All My Life (12 page)

“Yes,” I reply without any thought or hesitation.

He gives me his beautiful laugh again. “You didn’t even ask where!”

“Sweetheart, anywhere is okay with me. As long as it’s with you.”

His eyes go warm and his fingers curl around the back of my head. “Say it again.”

I feign ignorance. “What?”

“You know what,” he says softly.

“Sweetheart,” I whisper in his ears. He sucks in a breath and closes his eyes like it caused him pain. When he opens them again, he looks at me for a second and then his face breaks out in a grin.
What?!

“Now, that’s way sappier than Angel!” he says.

Agggh!
I smack his chest and he doubles-up, pretending like it hurt. Then he throws his head back and laughs. After a few seconds of trying to look indignant, I cave-in as well. In spite of all the hits and misses it’s been a perfect day. Everything’s out there between us and yet. Here we are.

The stars above peek through the maze created by the buildings towering all around us and we stay together under their beauty, cloaked in the darkness of this perfect night. Both of us unwilling to let go just yet.

“I wish we could spend the night together,” I say as he holds me in his arms.

When he doesn’t reply, I look at his face and realize the warmth in his eyes has turned up a notch, searing the air between us. My body stiffens. “I…I mean just be with each other. Not anything…I…” He silences my stuttering with his lips and I thaw at the gentleness of his touch. His love ripples through me. Intense, deep and heart-wrenching. My knees buckle and he grabs my waist, stopping me from collapsing in a puddle.

“Oh God…this feels so nice, so perfect, so good, so so so…” I say breathlessly.

“So,
so so
?”

“No, I mean so…just so 
right
!”

He chuckles. “You had me worried there for a second.”

“You have absolutely no reason to worry! You have mad kissing skills!”

He grins before he gives me yet another sampling of his talent.

“Kari…” I hear my Mom’s voice from behind me and I jerk away from Neil like he just poked me. Which he did. But it is not something I want to acknowledge at this point in our relationship. At least not in front of my Mom.

“I was just coming inside,” I say sullenly when I notice she is wearing her work clothes again.
Wha..?

“No, no. I didn’t want to bother you two,” Mom says, smiling dotingly at the both of us
. Jesus
. Don’t bring out the yarn just yet, Mom!

“Cary just called.” She looks at Neil and explains, “Cary’s my boss and he just got a big scoop…” Mom lowers her voice conspiratorially, “…on a
movie star
!”

“That’s…great,” Neil replies, looking uncertain.

“I know but the awful part is I have to head back to office.”

“What?! Mom, you just got back an hour ago!” I look at her in dismay. This job is really stretching her taut. No holidays, weekends or even office timings to speak of!

“I know but we’re going to break this news in the morning edition. I have to rush to office now, Kari. Will you be able to stay home alone for the night?”

“Mom, please! Newsflash…I’m in college now!”

“Yeah, but you get those nightmares sometimes and…”

“Mom! You had to rush to office?”

Thankfully, before she can divulge anything else, Mom immediately snaps back to her panic mode. She checks her wrist watch and turns to Neil but before she can go batty on him all over again, he speaks up. “If you don’t mind Ma’am, I can stay with Kari for the night.” My jaw falls open but Neil continues like he’s stating the most obvious fact in the world. “Of course, I’ll be on that comfortable couch I saw in your living room.”

I see a range of emotions flicker across my Mom’s face. Shock, disbelief, thoughtful consideration and finally…
a smile
. WTF? She’s actually buying it?

“Only if you give me your word,” she tells him with a stern expression.

“Gentleman’s promise,” he smiles across at her and the deal is sealed. I wonder if I should say something? Like I’m a person with  opinions and they should come under consideration as well? How do they know I don’t object to Neil staying alone with me…
for the whole freaking night?
! Oh, my freaking holy ghost! This is un-freaking-believable…and with my Mom knowing about it?! Dear God, I swear to all that is holy, I’ll never mock Mom’s football addiction ever again. Long live the Bears!

“Just one more, please!” I squeal.

Neil gives me a stern look. “No more.”

“Just one teeny tiny one…puhhhlease!” I try to reach for the bottle myself but Neil grabs it and holds it away from me.

“If I’d known you couldn’t hold your drink I would’ve never encouraged you.”

“Oh! Come on, I’ve just had two glasses!”

“Yes and that was only because you hoodwinked me.”

“I didn’t! I really…
hic
…couldn’t sleep!”

“Tell me honestly, your Mom doesn’t let you drink any of these…does she?” he waves towards my Mom’s not-so-secret stash of wine in the kitchen cabinet.

I cover my mouth with my hand to stop the giggles from escaping and shake my head.

“I knew it! She’s never going to trust me again,” Neil says woefully.

“Oh! Come off it! I’m finally free today! It’s a good enough reason to celebrate. Actually, it’s a great reason to celebrate!”

“But how can you get this drunk with just two glasses?”

I cut him a smug look. “Hehehehe…you know I even get drunk on beer?! Isn’t that the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard?!” I point to the bottle he’s still clutching in his hands. “Wanna see what happens with the third?”

Neil gets up from behind the dining table, holding on to the bottle. “Nice try, Angel,” he says as he places the wine back in the cabinet and shuts it with a firm push.
Spoil sport.

When he turns back to face me, I put on my best come-hither expression. “Then how about I give you the time of your life?” Somehow the tic in my left eye makes it impossible for me to give a smooth delivery.

Neil purses his lips and arches an eyebrow. “And how do you plan to do that?”

“You have to…
hic
…sign up to get to that part. And the first step is registration.” I pout my lips and point a finger at them. “Press this button.”

Neil looks at my lips for a long second. Then he looks away. “This being a gentleman thing sucks,” he mutters under his breath.

“Speaking of sucks…” Neil rushes towards me and clasps his hand on my mouth.

“How about a bed time story?” he says quickly.

“Does it involve sucking?” I ask as his hand loosens and then just for the heck of it, I bite down on it.

“Ow!” He snaps his hand off and cradles it. “What’s that for?!”

“Yikes! Sorry!” I start to snicker but then bite my lips to cut it off. I don’t know why but laughing is making me feel a bit queasy.

Oh I
do
know why. I’m drunk! Hehehehhee. I lick my lips feeling happy with my self-induced buzz. Neil looks at me, his eyes zero in on my lips again and for a second I see something flash through his eyes. But then he sighs deeply and says, “Yes, there’s sucking. Now can we?”

“Yay! Vampires!” I clap my hands, do a little jiggy dance and then scamper off to my bedroom. I flop down on my bed and Neil walks in pinching the bridge of his nose. What’s that all about?
Any-who!
“I want two stories!” I yell at the top of my voice and I hear Neil muttering, “I’m never having kids.”

What? 
“Why not?!” I wail. “I love kids! We’ll have two, okay? Bea and Ben.” I put out two fingers for him to count but Neil is staring at me with wild eyes, his feet transfixed to the spot. Then as if snapping out of a dream, he quickly moves and flicks a book from my table.

Neil walks over to sit by my side and I lift his arm to snuggle into his chest. I do a face-plant, take a deep breath and then bend my neck to gaze up at him. “Have I ever told you…you smell really nice?”

His lips twitch as he replies, “No, I think not.”

“Well, you absolutely do! It’s like lemon and leather. Plus your delectable lickable sweat.” I raise my head and wiggle my nose on the soft black curls of his chest. “Ummm…yummy.” I’m about to dart my tongue out when Neil suddenly shoots up and hops off the bed.

“What happened?!” I mutter in shock.

“Angel, you’re killing me here.”

I tilt my head to one side. “I am?”

He nods his head and then quickly gives me a peck on the forehead. “I think you should go to sleep now.”

“But what about my story?!”

“I’ll read it to you in the morning.”

I pout my lips. “Promise?”

“Oh, trust me. There will be a lot of story-telling happening tomorrow.”

I give-in grudgingly. “O-kay.”

As he’s tucking me in, I wind my arms around his neck and give him a surprise wet kiss on his lips. Satisfied, I slump back on the bed and sigh happily. I don’t know why but I see his entire body do a deep shudder and his jaw visibly clenches.
Any-who!
I don’t even hear him leave the room as I feel my eyelids go unbearably heavy and I slip away into the dreamless sleep of the drunk.

Aggh! My head! It’s about to break into a million pieces and I just can’t seem to concentrate enough to take down any notes. Maybe I should’ve taken the morning off but I couldn’t have skipped this Economics class. It’s kinda crucial if I don’t want to tank my grades. And anyways, when I woke up this morning Neil hadn’t even been there!

I had woken up to loud snoring and had followed the noise to my Mom’s bedroom. Ah! She was back. Thank God, she hadn’t been around to watch me get drunk. I’d tried lots of times to educate Mom about college life and all the associative perks that came along with being an adult, but you just can’t reason with the jittery mother of a seventeen-year-old girl who can’t hold her alcohol. Especially since even one glass is usually enough to make me suffer a migraine the next day. And according to the text message I’d gotten from Neil that morning, I’d had two glasses of wine yesterday. As Mom would say, it’s penance time.

I clutch my head in misery as a renewed stab of pain lashes through my cranium.

“Have you had the magic pill?”

I turn to Tatiana and wince as even that slight movement causes my brain to revolt. “What?” I ask.

“Magic pill? Alka Seltzer?”

I scrunch up my face. “No.”

“Well, you’re in luck!” She digs out a strip of white tablets from her bag. I waste no time in glugging one of those pearlies down with my Gatorade.

Half an hour later, as the class finishes I realize I do feel a lot better. My head is still throbbing but at least it’s not crippling me like before. I give Tatiana a thankful smile as we walk out of our class. “It seems to be working,” I tell her.

“It always does. Lots of water, a ton of sleep and you’ll be as good as new!” she quips.

I take her advice a bit too seriously and nap through the next two classes and on the subway ride back as well. But thank God for that, because as soon as I enter the shop, I see Nalini buzzing away with her machine on a client’s navel. And surprise, surprise, the noise doesn’t blow my brains out.

“Hey! Wassup?” Nalini shouts without shifting her focus.

“All good! It’s cloudy out there! You think it’ll rain?” I ask.

“Hopefully not. Emma here has been praying for a clear starlit night,” Nalini tells me.

I wave to the girl lying on the bed table. She raises her chin and we exchange smiles. She’s around my age and looks like a completely normal person. Normal as in untreated hair, no visible inks on her body, dressed in a tee and jeans. Totally zero street cred.

“And why is that?” I ask the girl.

Emma shakes her head. “Oh nothing. Just a date night with my boyfriend.”

“Only she thinks he’s going to propose,” Nalini adds with her head still bent down.

“Wow! Huge,” I grin at Emma who’s now chewing on her lip.

“I don’t know for sure. I’m just hoping he will.” She points to her navel. “This is for him.”

I stare at her in confusion. “You mean you didn’t want this piercing?”

“Oh! I did. I just never had the guts for it.”

“So what changed?”

She hesitates and I rush to ease her. “Oh never mind. I’m just being terribly nosy.”

“Oh! No…no…it’s just that…I know he likes this stuff and I thought I’d gift it to him.”

“Isn’t that’s the sweetest thing ever?!” Nalini says as she stands back and snaps off her gloves. I nod while looking appreciatively at Emma’s belly button. Even though I’m still icked out by the whole piercing thing, I have to admit this navel ring thing does look nice. Maybe some day…?

Emma rushes to examine herself in the mirror. “Oh my God! It’s awesome and it didn’t even hurt that much!”

I exchange a grin with Nalini. Emma looks like she had walked in expecting
Saw
and got
Sixth Sense 
instead.

As she settles her payment, I head over to get my usual coffee fix wondering if Emma will get what she’s hoping for. A starlit night and a marriage proposal. Not too much to ask, is it?

I plonk myself back on the counter. My 5 pm client will be arriving any minute now.

“Has Neil been around?” I ask Nalini and she shakes her head.

“Not since the afternoon. He was busy interviewing a dude for the mornings.”

“Really? Already?”

“Yeah, I know. Dude looked decent though. Inked some nice samplers. I guess it bodes well that Neil went out for lunch with him.”

“He did?” I ask, feeling secretly happy that my morning substitute is not a girl. How petty and shallow!
Still.
Thank God.

“That girl is so lucky,” Nalini utters with a deep sigh as she stacks all her tools back.

“Who?”

“Emma,” Nalini says with a wishful look on her face.

“Hmm. You planning on getting another one for Josiah?” I ask her. For a person who has this as her profession, Nalini has very few piercings of her own. Ears, eyebrow, nose and navel. Well, it’s few compared to some of her clients.

“Babe, he’s the one who’s gonna be getting it. Right after I propose to him.”

“You’re gonna
propose
to him?!”

“Yup. Next month on his birthday.”

“Wow. That’s so cool!” I exclaim and Nalini grins.

“Do you wanna get one?” she asks suddenly and my face must look horror-struck because she immediately back-tracks. “Just checking that’s all! You
do
know that navel piercing is almost completely painless?”

She dumps the folder with different shots of navel piercings right in front of me and then ambles off to the bathroom.

After staring at the folder for a few seconds, I finally flip it open. Looking through a few shots, I have to admit it
does
look like a sexy thing to have. Maybe someday sooner…

The door dings and my scheduled client arrives. She had been one of Agnas’s but now I have been given the blessed task of inking a tramp stamp above her behind. Why anyone would want their name there is something I’m almost too afraid to ask.

As I’m inking the tattoo, my thoughts drift to Agnas. She hasn’t been down on the floor since the past few days. Even though Neil had mentioned yesterday about her girls night out, I really want to see her, check on whether she’s doing okay. After all, Agnas is the one who took a chance on me when I thought I’d become invisible. She’s the one who had noticed my talent when I’d thought myself clueless.

So after my client leaves I tread up the stairs, feeling a bit cautious about how she might react. The last time I saw Agnas in her room, she had driven both Neil and me out with her death glares. I hope this visit turns out a little better.

I give a tentative knock and a feeble voice answers from inside. Opening the door, I walk into the living room and discover that it looks very different from my earlier visit. Because, one, Agnas is lying washed out on the pristine leather couch and second, there’s a big puddle of puke on the floor right next to her. I rush to her, carefully side-stepping the mess.

“Agnas! What happened? Do you want me to call the doctor?”

She shakes her head weakly. “Won’t…do any good. He said this would happen. I’m so sorry…sorry you had to see this.”

I take her hand in mine. “Oh please, I’m in college. I’ve seen puke fests galore!” I catch her eyes and grin. She grants me a thin smile. Then I stand up and do what my Mom always does when someone’s sick in the house. Order them around.

“You stay here and don’t move a muscle.”

Agnas closes her eyes and sinks further into the couch. “I couldn’t…even if I tried.”

I rush into her bedroom and get her a blanket. Then I rush to the kitchen and give her a glass of water. As she starts sipping, I gather the necessary resources for cleaning up the mess. A few minutes of mad scrambling across the kitchen, the small balcony and the bathrooms finally yields gloves, mop, bucket and a disinfectant. By the time I head out to the living room, Agnas is already fast asleep on the couch.

I wait for a few seconds to check if her chest is heaving. Satisfied with her even breaths, I scrunch up my nose and get down to cleaning the stinky stuff. And the only thing I can say is, thank God for hardwood floors! I don’t even want to think about having to clean this off a carpet.

Once I’m done cleaning, I scrub my hands and scrounge through the refrigerator for something edible. Two limp carrots, three scaly tomatoes and a small weary-looking cabbage. Minestrone it is.

Half an hour later, just as I’m pouring out the soup, I hear a knock on the front door. I tread softly and open the door to find Nalini standing there with a frown on her face.

“Everything okay?” she whispers.

I nod and reply in a hushed tone. “Agnas needed some help with dinner. She’s not feeling too bright.”

Understanding clears her face and Nalini hands over the shop’s keys to me.

“You want help?” she asks.

I shake my head. “I’m done. I’ll just give this soup to her and then head home myself.”

“Okay. I’m off then babe, see you tomorrow.”

After Nalini leaves, I take the soup and some crackers to the living room and keep them on a side-table. Then I give a gentle nudge to Agnas’s shoulder.

Rousing up from her slumber she looks at me with weary eyes. As the disorientation leaves her, a startled expression crosses her face.

“Care for some soup and crackers?” I ask her gently.

Agnas blinks at me for a few seconds and then awareness slides across her face. “Kari? Soup? You made soup for me?!”

I nod in the affirmative and she smiles. “You didn’t have to do that! You already had to clean…” She closes her eyes and sighs deeply. “I’m so, so sorry!”