FF: New York times with Maan&Geet Thread 4 09/13 - Page 32

"What on earth are you wearing?" He questioned, wiggling his head from left to right, in small movements. The sight was a vision in white, including Louis Vuitton pumps and a handbag; her golden straw hat being the only exception of color on her. He wondered why he had never noticed how long her legs were, or how right her height was to steal a kiss. The fact coming into light from the 4 inch pumps, which were accentuating her lift from the ground in addition to the summer dress that ran short above her knees, by inches; exposing her fair lean calves to his examining view.

"Hello!" she blew up a puff of air on her bangs by the side of her face and continued "Did you forget? You asked me to wear white and nothing else..."

"Perhaps you took quite literally to the nothing else part...don't you think?" he said with a smile, getting in to the car. Just as she settled in, he couldn't help add "Don't you have a sweater or something...to cover this?" He was pointing at her almost bare shoulders that had rolled up dress material for straps.

She rolled her eyes, thinking what had gotten into her husband. "Naini, got me this...I don't have anything else in white. And this is a summer dress Maan, just as you asked" She said with a mock smile.

"She's a bad influence, I told you so..." he muttered under his breath, in a musical tone, as he shifted gears and stepped on the accelerator. She had presented herself, just as he had lectured her, albeit, he was in a mood to tease her.

He didn't know if talking to Naini after 9 years was doing it, but he was beginning to associate everything since that morning with her. Like a recently opened up chilled soda, the recollection came to him with the same buzzing fizz and freshness in his mind's eye. The flooding memories from a yesteryear brought an amused smile on his face. She had been that brat giving make-overs to everyone that remotely had a feminine persona. His wife was her recent victim, he concluded.

They had left behind Naini with Rishabh and had taken the first flight back to San Francisco along with Daadima. Upon hitting their Sausalito home, he had struck up an idea to take her out to show her the city; the newcomer's ritual that they had not yet done together. Although he was leaving on a night flight back to NY, he hesitated to do the safe and clichd trip of the city. And so, he settled to drive up, further north, to Napa Valley, the winery land, that still managed to have a few of their traditional home-wineries, a best kept secret. 

Now that they were no longer around each other, every waking hour of the day, he felt compelled to make all of the fleeting time that they spent together, a memorable one. Unknowingly the pressure was building up to think of novel ways to do so. For now, he felt he had a well justified plan for the next 8 hours, until he gets to the airport, taking Daadima back with him to NY. As for the future, he hoped he would think of something that no common man would plan for.

It was unlike him, to put off so many things for another day, he wondered. Life was coming along wonderfully, after she had made an entry into his life. There had been initial hitches, although, every one of them had seemed to take care of itself, without him having to do much about it. In other words, he was encountering chance events in his life, where he had little role to play. Be it her divorce date issue or Naini, coming back into the family, he felt, he had handled it well, which in comparison to Maan from a few years ago, would make it quite uncharacteristic of him to wait on problems to sort itself out. Of course now that he was married, there were more affairs that could go out of control. There was no way he could be prepared for everything...like an unplanned baby...BABY?

He felt his hysteria course down to his feet and instinctively move itself to the brake pedal on the highway, at full speed. It abruptly jerked her from the range of thoughts she was lost on. She raised a brow in question, to which he simply nodded dismissing her concern, quickly.

As much as he loved kids, he wasn't sure he was ready for his own. And the two times the topic had surfaced accidentally, they had never fully gone the whole nine yards of discussing it. He had no clue about when or where she wanted to start a family, let alone how many kids she exactly had in mind. Perhaps there were hallucinogens in the dense valley air that were causing uncalled for paranoia in him, he thought while he turned around briefly to take in a view of his musing wife.

He welcomed the momentary distraction to the same extent, as all of Napa was praying for summer rains to quench the sultry air. He examined her closely, pondering if he ever saw her in the same light twice in a row. The dress by itself was a killer with soft blue buttons lining down a good two inches from the start of her cleavage, ending in a wide band of blue belt, that tugged the narrow of her waist so tight, that it defined the smallness of her hip. Her wide expanse of her shoulder and neck brought a sensuous smile to his face as the dark lush of hair, casually swung over her straps from a ponytail. She was casually leaning back on the passenger seat, with her head placed far to the window side and her legs, joined close at the knees, pointing towards him, rested right by the gear shift, giving him access to her smooth skin from her thigh downwards. Just as unconsciously, he raised his hand from the gear stick and moved his hand up her fair thigh, throwing her into a rude shock instantly. Then again, he was still driving and so she brushed his hand off with reluctance before he could, leaving the duo with coy smiles, playing up her their face.

"Don't tell me I'm not allowed to feel you up your dress...I'm your husband for heaven's sake" he commented with mock frustration seeking a diversion. She nodded at first, trying to think hard when he had turned a monster and then erupted into peals of laughter, making him tilt up his brow with uncertainty. 

"You don't have to ask anything for that matter" she paused looking away "I was only thinking how much control you have lost since our marriage" she stated with a mischievous look.

"Your hands seemed to have a mind of its own" She added with a swift blink, smiling sensuously, "You better behave today Maan"

"With that dress..." he drawled a bit, his tone falling down a couple of notes to sound suggestive "you must have come prepared...don't blame me...I have wine for an excuse"

She hid her face in the hollow of her palms and acting out all shy, sighing in retort, she cried "Hai Babaji, what am I going to do with you?"

"Nautanki" he accused her, indulging himself with a full-blown laughter.

Another half hour later they were at Le Chetau bordering the end of a hill road. Tall wooden planks ran along the length of the road, shielding everything from passers by of what lay behind the monstrous fence. The sound of harmonica and accordion set to the tunes of a rustic Italian melody greeted their ears, just as the small door set in the metallic gate opened up to let them in. The vibrancy of the tiny crowd gathered inside the enclosed vineyard transferred itself into their beings in no time. She felt she had just gone down a wormhole and come out, to old world Italy, taking notice of men in suspenders and women in flowery summer dresses. A girl with an overflow of cheery giggles ran up to her with a wreath of grape leaves. She took it from the little girl's hands and slipped onto her forehead, right after she shot a quick serene smile at him in acknowledgement. He was wearing the strap of his Canon around his neck, when she had turned and he paced to take a random shot of her, which now had the bonus of her curved lips too.

He smiled again at the small pleasure of life, they were settling for. Bliss was indeed a word out of their life and not just the dictionary, he gathered. She locked her arms with his and they strolled for a short while, around the rows of vines that streaked across the mountainous plains. Once it was time for the fun event of the day, they darted back to the main cellar, where the family that owned the winery, had planned the evening's events: an age-old tradition of crushing the grapes with bare feet that started the harvest season followed by wine and cheese pairings. Although the harvest was not due until September, some wineries demonstrated the fun and gala event at a small scale, owing to the increase in visitors around this time. Such was this event too, with a wide oak barrel about 20 feet wide, filled with purple blue grapes, that was broad enough to hold at least ten couples at a time. The sight of it enthralled her and thereby menacingly throwing her handbag on a nearby table, she moved to hold the rim of the barrel in pure excitement. He quietly enjoyed taking detailed pictures of the ceremony, which started with blowing of a conch in all four directions, by the family matron, who was lowered into the tub by two men, a token of respect to the four winds that enlivened their crops. The other couple visitors, lifting their female spouses to drop them off into the barrel, following the ritual.

They didn't have change of clothes and he had conveniently assumed she would not be game for it. She made a face at his hesitation. And so before she could break down from the lack of experiencing the bubbling merry she could be downed in, from being part of the stomping, he strode up to gently lift her and drop her off into the slush of grapes. She screamed frivolous and looped her arms with the other women who were going about the circumference in circles. The line of women sometimes came together in formations, with their feet dancing away, kicking their heels high up and at other times formed a train and swooshed around the others in zigzag paths. She jumped, ducked, sploshed, bent and ran around howling as a dancing dervish. Not heeding for the white dress she was clothed in, she had playfully engaged others in a game of 'throwing the sludge' of crushed juice and grape pulp at the others. In turn she was dripping in grape juice, her dress stained a dark purple.

Any chance of turning back time to the days of her childhood was not something she would let go of. And so she swiveled with her hands spread wide towards the skies, in a fit of rapture, the feeling multiplying without bounds. With the melody inducing a state of trance, he left the camera behind to join her, just as the other men did.

He took a spontaneous hand around her waist, from behind and rested his chin close to the curve of her neck, swaying to the soft tones that she hummed. She smiled and turned around to wrap her arms around his neck. The next second, he took her hand by the finger and twirled her around, only to have her gently land against his chest. He kissed her the same instant, tasting the remnants of juice that had stained her lips blue. She shied, just as another couple smiled at them, and hid her face in the nook of his shoulder, her ever present demure unfailing to leave her.

The heavens rumbled and a steady spray of rain ensued, having the couples elevate into a higher state of delight. With her slender form plying with the contours of his body in rhythmic movements, it instilled a spark of desire in his skin. She was not left behind, as his fingers grazed up her body, gently caressing the curves that framed her torso. With a thin grasp of coherency, she took a hurried look around and found the other couples huddling closer in similar passionate endeavors. She took off from his side, without so much as a notice and jumped out of the barrel, running off in the direction leading to the back of the cellar. He followed obviously and caught her just as she rounded the corner. They had landed in what seemed like Cuverie, or the fermentation shed. Colossal sizes of barrels lined the walls that towered 25 feet in height and ran along the unit for another quarter of a mile. When his brief observation had paused him for the shortest while, she escaped his clutches and continued running inside. He matched his strides with her and grabbed her by her wrists as she went towards the rear of a drum to hide from him.

Almost instantaneously, even without him having to urge, she faced him with a slight pout. He stopped short, observing her full lips, and took her into a slow kiss. At first, he lingered close, stoking her cheek with his breath, making her own breath get unsteady as he heightened the anticipation of the kiss. When her lips visibly trembled with intensity, he crushed his lips onto hers, sending a pool of warmth spread from the core of her belly. His muscles tensed with her touch while she lifted his tucked shirt and slid her hands underneath; his shoulders growing stiff as her curves hugged him close. He watched the brown of her iris turn dark with verve of ardor, while they broke from the kiss for a while. Their lips parted in unison discerning the throbbing ache to feel the other, as their fleeting gaze raked each others bodies. Her heart jolted and his pulse pounded by the sides of his jaw just as he ran his hand on her feminine curves. His breath caught in his lungs and stared at her lips speechless, right before he stole another passionate kiss. Growing shallow by the minute her breath was, and she moaned grudgingly in the way he awoke a sense of aching pleasure within her. He flicked her buttons, sliding the straps off her shoulders. As a thin sheer of the wet garments left nothing to his imagination, he growled at the animal she was making out of him. Sucking on her skin, he drank in the essence of the wine that was fused with her skin. Her hands splayed on his cheek, climbed up his neck and knotted deep in his hair.

It was an enigma by itself, she wondered considering if the weeks of separation made them sinfully carnal, so fast and all the more often. However, even before she could find an answer to the cursory thought, his searing touch dissolved any bit of reasoning she possessed. Tracing down the sides of her body, he held the back of her knees and raised it along the length of his leg. She drew her leg up his calves and held him closer as her head titled back to allow him more of her neck and chest. He lifted her against the wall and settled her on a barrique nearby. Lord! she mentally screamed imagining the inevitable...in the shadows of a winery?

But every ounce of modesty that she cringed at, disheveled the next instant, for such was the soaring ecstasy she was caught in. His hand inched in under her flowing dress, feeling her silky skin over her thighs, as he leaned in on top of her. She whimpered his name in agony and he felt her body writhe in a need for him. When the tension in their bodies melted the last vestige of consciousness...he made love to her.

Before their absence could be discovered, the blushing couple came back to join the others entertaining themselves in a drunken dance. It was the last place on earth he would have ever thought, to make love to her. Although when she had broken so many core rules in his life before, this was nothing worthy of a mention. Crush the grapes...the song from the movie 'A walk in the clouds' played on, as he took her in his arms and swiveled around to drop her back into the swamp of squished grapes. One day at a time, she was crushing the wrath of sour grapes...that had formed a part of him. At least, marriage was making fine wine out of him.

That was a difficult update, but not so much as Nirvana. Uff! we are counting numbers, and I can only hope we can do so soon. THANK YOU all for your lovely and long comments. Instead of responding back to your posts, I wrote up the update. Hope you are ok with the trade. But know this ye all, I love your comments and so keep it coming.