I believe that two people are connected at the heart, and it doesn't matter what you do, or who you are or where you live; there are no boundaries or barriers if two people are destined to be together.
- Julia Roberts (Hollywood actor)
A grey, early May sky hovered low over the Montana prairie. The cold wind whipped at the dried yellow grass and carried a brief smattering of icy rain. Raman Kumar Bhalla eyed the leaden skies and flicked on the windshield wipers to remove the water crashing on his car windshield. Outside, the temperature dropped steadily, but inside the white cab of the big four-wheel-drive pickup he had rented, he was warm and comfortable. Only comfortable in the physical sense, mentally, he was tensed to breaking point.
Raman had been in United States for the past week on a business trip, leaving behind his big fat Punjabi family and his lovely, crazy Madrasan wife back in New Delhi. 2 days prior to his scheduled departure, he and his business partner, Steven Smith had flown over to Montana to check out the wheat farms as they had plans to cultivate the crop farming in India. It had been a long day but a fruitful one as he had learnt that during off season, dry beans, lentils, field peas could be planted before the land is ploughed again for wheat farming. Steven and he had gone to the MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub. Famous for the grilled meat and beer. Without a shed of guilt, Raman had enjoyed his meat dinner and lots of beer. While saying their merry goodbyes to the other patrons, Raman had spotted a lady in wheelchair. She reminded him of his jansi ki rani. He had smiled the way her partner had bent down to listen to her. The tte--tte looked very familiar and romantic. The guy was in grey suit and a black overcoat. He took off the overcoat and draped over the lady. It looked very cosy and he dropped a light kiss on her lips and said something that had made the lady laugh. The laughter, sounded very familiar. Raman stood still shocked.
By then their car had arrived and the guy helped the lady into the car. The lady's back was facing Raman but Raman had a good view of the guy; from behind the lady looked very familiar, the guy was handsome and had sub-continent looks. Raman could not see her face clearly, he had run to the spot to see the couple but by then, the doors of the car had closed and the windows were tinted. He could not confirm the identity of the couple.
The lady's laughter was very familiar and the lady from her back view looked very similar to his tough cookie Madrasan Ishita. Yes, he had his doubts. Ishita couldn't be in US. She would not have come over without telling him and moreover, the guy had kissed the lady on her lips. Till today, Raman had only kissed Ishita on her cheeks. Their love story had just started. Nope, Raman thought to himself. He was hallucinating. Raman's curiosity had been quipped; he had to check it out. He had called home, the line connection was very poor, and he could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation. Mrs. Joshi Bhalla had informed him that Ishita was out of town and she had left her phone at home. When he asked where Ishita had gone, he heard his mother saying US. Raman was shell shocked. So, his eyes were correct it was Ishita. What was Ishita doing in US and how could she allow that guy to kiss her lips. Raman was raving mad but how to get hold of Ishita . He had to find out. Luckily for him, Steven was able to assist. They went back into the bar and enquired about the guy in grey. It turned out he was also an Indian and based out from Butte Creek.
So, now we have Raman driving towards Butte Creek with Steven as his companion. Dwight Yoakam's voice poured out of the stereo speakers, the lyrics to "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere" filling the interior. Raman reached out and pushed the eject button, the CD popped out and the radio, tuned to the local Scobey, Montana station, came to life.
"...the front moving down from Canada is a cold one, folks. Better get out your thermal underwear and parkas-the storm is showing all the signs of giving our corner of Northwest Montana the first really serious bout of rain. There is going to be heavy pour with lightning and thunder. And now a word from our sponsors..."
Raman switched of the radio and scowled out the windshield at the ribbon of two lane blacktop stretching ahead of him. He was 20 miles north of Wolf Point; he had another 30 miles drive before he reached Butte Creek, then he had to find the residence of Jai Narayan's house. Yes, Jai Narayan is the name of the guy he had seen Ishita with (was it really Ishita, his mind kept screaming at him. This is not Shagun, but Ishita, who was as pure as Gangga and as clear as the Kavery waters). However, Raman was feeling very blue, he had failed in his love with Shagun, after 1.5 years of marriage, now only he had realized his feeling for Ishita. This love, it was like a new leafing, needed lots of care, a single suspicion could damage the evolution of the relationship. Raman had to elucidate his inkling. Hence, his decision to drive down to Butte Creek.
By the time Steven and Raman reached the destined address, it was late in the night. Everywhere the lights were off; Steven had insisted on driving back to town to check in, into a motel but Raman wasn't very keen. However, to keep peace, Raman had agreed. After checking in, to the motel, Raman had left Steven in the room and had driven back to the house of Jai Narayan. This time around, he saw a light at the 1st floor of the house. Instead of knocking on the door knob, Raman had walked behind the gardens, where he could see brighter lights. Luckily for Raman, there were no dogs at the compound. The gardens were well tended and there were lots of roses. Ishita's favourite.
The far end of the back garden, Ishita in her wheelchair was trying to stand, the guy, presumably Jai Narayan was standing a few feet away from her. While balancing herself, Ishita crumpled to the grounds. Ouch! Aiyo Muruguan', Ishita yelped. Ishita!', Raman shouted and started running towards the lady but before he could reach her, Jai had already scooped her up in his arms and was cuddling her to his chest. Then, Jai took Ishita to the hammock tied between the trees and laid her there.
Time stood still for the couple. From his position, Raman could gauge that the couple were looking into each other's eyes, swift colour flooded the lady's cheeks. "I never pass up an opportunity to kiss a beautiful woman," Raman heard Jai saying to Ishita. Raman's blood starting boiling. This was his Ishita, what was she doing with this guy. Raman wanted to run over and wench the couple apart. When he tried to move, he couldn't move. He realized he had stood in between a rose bush and his legs and arms were shrouded with thorns. He was so engrossed with the scene in front of him, he had not realized the thorns biting into his flesh.
Up in front, Jai's arms were circling Ishita's waist possessively. His mouth touched hers, Ishita hugged him tightly. She slid her arms around his neck and pressed closer, the soft curves of her body fitting perfectly against the harder angles of Jai's. He groaned, his arms tightening. His fingers fisted in her hair, the pressure of his mouth forcing her head back into the hammock, the kiss turning hotter, feeding the hunger that grew, the longer he held her. The sound of moans, passion could be heard a distance away. The couple were lost in their world of passion.
(2nd part to be continued soon...)
