“Wait… wait Seema… Don’t run outside. There are cars on the road…” Rupali ran after a little girl, but the girl ran into someone else who was coming in through the gate.

“Steady Seema,” the man held her and then picked her up lovingly.

Rupali was surprised to see that it was Paritosh. “Dr. Banerjee!” he was surprised too.

“Doctor Uncle is here,” Seema shouted in excitement.

Paritosh smiled at her and put her down, “Run to your friends and tell them this is the checkup day for Pokemon group. They should all gather in the hall.”

“Okay!” the girl replied and ran away towards her friends, all of whom stayed in the orphanage.

“He… Hello Sir,” Rupali was flustered.

“Nice to see you here,” if he was awkward to meet her outside the hospital, he managed to hide it pretty well.

“Same here,” Rupali said, but wondered if she felt that way. Although she had appreciated Paritosh saving her from Rohan’s untoward demands in the hospital, she didn’t think she could share her personal life with her boss. But she had come there that day on some purpose. So, she decided to go ahead with it. “The administrator told me that a senior doctor volunteers here and he would be here today. I had no clue that would be you. It was probably silly of me to not to ask the name…”

“That’s okay. Did you want to meet me?”

“I just… wanted to volunteer as well… To help you… I thought it was better if I coordinated instead of doing it separately.”

“Sure. That’s a great idea.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Do you want to start right away?”

“Yes. Of course. That’s why I came today.”

“Great. Let’s go then. We can do two groups today. Too many kids – so I have divided them into four groups. One group gets the check up every week.” Paritosh was used to managing the department. He effortlessly took her under his wings there too.

“Pokemon group?” she smiled in amusement.

Paritosh smiled too and they felt the tension and awkwardness dissolving, “Well – with kids, you have to be like kids. You will take up Ben-10 group.”

“Okay,” her smile had grown to become a chuckle. Just then her mobile rang. “Excuse me Dr. Khanna. I have to take this. I will join you in a minute?”

“Sure,” Paritosh looked at her curiously for a second before leaving. The softness of the smile had disappeared from her face.

He couldn’t avoid hearing parts of her conversation even as he tried to move away quickly. “I told you Rohan… I am at the hospital. It will take some time…”

—

“Have you been feeling tired lately?” Rupali asked a kid during the checkup.

The boy nodded in reply.

“Kamla Auntie says he has not been eating well.” added the girl waiting behind him in the line referring to one of the employers of the orphanage.

“Dr. Khanna,” she addressed Paritosh who was attending to another group, “I think we need to do urine test for him.”

“What happened?”

“I suspect jaundice.”

“Oh! Come here, Sumit,” Paritosh asked the boy to come to him and checked his eyes.

“We need to isolate him from other kids,” Rupali said after Paritosh nodded at her in confirmation.

“I don’t think they have any empty rooms left. Too many kids… Too little funding… Same old story…” Paritosh appeared to be drifting off to some other world.

“Sir?”

Her voice brought him out of his thoughts. “If it is jaundice,” he started talking in a matter-of-fact tone again, “this is at a very contagious stage. Something needs to be done. Let’s take him to the hospital.”

“But…”

“I will pay for the treatment.”

“Okay…” Rupali was much more impressed than she let on.

“How have you come?” Paritosh asked Rupali when they made to leave with Sumit after finishing checkups.

“I took a taxi.”

“I have my car. Let me drop you back.”

“It’s not needed, Sir.”

“Where do you stay?”

“You also have to take Sumit to the hospital.”

“Fine. If it isn’t on my way to the hospital, I won’t insist. But at least tell me where do you live.”

Rupali sighed helplessly, “It is on your way to the hospital.”

“Then what’s the problem? Come with me.”

“You remember the name of all the kids there?” she asked as they were driving back. She had noticed it during the check up. He addressed each and every kid there by name.

“I have been going there for years now. Now I have seen most of them coming there, growing up…”

“Hmm.”

“How about you? For how long have you been coming here?”

“Just for last month or so. I was in Delhi for last five years.”

“AIIMS, right? For your MBBS.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Good.”

“Can you please drop me here?” she said suddenly in front of the mall.

“Here?”

“Yes. My house is at walking distance from here. And I just remembered I had some things to buy. So, I will get them from the mall.”

“Should I wait?”

“No. No Sir. Seriously. I stay right behind the mall. And Sumit…”

“Okay then. Take care.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

She waited until he had driven off and then walked listlessly towards her house without so much as glancing towards the mall she was supposed to go to. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. She had volunteered to work with Paritosh in the orphanage. He was her boss. There was no way she could have gone back on that commitment. And she didn’t want to… But this was going to get tricky with Rohan.

“Why were you with Dr. Khanna?” It was as if her worries were immediately personified. She ran into Rohan. And he had apparently seen her getting out of the car.

“He was coming to this side. He gave me a lift,” she didn’t really have to lie, because she didn’t make a reference to where she was coming from. As far as Rohan was concerned, she was coming from the hospital. She had become quite adept at manipulating Rohan to keep his anger and wrath away. But it was easier earlier. At first he was in London for his studies. He had come back a couple of years ago, but then she was in Delhi for her studies. She only needed to handle his possessiveness and obsession occasionally. But now… She was getting tired because she had to do it day in, day out. They were staying under the same roof. And she also had to hide it from Rohan’s parents. They were really proud of their son and they loved him so much. She wasn’t sure how they would react if she ever complained about him to them. If they believed her, they would be devastated. Rupali could not do that to them. If they didn’t believe her… well… what would she gain except losing their trust…. She was between a rock and a hard place.

“You should have gone with the driver,” Rohan was still irritated and his agitated complaint brought her out of her thoughts.

“Kakima might have needed him.”

“Why don’t you just learn to drive?”

“I am… scared of driving,” she lied. She knew how to drive; she had learned it with the help of one of her friends. But hiding things from Rohan was one of the things that gave her satisfaction. Of being in control. She knew her reply would work on him. It always did! The idea of her being weak, scared, in need of help, being dependent on him always worked. He liked it.

“I know,” that smile again! “Let’s go, and have a cup of coffee somewhere. I had been getting bored, waiting for you.”

She would have preferred to go home, but she gave in. What all could she run away from? She cringed as he put his arms around her protectively, but did not move away.

—

To be continued