Desde sempre e para sempre
Chapter 7
They had to talk about it. Someone had to say
something…Naina grimaced every time she took a sip of the peculiar drink. Gael looked
at her. At the rate she was going, she was going to be drunk. Good, maybe that
could calm her nerves and she would not resort to hyperventilating the next
time the plane lurched.
Naina, on the other hand, was getting accustomed to the taste. That or she had lost her ability to taste. Whatever it was, gasoline
or not, it was very calming.
How long had they been silent? Breno had ordered
for another glass. She felt he was rigid and withdrawn but she was beyond
caring at the moment. If he wanted to behave like a stump, there was nothing
she could do about it.
Then all of a sudden he started talking. However, she was still busy feeling light and cheerful. Focus, Naina, focus, she thought to
herself. He might test you on what he is talking about…
Gael: “I…uh…you were hyperventilating and I read
somewhere that…it was something about you hyperventilate when you have too much
oxygen or less carbon dioxide and so if you kiss, you help deplete that oxygen
or it helps with re-breathing, that is, restoration of carbon dioxide…what I am
trying to say is that you were in a state of panic and I tried to reach for a
paper bag…while we are at it…”
He pulled out a paper bag from one of the pockets of the seat and handed it to her.
Gael: “This will pretty much do what I did.”
Naina looked at the paper bag in her hand and
laughed: “I didn’t know paper bags were so talented.”
But Gael was not laughing: “You have a serious problem
with flying. How do you manage…”
Naina: “You mean what do I do when I don’t have a
guy sitting next to me who is willing to kiss me every time the plane jumps?”
Gael: “You were breathing at the rate of 50
breaths per minute! A normal healthy adult should not exceed 20 breaths per
minute!”
Naina: “Are you a doctor?”
Gael: “No but my brother is and…”
Naina: “And now we are even.”
Gael: “What?”
Naina: “One of your two brothers is a doctor. That
is a truth about your life. Score 2 for me and that makes us even.”
Gael did not like to lose. He never did.
Gael: “Next time the plane jumps don’t look at
me!”
Naina hugged the paper bag: “Oh, I won’t. My paper
bag will keep me safe.”
He looked away grumbling under his breath. Naina
touched his arm gently to get his attention.
Naina: “Thank you…once again…I know I was getting
out of control…”
Gael: “How do you manage otherwise? I am sure that
this is not the first turbulence you have experienced.”
Naina: “I generally take some medicine which keeps
me calm. It’s prescribed by the doctor. I..I…it’s all that Gael Bourgeois’
fault! Had he not messed with my day, I would have remembered to pack my
medicine in my handbag! It’s also the fact that I have not taken my medicine which is making me a bit more queasy…and it’s my hormones too…I have a serious thing
going on with my body during the days before my menstruation…”
Naina gasped and shut her mouth with her hands,
her eyes growing large…What in the world was she talking about?!
Gael burst out laughing. Naina looked away
embarrassed to the core.
Gael: “So, you are PMSing?”
Naina: “You ask like I am SMSing!”
Gael laughed again: “Well they do have one thing in
common.”
Naina: “If you say ‘women,’ I will smack you.”
Gael: “Well, on that note, I have good news for
you.”
Naina: “What?”
Stop, Naina. That is all you need to say.
Gael: “You can punch me one more time now. I am a
man of my word.”
Right. He had said that she could punch him again
if he kissed her again...
Naina laughed and pulled her fist back to punch
him but then let it go: “I think I will save this one.”
Gael: “And here I thought you were going to pardon
me.”
Naina: “Me? I am the lady; I don’t need to be
chivalrous.”
Gael: “Are you always like this?”
Naina: “I hope not…I don’t know…I just seemed to
have lost control over my tongue…like right now all I should have really said
is ‘no’ but here I am giving you a long explanation and I am still talking!”
Gael chuckled: “Right, PMS. I don’t mind it.”
Naina: “I am sure you don’t considering I am
making a fool of myself.”
Gael: “You are only doing what you promised you
would.”
Naina: “I promised I would make a fool of myself?”
Gael: “You are personally making sure that
I am having fun.”
Naina: “Oh! Don’t remind me that again!”
Gael: “Babe, 14.5 more hours to go…”
Naina: “Do you call every other girl you meet ‘babe’?”
Gael: “No.”
She couldn’t stop herself from blushing even though he hadn't really said anything. He was a charmer and if he continued to do so, she was sure he would charm her pants
off too!
Raj walked over: “Excuse me, Sir, your grandmother
is asking for you.”
Gael nodded and stood up. He then held his hand to
help her up. Naina liked it. It was a small gesture but that’s what gentlemen did.
She accepted his hand and stood up but realized oh-oh...
Gael: “Hey, all okay?”
Naina nodded: “I just…”
He didn’t have to know she was a mess any more
than he already knew she was.
Gael: “It’s that time of the month before THAT time of the month?”
He was too close to her…it was getting hot again.
She felt parched.
She reached for her glass and downed the gasoline.
Oh! NO! Naina! That is not water!
Gael knew what was wrong. She was buzzed but he
kept that observation to himself.
Gael: “I thought you said it tasted like
gasoline.”
Naina just looked away. She was not going to talk.
If she did, God only knows what she would say! She placed her hands on his
chest and pushed herself away from him. She needed to maintain distance.
Gael stepped out and let her go ahead. She took
the lead. She was able to walk on her own…barely…well, if he said anything to
her she was sure to snap at him for trying to baby her again. Aaji was going to
know instantly that she was drunk. She had raised 3 boys after all.
Naina stumbled into the First Class followed by
Gael.
Naina: “Nani!!!”
She plonked down next to Nani’s seat and burst
into a giggle for her haphazard behavior.
Aaji looked at Gael instantly, fire in her eyes. She already knew.
Gael: “It’s not my fault!”
Aaji: “I don’t need to ask you whether you are
involved or not!”
Well, hell! What did that mean? Did she think it
was his fault or not!?
Gael was instantly surrounded by all the new First
Class passengers who had words of gratitude and praise. It seemed they had already told his grandmother of his doing which was sure to have confused her because he didn't have a kind bone in his body. Unaware of how to deal
with praise, Gael loosened his tie and looked at Naina for help. But she was in
her own world. And he had missed out something important. Very important.
“Pratibhaji, your daughter-in-law has such a
beautiful smile!”
Naina: “Me? Yes, I do have a lovely smile. Nani,
your name is Pratibha?”
“She does not know your name?”
Aaji: “Uhhh…that’s because I have always been a 'Nani' to her. The boys call me Aaji but my name is Pratibha. Although Leo calls me
Prats!”
Naina’s eyes lit up with triumph.
She stood up, wobbly, and hauled him closer
pulling him in by his tie: “Your Nani’s name is Pratibha and one of your
brothers’ names is Leo. Leo is a short form for Leonardo. Are you Italian?”
Gael: “You are drunk, will you keep quiet? And
stop this…(He pulled his tie out of her hold) I am not your public property!”
Naina grabbed his tie again to pull him closer: “So,
you can kiss your wife anytime you want and your wife can’t pull you in closer?”
Gael: “Wife?”
Naina: “Oh, come on! Your Nani told the rest that
we are married. We now have to play the part for your Nani's sake…”
Maybe she was not that far gone. She was paying
more attention to what was going on around them than he was.
Aaji cleared her throat: “Excuse me.”
“Pratibhaji, let them be. They are a newlywed
couple after all!”
Gael stepped back. WHAT was happening?
He leaned in closer to his Aaji and whispered: “What
have you been upto, old woman?”
Aaji whispered back: “WHY IS SHE DRUNK?”
Gael: “Never you mind that. She is my wife and I
can do whatever I want with her.”
Aaji snickered: “From the looks of it, she has you
wrapped around her finger.”
His face creased with a frown.
Naina: “HUSBAND! They want to know how we met!”
Aaji: “Why don’t I tell them how you met?”
Naina: “Trust me, Nani. Breno is the best at story
telling in the family!”
“Tell us! How did you meet!?”
“Oh, come on! There is no need to blush, son!”
Gael grumbled: “I don’t blush.”
Naina: “We met in China, he is Chinese, you see…”
“How can that be? He is Brazilian. Pratibhaji said
that you met in Rio de Janeiro!”
This time Naina put her head back and laughed
while Gael faced his doom. Within a few seconds she had managed to score 3 more
points. She now knew he was a Brazilian! It was only a matter of time before
she figured it out that he was Gael Breno Bourgeois! AND she had done all that while
she was drunk!
She is smart and she was not just a professional
dancer, walking talking Bollywood queen. It was about time he took her
seriously. It was about time he started playing this game seriously.
Gael: “We met in China but things didn’t click.
She followed me all the way to Brazil and then I finally gave in. We got
married. I felt bad for her. Poor girl had made a promise that she would die
single if she didn’t have me. And, come on, she is not a sore sight for the eyes
so I decided to just get it done with. Give some meaning to her life.”
That had her stop laughing. A pity as he had grown
fond of the sound of her laughter…
Naina: “Excuse me! That is not the story! He is
lying! That’s all he does! He has done nothing but lie ever since the moment we
met!”
Gael: “Honey, you wanted to use the restroom,
remember? And since you are drunk I will help you out.”
Aaji: “What are you doing?”
Gael: “Prats, its best you stay out of this
husband and wife matter.”
Although Leo had named her Prats when he was only 5
years old and she had found it quite charming then, the present usage annoyed
her. They all knew that and so its usage today had a different connotation. If
used in the present day, it only meant one thing. It meant that the boys were
annoyed with her.
Naina was looking away from him drumming her
fingers impatiently on the armrest. SHE had followed him all the way to
Brazil?! HE felt bad FOR HER!!?? He DECIDED to give her life some PURPOSE?!
All that was a lie anyways! Why did she care?
But the fact that he was a Brazilian was not! He
was from Rio! Yes, that suited him...no wonder he had no qualms about kissing
her every five minutes. Brazilians were all about public display of affection
or public display of every personal emotion! But then they were very intense
and passionate lovers and above all extremely possessive…
But what had her angry the most was the
realization that the kiss, the two kisses to be precise, they had shared meant
nothing to him! She knew that in Brazil a kiss was a greeting absolutely
nothing else. That was just the Brazilian way of saying Namaste! Even if it was on
the lips and not on the cheeks!
She was not in love with him but as much as she
hated to accept it, it had been more than saying Namaste to this Brazilian guy
as far as she was concerned!
Naina: “I am not going anywhere with you!”
Aaji: “Nandiniji, Vimlaji, Krishnaji why don’t we
let these two have a moment alone…as you know they are newly married and it
takes time to adjust to living with each other, isn’t it?”
“Oh but they are a lovely couple. A match made in
heaven…they will make such fine children…”
And the rubbish continued even though their voices
faded as they walked away.
Naina finally stood up to face him however she had
to hold on to his arm to steady herself.
Naina: “I scored 3 points. So that adds up to
5 points for me.”
Gael: “Wait a minute; I thought we were on a
timeout…It’s not fair that you can get all the information from my grandmother
while I only have you to tap for information!”
He was NOT going to tap her to get anything!
Naina: “All is fair on an Air India flight.”
Gael warned her: “You are playing with fire.”
Naina leaned in closer: “I have heard much more
about Brazilian men…”
He swallowed loudly and cleared his throat: “Naina,
I am warning you. I can play dirty too.”
Naina: “I wouldn’t want anything else…”
She walked past him looking back at him, her eyes
giving him a top to bottom check and slowly licked her lips. She then flicked
her hair to one side and raised one of her eyebrows questioningly at him which
was followed by a wink and a risqué smile.
He was just staring at her pretty sure that his
jaw had hit the floor. What was he, 15 years old? She laughed fully aware of
the effect she had on him. Drunk Naina was very sexy and would have had him
guessing whether she was naïve at all! Drunk Naina had him wrapped around her
finger. She shook her head, her eyes still laughing, as she turned around and
tried to open the door to the restroom.
Naina had no idea what she was doing! Who was this
person? And more important what was in that drink?! When had she turned into Cat
Woman!? She felt so empowered, she felt so sexy…and she wanted to pee right now!
Ever since, he had mentioned the restroom, she had wanted to go!
Naina banged on the door and looked at him harried:
“It won’t budge!”
Naina: “Breno! I am not kidding! I need to go and
I need to go now! OPEN THE DOOR!”
Gael: “I am not inside if you are suggesting I am
occupying it.”
He couldn’t move, not yet. He needed to buy some
time to take care of that composing bit.
Naina: “It’s not occupied!”
When Gael didn’t move, she started banging the
door again and yelled at him: “WELL, DON’T JUST STARE, DO SOMETHING!”
That had the attention of the entire First Class.
Gael lost his temper and displaced it on the door
storming against it and propelling Naina and himself inside the bathroom as the
door slid shut behind them.
It had happened so fast. One second he was ten
feet away from her and the next second he was not even half a millimeter away.
The toilet was soooooo close….which meant she
had to had to had to had to had to…She started moving against him trying to
cross her legs to…
Gael grabbed her tight to hold her steady. If she
moved anymore she would realize just how much she affected him.
Gael hissed: “Stop moving!”
Naina: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING INSIDE??? AHHHHHH I CAN’T
FIGHT WITH YOU RIGHT NOW!!! I NEED TO GOOOOO…..”
Oh, she really was desperate…
Gael tried to turn around to get to the door but
damn, there was no space…
Gael: “I can’t move.”
Naina: “What?!”
Gael: “This is a tight space, I can’t move. You have
to go around me and slide the door to the left.”
Naina: “I can’t! I can’t! I can’t do it! I am just
concentrating on keeping it inside!”
Gael tried to turn around but he couldn’t. She was
jumping too much. There was no space, didn’t she get it. And a certain section
of his body was not co-operating with him!
Naina lost her patience: “I CAN’T CONCENTRATE
ENOUGH TO REACH FOR THE DOOR BEHIND YOU AND IF YOU CAN’T MOVE, I AM GOING TO GO
HERE RIGHT NOW WITH YOU STANDING IN THE RESTROOM!”
With one swift move, Gael grabbed her butt and
hauled her up against him, spreading her legs apart as he moved in between them pinning her to the wall. To create
more space around them he had to get rid of any space in between them. Instinctively,
she wrapped her arms around his shoulders to balance herself. She then wrapped
her legs around his lower waist which brought her as close to him as possible.
Once she was secure in his arms, he moved his free hand behind him, holding her
up against the wall, and slid the door open. He dropped her not so gently but
on purpose and slammed the door shut as he stepped out.
