Synopsis: Reddy stays overnight with Shanti in her apartment.
Munni's LIA - Episode 23
Munni gets floored
Reddy came in, slipped out of his shoes and sat on the squishy sofa in Shanti's apartment. It was close to 11:30 PM. He had been up and about since very early that morning, when he started cooking in the garden gazebo. He was pretty tired and sleepy. Shanti started the kettle of water heating, and went into her room to change. When she came back, she was in an ankle length, full sleeve nightie sleepwear. Reddy said,"…you know…we must drink lots of water….rather than coffee…at this late hour. We had already drunk Pepe's coffee at the restaurant…..do you have any large glasses ?"Note: Thoughts are in Chevrons < Thoughts > and words spoken out, are in quotes.
Shanti opened a cupboard and produced two large tumblers. She switched off the heater and ran the cold water from the tap in the sink. The under-counter fluorescent light penetrated her sleepwear and caused in Reddy the need for a cold shower. He decided to get up off the sofa and walk to her in the kitchen nook so that he can avoid looking at her with that background illumination. Then he showed her how to guzzle like a frat boy. They guzzled two large glasses each of cold water. Shanti said,"...yeah...it does wake you up...doesn't it ?". Reddy said,"..yes..it also would prevent a dry throat during the night".
Then Reddy put his arms around her in a gentle hug and said,"….ok..then, have a good sleep..and we can chat in the morning…..I will get going..". Shanti asked," ….why don't you stay for a few minutes…it is only a 10 min. drive home…no ?". He said,"ok". She then said,"let us go and sit down"; holding his hand, she lead him into her room.
Shanti had a twin box-spring+mattress set pushed against one corner of her room. No bed, or frame or headboard. Reddy reminisced:<..the student life !!..>. She had a bookshelf with a lot of books, a small desk, chair and a bedside stool. She also had a 3-drawer dresser with a small mirror on top of that. Her black leggings was slung over the back of the chair. There was also a small closet in that room. The desk had orderly piles of paper on one side and a laptop computer. Shanti said,"…this is a tour of my house" and smiled. "Very nice", said Reddy. "You will have to sit on that bed and lean back on the wall…", Shanti said. Reddy sat, and yawned. Shanti came and sat beside him, took a pillow, asked him to lean off the wall a bit, and stuck it behind him. Reddy was quite happy with that gesture; he was ready to drop to sleep. However, he fought it off and said,"quite a nice place…good to have your own private room…no ?". "yes", Shanti answered,"…although…the wall is so thin…that I can hear Patty singing with Shakira once in a while". "Is she home now ?"Reddy asked. Shanti replied,"No..I don't think so… is probably too early for her to get home…but will be in shortly…around midnight….even though she goes to parties…she is sensible".
Okonomi: Farah Khan consulted in the choreography of some of Shakira's videos. See if you can spot Farah's touch in this video of "hips don't lie". And BTW, Wyclef Jean, who was much in the news after the Haiti earthquakes is her co-singer. I like him, because he sounds like a young Louis Armstrong.
Hint: Watch the video in maximized screen; in public places, use earphone so that the music does not disturb
Reddy took that opening and asked,"what do you do…in your evenings and weekends ?". Shanti answered,"…this first year had gone by so fast…I was so nervous with everything, I worked and studied all the free time I had….so…I pretty much went to college, went to grocery and came here to put my head down for the night…now I am more comfortable with the system…I can even go to a movie on a saturday afternoon". Shanti smiled and then looked down and blushed, thinking, < now, I have even lured a boy into my bed !! >. Reddy promised,"..may be we can get together more often when you have time..". Shanti looked at his face and smiled,"…and take me to movies and basketball ?". "Yes…we can do that….also, my auntie Kamla has a huge collection of indian movie DVD at home too…", he said. Shanti imagined herself and Reddy, all by themselves, in that big house, cooking and eating indian food, lying together in the same lazyboy sofa in the basement of Reddy's house, watching movies. Then she thought about that longest running movie, DDLJ, with young SRK and Kajol, and decided that her father in Chennai would be very very glad and excited to hand her over to Reddy, if he came and asked for her. With such musings, she went quiet for a while.
Reddy almost dozed off; then he woke up with a start and thought perhaps he ought to get home. As if to put a stop to that notion, she jutted up against him and took his left hand and put it over her shoulder, just like it was in the movies. Then Shanti asked him,"you are very tired <ayyo paavam..(=the poor dear).he head almost fell on my lap just now>…it is past midnight now…why don't you sleep here a few hours and then go home in the morning, after sunrise ?". Now it was Reddy's turn to go quiet for a while, as Shanti was looking at his face for an answer. He recalled the time, many years ago, when he was new in the country and met his cousin Sheila: they went out to dinner, drank wine, then Sheila didn't want to drive, and suggested going to a hotel to spend the night. This was a similar situation, and from the looks on Shanti's face, she really didn't want to be alone and he had but one option: Stay. So he answered, "ok….but only if you promise..". Shanti interrupted,"promise what ?". "…that you wont take advantage…", he smiled.
Shanti slapped his upper arm with:"…Pepe auntie said you are a good boy !!...< but..why not ..take advantage ? .> ". They both laughed. Then Reddy asked her,"…on the floor here ?…that living room sofa is so soft…I will have a back ache in the morning..". Shanti said,"we can put the two mattresses in single layer here…". Then Reddy realized that Shanti had two mattresses one on top of another, and no box spring. "good idea", said Reddy,"…I can wear my basketball sweatpants for the night…it is in the car trunk". Shanti said,"…ok..go and get it and come right back…I will make the beds". He got up, put his shoes back on, and went out to get his bag that he took to the community center. The bag had a first aid kit, toothbrush-paste, toiletries, shorts, sweat suit and elastic bands he used while playing. When he came back, he placed the shoes by the foor, hung his jacket with the others by the door and came into Shanti's room. She had already pulled the top mattress down and made the beds with the sheets she had. The mattress at the wall was taller by a few inches than the one she had pulled off the top.
Then, smiling to himself, Reddy went to the bathroom with his bag, and came back wearing his red rayon knee length playing shorts < that room is warm !! can't wear sweat pants > and a faded gray U-of-M T-shirt. Shanti looked at him, then slightly turned her head away < red boxing silks ?....is he highlighting something ?...Reddy on the cat-walk...and...boxers by "victor's secrets".. >, blushed and smiled to herself. Then she went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, combed and tied her hair in a pony tail and came back. Shanti switched off the lights after Reddy got into his lower bed. She had an orange plug-in glow light under the window a little behind Reddy's head. After a few minutes, when Shanti came to the edge of her mattress, and whispered,..Reddy…", he could see her face. He lay on his side to face her, and asked, "what?". She said,"…thank you so much for all of today….I mean,...yesterday...I really really loved everything…< where were you all my life ? >". Reddy replied,"..I am happy too….it is not everyday…that I get to hold hands with a lovely girl…and then somehow trick her into asking me to spend the night with her..", and gently giggled. Shanti took her hand out of the cover sheet, and pushed him away, and said,"good night ". Although Shanti really wanted to say "good night, my love", and pull his face towards her and kiss him, she resisted the urge and pulled herself back towards the wall as she heard Reddy say good night to her.
Counting Sheep
Reddy was sleepless for quite some time after that. He imagined how life can be with Shanti. She might even want to R2I. After she graduated with her Ph.D., she could find a job in India. In those few years, he guesstimated, he could save "enough" money as well. And, if she didn't want to R2I, they could make a life for themselves in the US. Mango trees grew in Florida; perhaps he could build his house there, and invite Benny to come and see the mango tree. But then, first, he needed to find a way to tell Shanti everything that had happened in his American Life. He was surprised and happy that in just two meetings, he and Shanti had come far enough to have her trust him with herself. But he wanted to tell her about his past soon; delaying too long seemed fraudulent behavior, but then, springing such a thing too soon might be self-destructive. Shanti had fallen asleep; he could hear her regular breathing, punctuated with occasional sighs. He resolved that he would try to make Shanti understand how much he loved her and hoped that she would see reason to forgive him for whatever stupidity led him into that daze of a life he spent with Ana. He wanted to think about a good strategy to achieve what he wanted; but it made him tired just to rehearse in his mind, a conversation with her about that messy phase of his life. He didn't know when he drifted off to sleep.----o)
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