“Why the hell did you run into the rain?” Partiosh was not assuaged yet.

Rupali was sneezing by the time she managed to change her clothes and come out to the hall of her house.

“The kids weren’t getting back. They would have fallen ill.”

“Kids can be quite immune. It is you who has fallen ill. Where is the thermometer?”

“Thermometer?”

“You are sneezing like crazy. I want to make sure you are not running a temperature.”

“I don’t have a thermometer. And I am fine.”

“You don’t have a thermometer at home, Dr. Rupali Banerjee?” Paritosh was annoyed as his emphasis on “Dr.” showed.

“Please Dr. Khanna,” Rupali felt miserable seeing his foul mood continue.

“Let me check…” he made to touch her forehead and then hesitated, “Can I?”

She nodded looking embarrassed.

“You are running a temperature, Rupali.”

“I am sorry. I really am. Now please, don’t ruin your mood like that. I will take a paracetamol and sleep it off. I will be fine by the morning.”

Paritosh took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

“I am sorry,” he said softly, “I got worried. But you need to eat something, have a cup of hot tea, and then take rest. Radha is not here yet. Can you call her?”

“Okay,” she said and made the call.

“Lie down in your bedroom. I will make you some tea in the meanwhile.”

“I will go later. And Radha will make tea. You don’t need to…”

“Don’t annoy me again. Let me take you to your room.”

Rupali had no option, but to go with him.

—

He pulled a chair close to her bed as she sipped her tea. “So, this is why you used to get sick in your childhood? Running around in rain?” he asked with a smile.

“I was cold intolerant.”

“You still are.”

“I didn’t realize.”

“How come?”

“Just didn’t…” she replied and averted her eyes. But she could not hide her tears from him.

“Hey! What happened? Rupali?”

“Nothing. Nothing really…” she kept the tea away and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. It was adorably cute how she wiped her tears like a little girl. But right now, she was very disturbed.

“Talk to me, please Rupali.”

“I miss my parents…”

“Of course, you do. How can you not miss them? But why these tears, all of a sudden? Did my scolding hurt you?”

She shook her head, “It reminded me of them. I used to be careless. I knew I was intolerant to cold and water. Still, I would go out in the rain, go around without warm clothes in winters… Because… Because I knew they would be there to nurse me. And I never thought that it would be a trouble to them. You don’t think anything you do could be a trouble to your parents. And then they were gone… Just like that… I could no longer take anybody for granted after that. I was cautious. I didn’t want to fall ill. I didn’t want to be more of a burden than I already was. I became so careful, I almost never fell ill. So, I had started thinking that I was immune now. I wasn’t… I just didn’t believe anyone was there to nurse me, if I fell ill…”

“Now you do, right?” Paritosh’ eyes had moistened. He knew what she was saying. Not being able to take anybody for granted. But in his case, he had never known his parents. He hadn’t known any other way of life in his childhood except for other people taking care of him. It wasn’t a great feeling, but it didn’t create the dissonance it had created for her. She had been old enough to always remember the change that had come in her life. And she had been young enough to still need her parents a lot. “Now you do have someone to take care of you,” he repeated, “You know that, don’t you?”

He really wanted to gather her in his arms and give her a tight hug. But more than her feeling offended, he wasn’t sure of what effect her physical proximity will have on him. So, he hesitated. But Rupali was overwhelmed. She suddenly leaned on him and then hugged him. There was no question of not hugging her back. He did. And he patted her to comfort her. She sobbed. She was like a lost, crying child, looking frantically for her missing parents. Oh Rupali! Could nobody heal her pain? At that moment, what he felt for her was almost paternal care.

“Calm down, Rupali,” he said after a while. If she cried so much, her fever would get worse, “Everything is all right. You are not alone. You are not a burden on anyone. Come on, now.”

She withdrew slowly. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled and again wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

“Sorry for what?”

“My breakdown. I got carried away.”

“Don’t be an idiot. I think that’s Radha,” the call bell rang just then, “I will get the door. I am going to tell her what to cook. And you must eat whatever she brings. Okay?” He was back in parenting mode.

She gave a small smile and nodded.

Paritosh was tempted to stay with her for the night. To make sure that her fever did not get worse. But he didn’t. There was an unspoken contract. A bit of it was already broken that day. He couldn’t risk more.

—

He was surprised to see her at the breakfast table the next morning.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he was alarmed.

“Waiting for you on the breakfast table,” she replied cheerfully.

“You should be taking rest.”

“I am fine. I really am. You have a thermometer here? You can check?”

He just went to her and touched her forehead. It seemed fine. He sighed in relief.

“You will be the death of me, Rupali, if you behave like that.”

“Sorry. I was just… I wanted to see you,” she replied with an embarrassed shrug.

The overwhelmed lover could no longer hide behind the strict guardian now. He smiled warmly and replied in a low, throaty voice, “Me too.”

That restored her cheerful mood.

“Can I ask you for something?” she asked sheepishly as they were having breakfast.

“As long as you don’t evict me from this house,” he joked and chuckled.

“I am serious, Dr. Khanna. Please.”

He also became serious and said affectionately, “You don’t need permission to ask me for something. Just shoot. Whatever is mine is yours. You don’t even need to ask me…”

“Can you take a day off today?” she said hurriedly as if she had to say it out quickly. If she slowed down, she won’t be able to speak at all.

“What happened?” her request worried him, “Is there a problem?”

“No. No,” she assured him hastily, “I have a day off today. I… I wanted to spend some time with you… Talk to you…”

His frown disappeared and he smiled fondly, “Let me check if there is anything urgent. If not, I am all yours Dr. Banerjee.”

She grinned.

—

To be continued