06 | The One With The Step Brother

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Mumbai always dealt with traffic that was adamant to get cleared. They have been caught in the traffic for almost half an hour.

Shree looks out towards the window of Madhav's car. A soft smile spreads across her face and her eyes look out in wonder and delight, like a child staring at a chocolate dessert. She marvels at how the evening sky had a beautiful blend of colours like an artist's palette with stars shining like valuable diamond studs. She tries to a have complete and uninterrupted look at the sky, to marvel at each inch of the sky painted like a multicolored canvas. The tall grey and dull buildings that touched the sky wished for otherwise, and she got glimpses of the sky.

Madhav looks at her, as she leans infront of the window, until her nose presses against the glass and stretches her head upwards. He smiles to himself and is thankful for the windows of the car being tinted.

A few bikers to Shree's side dive deeper in to the traffic between narrow gaps of cars and buses. The humungous cargo lorry behind the bikers moves forward and blocks her view. The biggest frown spreads across her fair round face. She adjusts herself on her seat, putting the seat belt on. Her hand twists and turns the leather strap of her handbag, muttering something to herself, rolling her eyes as she sits crossed leg on the seat, her feet bare from the tight hold of her footwear.

"Don't let such a trivial thing bother you Ms. Prasad!" Madhav says as he holds her hand in his in a soothing way. A quick wave of electricity washes over her body, and she her heart beat accelerates by one thousand times.

"I'm not upset." she says turning towards him. "I-I-I was j-j-just- you know- just-"

She pulls her hand from his and finds his eyes latched on to hers. She gulps and he extends a hand towards her face. Her heart starts to drum inside her chest as he pushes a strand of her thick black hair behind her ear. The sound of the horns blaring from behind forces Madhav to rip his eyes from her. He drives ahead.

A few minutes after the traffic had dissolved Madhav's phone suddenly rings from his pocket. He fishes it out from his pocket, as he focuses on the road and puts it on speaker mode, signaling Shree to hold it towards him.

"Yo Bhai! Shyam here!" comes a merry baritone voice as smooth as silk. "Where are you at the moment?"

"I just passed Star Mall. Why?" Madhav asks curiously.

"Uhm... Nothing. I was wondering if you could pick me up from-"

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" Madhav interrupts confused. Shyam uses Madhav's old bike to go to college and come back home "Why can't you drive yourself home?"

"Bhai... Actually..." The voice starts to tremble with anxiety.

"What did you do to my bike, you son of a womanizer?" Madhav yells, and his gruff voice reverberates throughout the car.

"Bhai... Actually..." his voice is trembling like a leaf "I accidently parked it in a 'no parking' zone after lectures and the traffic cops towed it away."

Shree giggles to herself as she wonders how both the sons of Mr. RK get in trouble for illegal parking. Madhav's angry eyes whip at her and she shuffles in her seat like a timid hare.

"Did I just here a-?" Shyam asks curiously.

"No! There's no one!"

"But! I heard someone--"

"Where are you right now?" Madhav changes the topic.

"I'm standing near Diamond Garden!"

"Stay wherever you are. I'll be there in a while." Madhav says and disconnects the call. He turns to Shree. "I hope you're okay if we pick up my brother on the way to Chembur. Apparently his bike got towed away when he went out to someplace after his law lectures at his Uni."

"Does your brother lecture in a University?" she asks.

"No! No! Ms. Prasad!" Madhav says as he chuckles "He's 23, not an old chap as you assume him to be. He's in his third year currently."

Shree starts counting using her fingers, and suddenly the ten years age gap between the two brothers and the fact about Madhav losing his mother when he was four didn't coincide. She bites her lip as throws secretive glances at Madhav from the corner of her eye.

"You're right Ms. Prasad!" Madhav says as he understood the confusion in her "He was born many years after my mother died. Apparently he was born to Mr. RK and his mistress, my stepmother. I blame that bitch for my mother's death." He turns to her and finds her taken aback "Even though he is my step brother I never treated him like that. I always have seen him as my own brother and I so has he. That's what my sister Deva wanted, ever since the day he was born."


* * * * *


Shyam is a final year law student, a part time self made mechanic. He constantly takes pleasure in the company of his in-house role model Madhav.

He has a fair clean shaved complexion laced with a baby's innocence and playfulness unlike Madhav's tanned and rugged look. His eyes are the shade of bright onyx beads, that match well with his short black hair. He's wearing a grey Polo tee-shirt with a denim trouser.

Shyam gets into the backseat of the car, as Madhav pulls over into the curb of Diamond Garden. He throws himself on to the comfortable cushioned seat and closes the door.

"So how was work?" he asks leaning in front towards the driver's seat. Madhav glares at him through the mirror.

"First tell me how that bike got towed away!" Madhav whips quickly.

Shyam leans his temple against the head rest of the driver's seat, attached like a mushroom growing on a tree. "So, I was driving the bike towards the coffee show when Ma called. I stopped near the pavement to talk to her. That was when some hobo driving a minivan splashes mud over my converse! As soon as I finished the call, I went into the nearest washroom to wipe off the mud from my shoes and by the time I came out the traffic cops left with the bike. You don't worry too much about it, Bhai. I'll get it back somehow"

"Do you have any other option?" Madhav asks as he shoves Shyam's face off the headrest with one hand. "I don't know what you have to do or who you have to please, but I need that bike by this week! That's it!"

"Why fear when I am here?" Shyam adds like a hero from a Bollywood flick, comfortably adjusting himself on the seat as he rests one leg above the other. "Don't underestimate the power of a common man!"

"Common man, my foot!" Madhav murmurs "You're capable of such fancy talks only! If I don't get that bike back in good shape, then I'll hang this common man on a tree and whip the living hell out of him until he becomes a coma man"

Shree bursts out laughing out loud, earning annoyed glances from Madhav. Shyam's eyes widen with surprise and he leans forward eagerly as he hears her laugh. Shree notices the killer look coming from Madhav's dark eyes like cancerous UV rays from the sun. She stops laughing and shuffles uncomfortably on the seat in a deafening silence. Shyam, turns his head towards Madhav.

"Who's this new girl, Bhai?" he whispers in a very audible hush raising his brows in quick succession at his elder brother "What's she doing in your car?"

"She's my secretary and I'm offering her a ride home." Madhav explains as he notices Shyam throw a sly and wicked grin at him. "Shyam, this is Ms. Prasad. My secretary!" he says emphasizing on the word 'secretary' "And this-"

"You mean, Ms. Pepper spray Prasad, right?" Shyam asks cheerfully, a bright smile playing on his face, as he shakes hands with Shree "Bhai'saab has been talking about you, ever since last month. For a moment I thought something fell on his head and he started obsessing over imaginary characters. Trust me, there hasn't been a single day where he failed to talk about you, he goes on and on and on until my ears bleed! It's nice to meet you! I started to feel sad for you at a point. Now, I am so relieved to know he is fine."

Shree gave a slight nervous smile as she withdrew her hand from his.

"So how's working with Bhai'saab?" he asks leaning against the driver's seat. "His mood swings must be reminding you of Mumbai city's weather, right? Forget Mumbai, on city on planet earth will be so an unpredictable"

Madhav nudges against Shyam's spine but he ignores it, eagerly awaiting for Shree's answer. Shree tries to hold back a giggle as she nods.

"Ms. Prasad!" he exclaims in disbelief.

"Kya Ms. Prasad?" Shyam shoots back as he turns to Madhav "She's telling the obvious truth! How many times have I told you to your anger locked in a wardrobe, duffer."

"Come home and I'll show you what and who needs to be locked in a wardrobe." Madhav says soothingly, his voice dripping with sweetness and utter malice. Shyam's eyes widen in realization that he is doomed for today, but yet decides to laugh it off and he presses a quick kiss on Madhav's beard. Madhav hisses in disgust as he pushes him away.

"Stop behaving like some Bollywood heroine and sit down for fuck's sake Shyam!" Madhav exclaims as he rubs his beard clean on his shirt "If I put a sudden brake then you'll be sent out flying like some Marvel's Superhero. Sit down and put on that fucking seatbelt on! Duffer!"

Shyam shrugs and sits on his seat.


* * * * *


A few minutes later Madhav pulls into the curb outside Shree's apartment. Shree unbuckles her seat belt and picks her hand bag, bending down to wear her shoes. She opens the door and turns to wave a good bye to Madhav and his brother.

"Don't forget to give me a missed call when you go inside." Madhav says waving at her. "I mean it! Or shall I come inside with you?"

"No! Pimple Aunty's daughter, Nosey Dimple has come back from Chandigarh, if that chiraiya sees you dropping me at home, she'll probably go around Mumbai telling everyone Sharma, Khan and Kapoor that you and I are having some fishy business going on!"

Madhav nods understanding as he scratches his beard.

"Shall I wave to you from my apartment balcony?" Shree asks.
Madhav smiles as he nods. Shree happily gets off the car. Madhav watches as she walks into her apartment. He realizes something and punches the horn. Shree quickly turns in her feet and he gestures her to come back. She walks towards the car.

"You called sir?" she asks as Madhav rolls down the shutter.

"Yes, I did, Ms. Prasad!" he says as he hands her the Tupperware box she gave him. "I got it washed properly, so don't worry. I had homemade food after so long, and trust me it has been more than a decade since I had homemade food. Thank you so much."

Shree smiles as she takes the box to her hands "I'll tell Amma to pack some lunch for you tomorrow as well. She makes noodles and fried aubergines on Tuesdays. Trust me, it's just khidkithod awesome!"

Madhav smiles "Tell Mrs. Prasad that I kept something for her inside the box. It's a small token of appreciation from me."

"What have you kept inside?"

"An 8K shopping coupon from Vivaaha Silks, our subsidiary sari outlet. I hope she'll like it."

"Isn't 8K too much?" Shree whispers as she leans closer to him. "And you really don't need to give us anything in return"

"I know but my Ma used to tell that it's a bad omen to return a tiffin box without a token" Madhav says. "Families of hard working employees deserve such special awards."

"May I go now? Modern Family starts in a few minutes!"

Madhav nods smiling. Shree turns and starts walking.

"Don't forget to show up in sari!" he reminds and a slow blush creeps over her face.

To be continued

Glossary
Bhai & Bhai'saab- Brother
Kya- What
Ma & Amma- Mother
Chiraiya- Girl
Chandigarh- A place in India
Khidkithod- An expression equivalent to 'Amazing'
Sharma, Khan and Kapoor- An expression equivalent to 'Tom, Dick and Harry'

Express all your views and thoughts about this chapter through your comments. Also let me know the about following:

-How was this chapter?

-Did you like Madhav's step brother, Shyam?

-What was your favourite part of this chapter?

-How do you think RK's mistress (Shyam's mother) is responsible for the death of Madhav's mother?

-How do you think Madhav's mother would have died?

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