Read the previous chapters here.
This morning was different for Cyrus. He did not want to indulge into his love for wine; rather he wanted to finish his morning chores as soon as possible, so he could call back the number from which he missed a call last night. He did not know anyone in Mumbai and this was not from Jennifer's cell phone.
"What if ...." he thought aloud, "Jennifer was trying to call me from a landline! - this must have been from her, it would be too foolish for her to ignore my text that said I have some information."
"But that was a lie ..." he kept on thinking, "now what am I supposed to say to her when I call back?" He quickly finished his breakfast, did some research on Jennifer's beloved picture that was 'stolen'.
Then he called the number. "Hello" it was a masculine voice, "ohh! it's not her" his heart skipped a couple of beats.
"Hi, I was wondering if somehow you know .... someone might have called me from this number last night ....." Cyrus said in a very hesitant way.
"Is that Mr Daruwala?" The voice said.
"Yes! That's me ... who am I talking to?" said surprised Cyrus.
"Hi! Mr Daruwala, this is Shekhar, Roohi's father! We met yesterday. You brought my "Jaan" back to me. Remember?"
"Oh! Yes. Of course! You can call me Cyrus .... How is your little princess doing?" Cyrus asked.
"She is doing great! Thanx! Actually she was really excited yesterday and was telling me she liked you a lot." Shekhar said.
Cyrus chuckled, "Really! Didn't know that kids actually like me!"
"So how are you? I hope I'm not disturbing you." Shekhar tried to be polite.
"No no not at all. As you may remember, I came to Mumbai just to meet my mother, do not know a lot of folks in Mumbai .... so not really busy.....!"
"Well, I wanted to make sure I am not disturbing another date plan!" Shekhar joked, and Cyrus laughed. "So what's the plan for today? Any special plan or any plans that you have made with your mom?" Shekhar asked. Shekhar wanted to be sure before he spoke out his plan.
"Nothing much; I am sure I will get it all done by afternoon...." Cyrus explains.
"Actually, I was thinking if you are free this evening, we, Roohi and I would be delighted to have you at our place for dinner." Shekhar said.
"Papa Papa please be quick! Remember we have to go and meet Ahuja uncle this morning!" Cyrus could hear an impatient Roohi in the background.
"This little girl is a perfect blend of sweet innocence and smartness." Cyrus thought with a smile on his face. "Ohh, you don't have to do all that ...." Cyrus said to Shekhar.
"No, no, nothing formal ... just a little chit chat over dinner." Shekhar explains.
"Really? OK, that would be great. Please text me your address; I will be there." Cyrus wanted to wrap it up after hearing Roohi's voice and could not say 'no'.
"Actually, you text me your mom's address, I will go and pick you up! May be six-ish?" Shekhar suggested.
"Sounds like a plan, See you this evening! Bye." Cyrus concluded.
"OK great, see you then. Bye." Shekhar hung up.
Cyrus looked at the wall clock, it was already 10 AM. He quickly donned a jeans and T-shirt and jumped out on the road. "I should be in the office of the English daily before noon." He told to himself.
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Mr Aryan Ahuja was one the longtime residents of the community in Malabar Hills. For his friendly nature and his five pet dogs he became very well-known in the community, especially amongst kids. Every morning on her way to the school bus, Roohi would stop for few seconds and cuddle one of the Puppies that Mr Ahuja brings to the little community park along with his other 4 dogs. Roohi dreamt about having a pet-puppy - Shekhar knew that. That's why he was excited to accept a Puppy dog when Mr Ahuja suddenly offered one about 2 months ago on his way back home after Roohi boarded her school bus in the morning.
"My dog Lisa just delivered four puppies you see, I can not take care of them all, I can barely take care of what I already have. Your daughter really likes dogs and I would love to give her one puppy if you are OK with that." Mr Ahuja said that day.
Shekhar readily accepted but wanted to wait for a couple of months to let the pups grow a little bit and also, Roohi's 10th Birthday was coming, "so that would be a great gift" Shekhar thought.
Roohi watched all the other Puppies go one by one, as Mr Ahuja gave them away, but Roohi knew nothing about the fact that the one Puppy left was for her. Shekhar already explained Mr Ahuja the plan of surprise and today was the day Mr Ahuja invited them to his house so that he can share all he know about how to take care of a puppy, little did Roohi know that the Puppy that she adores so much was going to be hers in a matter of few days. Roohi's birthday was coming in one week. This year, Shekhar has not even discussed with Tara about any plans for Roohi's upcoming birthday. He had his own doubts whether Tara even remembered the day or not!
Tara has already left for her office early at 7 AM. Shekhar had got up at 8 AM and helped Roohi get ready. She demanded that she did not want to go to school today. Shekhar gave in after minimal resistance to this idea. He was getting ready to take Roohi out to Mr Ahuja's place to see the dogs but the phone rang and he spoke to Cyrus over phone. The previous night he had called him to invite for dinner this evening. He was planning on inviting Mr Ahuja for dinner as a token of appreciation - the gentleman firmly refused to accept any money in exchange of his puppy and was kind enough to offer a crash-course on puppy care at his house.
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Right after the conversation with Cyrus, Shekhar had to pick up the phone immediately as it rang. It was Jennifer.
"Do you know anyone in the English daily main office?" Jennifer asked after initial formality. She was slightly shocked how quickly Shekhar answered the phone, she did not even hear a ring!
"Sure, but why do you ask?" Shekhar was curious.
"Nothing special, work related stuff .... just need some info." Jennifer explained.
Shekhar gave her a contact person's name who works in the English daily and told Jennifer to mention that Shekhar has sent him there.
Before he let her go, he invited Jennifer for dinner as well. Jennifer agreed to be picked up at around six in the evening. She had no plans for the evening and was eager to meet Roohi again. Shekhar did not forget to get Jennifer's cell phone number this time.
"I have to be at the English daily office before lunch time." Jennifer told herself after hanging up the phone.
Jennifer was trying to learn the trick of living away from family and relatives in a new city. She was trying to learn fast how to differentiate between strangers, the good and the bad. She was moving on from her Cyrus saga.
"One-track minded, lier, freak ..." she thought, she was sure that Cyrus lied in desperation when he sent her a text claiming that he had new info about her 'stolen' picture.
"Pathetic pervert ...." Jennifer kept muttering, she felt thankful to herself that she did not meet this guy.
"Enough is enough .... I will do the needful myself. This is my problem after all." Jennifer thought while tightening her jawline.
***Image Source: Google Images
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Hope you liked this chapter too! Stay tuned for next ones!
XOXO
Thedocndiva
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