He looked at her as he stood at the threshold of the lab. She wore a black skirt and a white full sleeved shirt. A few curls slipped from the grip of her rubber band when she bent down to look at the microscope. The curls partly covered her face, making Abhijeet tilt his head for a better view.
Beautiful.
Almost divine.
She was engrossed in her work, oblivious of her surroundings. The man looking at her too, was busy watching her, oblivious of his surroundings. He didn't know the amount of time he stood there doing nothing before their eyes met as she walked towards the rack of chemicals.
She greeted him with a subtle smile, making him come back to reality. There was something about the smile – something was not right.
Her smiles were usually as subtle as subtle could get. But after so many years of knowing her, Abhijeet understood them better than anyone else. He walked up to her and stood next to her, their shoulders almost touching.
"Kya baat hai?" his voice was too soft for anyone else to hear.
She turned towards him, her face was a mixture of emotions. She was a person who spoke with cautiousness. She usually took time to answer difficult questions. Processing the answer in her brain multiple times and finding the perfect words couldn't be done in the fraction of a second. So Abhijeet didn't expect her to answer immediately. He gave her the time she needed and studied her eyes instead.
They were confused, sad and helpless at the same time. She was a strong woman – it was rare to see even one of these three emotions in her eyes, let alone the dangerous combination of all three. Abhijeet was scared now. He really wanted to know what was wrong.
As she opened her mouth to reply, Doctor Salunkhe who had been watching them all this time spoke.
"Good morning Bhaisahab….lab mein sirf Tarika ji nahi hain," he teased.
Abhijeet mentally cursed the doctor. He was not trying to flirt for God's sake. It was not one of their sweet nothings! Couldn't the doctor see that Tarika was upset?
"Good morning Doctor sahab," Abhijeet said, eying Tarika helplessly.
She blinked her eyes, telling him that it was okay. They could talk later – he must go and talk to Dr. Salunkhe. And she was back to working on the chemicals.
She made it look so effortless – hiding her emotions. A few years ago, even he would have been deceived into thinking that everything was alright. Doctor Salunkhe was not to be blamed after all.
He sighed, walking to Doctor Salunkhe.
"Subah subah aap lab mein?"
"Nahi sir…wo bas aise hi…"
Once again he looked at Tarika who just smiled at him. Talking to her in the presence of this man was not going to be easy. He would have to come back later to try again.
…
…
…
"Haan Salunkhe," ACP entered the lab, "kya pata chala?"
Behind him were Daya, Abhijeet, Pankaj, Purvi and Freddy. Everyone was in the lab today. Sneakily, Abhijeet moved towards Tarika who was standing in one corner.
"Tarika ji... hi"
"Hi Abhijeet"
"Toh boliye…"
"Haan?"
"Wo subah aap…"
"Wo darasal…"
"Abhijeet jaake uss damini ke ghar ko achi tarah check karo!" ACP said.
"Yes sir!"
He had to leave without talking to her. And she didn't complain – she never did.
It was wonderful to have someone so perfect. Sometimes he wondered…how could she be so perfect?
While he was driving towards damini's house, he dialled her number.
"Tum lab mein akeli ho?" he said over the phone.
"Haan Abhijeet, Salunkhe sir ACP sir ke saath canteen gayein hain."
"Acha hai – hum log baat kar payenge."
"Lekin tum duty –"
"Mein drive kar raha hu Tarika… kuch samay baat kar sakta hu."
"Okay."
"Toh bataogi nahi….?"
"Abhijeet baat phone pe batane waali nahi hai."
"Tumhari tabiyat toh theek hai na Tarika? Jab tumhe aise dekhta hu toh mann mein ajeeb si bechaini hoti hai."
"Meri tabiyat bilkul theek hai Abhijeet… hum log araam se baith kar baat karenge – case solve hone ke baad. Kuch baatein jaldi nahi boli jaa sakti."
"Tumhara matlb mein samajh sakta hu. Mein jald hi time nikal ke tumse milne aata hu."
"Abhijeet relax… koi emergency nahi hai. Aur mujhe nahi lagta ki iss baat ke liye hum mein se koi bhi kuch bhi kar sakta hai."
"Matlb?"
"Offo Abhijeet – ab matlb samjhane ke liye baat batani padegi na…kitne buddhu ho tum."
"Acha?"
"Haan"
"Tab toh aapke saath aur waqt guzaarna padega."
"Kya?"
"Arrey aapki sangat mein, I'll become smarter na."
She giggled.
"Kya Abhijeet tum bhi !"
"Ab tum gaadi mein baith kar, apni ek eyebrow raise karke smirk karoge toh mujhe dikhega nahi," she taunted.
"Par aapko pata toh chal gaya na – aur ye problem meine solve kar di hai…apna whatsapp check karo."
Tarika checked her Whatsapp and saw an image sent by him.
He was sitting in his car with one hand on the steering wheel. He was smirking with his eyebrows raised.
Aah such drop dead gorgeous looks!
She felt blood rush to her cheeks as she tried to control her smile.
"Ab ye na insaafi hai," he said over the phone.
"Kya matlb?"
"Matlb ye Tarika ji….ki aap uss picture ko dekh ke pyaari si smile dengi…aapki gaalo pe halki si laali aayegi aur hum dekh nahi payenge."
"Acha?"
"Ji," he sounded as upset as possible.
"Arrey re," she pretended to be sympathetic, "Koi baat nahi – kabhi aur dekh lena."
Saying this she clicked a picture and sent it to him.
"Ye hui na, meri Tarika ji waali baat."
"Ab phone rakho aur uske ghar jao – pahonch gaye hoge na tum."
"Tumhe kaise pata?"
"Senior inspector Abhijeet – aapko yaad dila du ki Time = Distance/ speed. Aur aap on an average 60 ki speed pe gaadi chalatein hain."
"Lekin tumko kaise pata ki bureau se damini ke ghar tak ka distance kitna hai?"
"Tumhe kya lagta hai…sirf CID officers ko sab pata hota hai?"
She asked and cut the call, without giving him a chance to respond. Almost a minute later, he received a text message from her.
"Unki girlfriends ko bhi bahot kuch pata hota hai *winki emoji*" it said.
That made a smile settle itself on his face for a very long time.
Oh her little things and their big space in his life!
So guys – this is a new story. Wait for the next chapter to know what is wrong : P
Please do review and let me know if you liked it.