhhh—"
"Just as I expected. I'm fine." Tasha sighed and sat down. "But after a long weekend, I now have to deal with several people approaching me about what I'm looking for in a guy or even worse the common 'Really, Tasha? You aren't seeing anyone?'"
"Oh, well-well I didn't mean to…" Vivek stammered.
"No, I know you won't do that but it's still a pain, which is why I was looking for you." Just then she looked straight at him and smiled. "I figured we could head out and work on that case together without anyone to bother us." Tasha's face lit up as she patted his shoulder.
It took Vivek a few moments to get his pounding heart under control. Who knew his stomach could turn cartwheels like that?
"Really? So you, uh, wanted to work with me?" He very nearly squeaked. Tasha gave him a puzzled smile. "Well, of course! You're my partner! Besides, I know you won't ask me why I'm not married yet or Why I'm not dating? Can you imagine me leaving the force?"
"NO!" Vivek burst out. "That-that would be bad."
Tasha nodded in the affirmative. "Exactly what I want to say!" She stood up then and Vivek pushed her chair in for her. "Oh, thanks." She smiled slightly.
Flashing a smile, Vivek shook his head. "No problem. You want some coffee before we go? We got those new travel cups."
"Y-yeah, that'd be great." Tasha stuttered. What is wrong with you? He just asked if you wanted coffee!
"Here you go!" Vivek handed her the cup, their fingers brushed and both turned a lovely shade of crimson. "Ahhhh—"
"Heh. Yes, um…thank you." She took a sip and smiled. They both headed towards the door at the same time causing Tasha to stumble backward and into Vivek. "Tasha, are you all right?" He asked concerned as he grasped at her waist, firmly steadying her.
Tasha was sure her face was as red as a tomato. She didn't need a mirror. "Fine, just fine!" She smiled weakly, trying to ignore just where his hands were.
But Vivek didn't seem to notice as he held the door open for her and then walked in step beside her.
Tasha, why aren't you married yet? The question flashed in her mind and subconsciously she answered while looking at Vivek.
"Because I just found the right one!" She spoke out loud and Vivek looked at her questioningly.
"The right what?"
She laughed nervously. " The right… coffee you know…right taste, the right buzz." Tasha began walking at a faster pace but she glanced back at Vivek, who lengthened his stride to catch up with her. She smiled to herself and took a sip of her coffee.
Yeah, the right one.
AN:
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