Transit- Chapter 2

Ayaan pulled up in front of a gas station. He had just been to every place on his list, except for one. He still had to pick up the engagement ring. The anxiety was no longer bearable. Unnecessary questions and doubts plagued his mind but he just couldn't control them. His heart was racing and tiny beads of sweat trickled down the side of his face to his chin. His nerves were getting the better of him and he was slowly starting to freak out. 'What if she says no?' He wasn't ready for his worst fears being realized. "No! I refuse to believe that anything will go wrong," he screamed, scaring the gas attendant refueling his tank. Seated in his SUV, he glanced in the rearview mirror at the line of cars behind him, the irritated drivers waiting to fill gas. He wiped his brow with a scented, wet tissue that Trisha always filled the car with. He smiled at the thought of her, remembering what it felt like driving with her seated beside him. She was always singing along with the radio, sometimes out of key. Then she'd giggle at the sound of her cracking voice. She always loved to laugh at her silliness and juvenile ways. But they were endearing. It was who she was and he loved every bit of it.

A sudden tap on his window shook him out of his reverie. "Sir, your credit card?" Flushing just a little, Ayaan handed the attendant his credit card. He immediately swiped it and handed him a receipt. He signed the slip and handed a copy to the man and quickly shoved the other in his wallet, slowly pulling out into the traffic filled road. It was 12.23 p.m now and he knew Trisha would be on her way to the restaurant. Turning on the radio, he pulled into the right lane and immediately disappeared around the corner.

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Gaurav watched as Trisha made her way through the mall with Alicia. He studied her every movement, carefully comparing how different she was now. She had changed so much. Her beautiful shoulder-length hair was now long and flowing, like a cascading strawberry scented waterfall. He was lucky to have had a whiff of her smell in the small draft of breeze that went by. It was a smell that lingered on his senses, a scent that made his heart beat faster, a scent he had lost a long time ago. But he was determined. He would talk to her today regardless. He just had to. He had been watching her too long now and it was time he came out of the shadows. As she made her way to the grocery store, he snaked his way close enough so as to not lose sight of her, but far enough to keep from getting caught. He watched as her tall, slender form glided through the busy shoppers without so much as a push or a shove. He waited, nervously biting his lower lips to keep from calling out to her as she made her way to the counter. He followed closely behind, trying to see if there was a way he could get her alone. Alicia had been by her side the entire time and that only meant Nikita was close behind. But Nikita hadn't arrived yet so maybe this was his only chance. They made their way to one of the tiny tables that were spread out around the food court and sipped on some soda. 'I guess they're meeting Nikita here,' he thought to himself. He tried very hard to listen, cranking his neck in an attempt to catch a few words of their conversation but the noise around drowned out the sound of her laughter. It was frustrating but he waited patiently nonetheless.

He turned to quickly grab himself a cup of coffee, still keeping his eye on their table. He was still waiting in line for his change when Trisha and Alicia got up from their table and started heading for the door. "Keep the change," he yelled out as he ran after them, half dropping his coffee. He though he lost them and was about to yell for her in an attempt to stop her from heading out, when he caught a glimpse of Alicia's curly brown hair near the escalators. She whispered something into Trisha's ear and began walking in the other direction. 'Perfect,' he thought as he saw Trisha take the stairs and enter a bookstore on the first level. This was his chance to get her alone. He quickly followed her, taking the stairs two at a time. He couldn't afford to waste any time he had. He dashed past a few elderly women, almost tripping over their bags as he ran. "Careful," one of them screamed but he continued to run, waving his hand to suggest that he would. He reached the store and paused, just out of her view, to catch his breath. Composing himself, he pushed the thick glass doors that were about the only thing that stood between Trisha and him. His nerves were starting to show signs of stress and he fought to keep himself from breaking into a cold sweat. As he drew nearer, he could faintly smell the fresh strawberries. His heart began to pound in his chest and his mouth slowly went dry. Licking his lips firmly, he moved closer to Trisha. He didn't realize just how much more beautiful she had become. There was a pain in his heart he couldn't explain. It came from the realization that he did lose a very big part of himself when he let her down and broke her heart.

She was reading the back of a book when he finally managed to close the distance between them. She always loved reading and he hated when she spent time with her nose in a book instead of outdoors with him. He was inches from her now, her back to him. Slowly stretching out his hand, he reached out to touch her shoulder but immediately pulled back when her phone buzzed. He turned quickly, pretending to browse through the rows of books in front of him. She turned around, casting a quick look in his direction before answering her call. His back was to her now so she didn't know who it was. "Hello?" she said, holding her phone to her ear.
"Hey Trish, it looks like I'm going to be late. I guess I'll just meet you guys at the restaurant. Where are we going anyway?"
"Umm… do you know that little Bistro close to City Mall…Careno's? That's where we're heading."
"Alright, I'll see you soon."
From her conversation, Gaurav realized that Trisha had spoken to Nikita and that she would be leaving as soon as Alicia came back from the ladies room. He had to act quickly. Mustering all the courage he could, Gaurav reached over and gripped her shoulder. She whirled her head with a sudden jerk and just as quickly, dropped the book she was putting back on the shelf. She realized then that her worst fear was staring back at her.

********

On the other side of town, Ayaan pulled up in front of a familiar store. He had been there so many times the past week that he now knew the parking attendants by their first names. He stood, nervous, in front of the wide glass double doors, staring unseeing into space. It took him a few moments before reality finally set in. He was going to ask the most important question of his life and he wasn't sure he could pull it off. He was certain that he wanted to marry her but he wasn't certain whether she wanted the same. They hadn't really spoken about it though she did occasionally joke about what she would name their kids. "I won't have you deciding their names, that's for sure," was what she always said whenever the topic came up. He smiled at the sound of her voice in his head and knew that no matter where he said it, or how he said it, her answer would always be yes. Taking a deep breath, he pulled on the big iron handles and stepped in. The cool wave of air that seemed to hit him as soon as he entered began to relax and calm his tense muscles. He was greeted with a warm smile as he approached the counter by a man dressed in a navy blue suit over a fresh baby blue shirt. His tie had 'Davey's' stitched into it in an elegant script. "Good afternoon sir. Everything is ready for you," the man said in a crisp and chirpy voice as he reached under the counter and placed a baby blue paper bag on the spotless glass. "Thank you… Henry," Ayaan said, reading his name tag. He reached into the bag and pulled out the tiny suede box. It was black, just like he requested. Ayaan's heart was pounding as he gently opened the box. There, in the centre, lay the most beautiful ring he had ever seen. A platinum ring beautifully studded with tiny diamonds that formed the band of the ring. In the centre perfectly stood a solitary princess cut diamond that was a little smaller than a shirt button. But the size of the diamond was not what made it perfect. All the stones had the hue of lavender, Trisha's favourite colour. He knew that even though it wasn't the one she'd seen in the catalogue, it was something she would love and right there he realized that that ring was made for her finger and no one else's.

His eyes lit up at the though of the smile on her face when he asked her to marry him. He had never been this happy and she hadn't even said yes yet. "Would you like that engraved sir?" Henry's voice broke into his thoughts. "H-h-huh? Yes please, Can you do that?"
"Certainly sir. It will only take a moment. And what would you like it to say?"
Ayaan smiled because he knew exactly what he wanted inscribed. "My Queen, my love, my wife…"
Henry smiled and took the ring into the back. Ayaan was starting to get impatient. Time was running out and he still had to meet Trisha at the restaurant. Nervously tapping his fingers on the glass, Ayaan looked at the jewelry beneath in. The rings encased didn't look as astonishing as the one he had chosen, the one he got specially made. He had been quite the crabby customer, stubborn and unrelenting. They had finally brought out a ring that was later changed to what was now being personalized. His impatience was starting to show and he began pacing. For what seemed like an eternity, Ayaan hastily moved back and forth, calming his nerves. When he couldn't bear it any longer, he went and stood by the counter ready to call for Henry. But he didn't need to. As soon as Ayaan's hand touched the glass, Henry was walking out, holding the tiny box. Sorry it took a little longer than usual sir but it is ready." Ayaan took the box from Henry's hand, looking at the ring that stared back at him from its velvet casing. "Is everything to your satisfaction sir?" Henry asked curiously. Ayaan smiled, examining the writing. "Yes, perfect," he responded without looking up from the words. He gently placed the ring in the box and handed it to Henry. Skillfully, Henry tied a blue ribbon and placed it in the baby blue box that was now filled with fine, transparent white paper. Handing the bag back to the eager waiting Ayaan, Henry tilted his head to gesture a here you go. "Have a good day sir," he said with a warm smile as Ayaan quickly made his way to the large glass doors again.

Standing outside the store now, he glanced at his watch and waited for the valet to bring his car around. It was close to 1:00, perfect. He thought he would run late but it looked like everything would turn out the way he planned. He had picked up the tent, the fire wood, the lamps and even the lavender scented candles for them. He even went to the medical store for a basic camping first aid kit, just in case they ran into a little trouble on the climb down. All that was left to do now was make the arrangements for a car to bring her to the spot. He couldn't take her there himself because he had to go and set up. As he pondered, the valet drove up to the front, honking to grab his attention. The valet stepped out and handed him the keys. "Thanks Sam," he said, handing him a tip. As he pulled out of the parking lot, he glanced at the clock radio to make sure he was still on time. He glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror, unable to contain his excitement. His hazel eyes had a sparkle that had stayed with him ever since he met Trisha. His thick, black hair was tousled and messy, the way Trisha loved it. His luscious pink lips were curled up at the corners, in a sly, devilish grin; his fair complexion was now red from waiting in the sun. He turned up the volume of the radio and drove toward the mall. Trisha would be there by now.

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Trisha was faced with the one thing she had dreaded ever since she had turned her life around. She had run into her ex boyfriend, who, at the very least, was the worst mistake of her life. She couldn't ignore all the suppressed anger and resentment that had built up for what he had done to her. She would never forgive him, but what made it worse, the efforts of forgiving her self seemed all in vain at the sight of him. She turned to run but he grabbed a hold of her arm before she managed to escape. The few people that were in the store turned curious glances in their direction but he didn't care, he was determined to talk to her.
"Leave me alone Gaurav," she screamed. "I really don't want to talk to you. I thought I told you I didn't want to see you ever again?"
"Please just listen to me," he begged. "You have no idea how long I've waited to get you alone. Please just give me a chance to explain."
"Explain? There's nothing to explain Gaurav. You ran like a little girl when things got tough. It's that simple."
"No it's not. It's not that simple Trish. You don't know the half of it," he pleaded.
"You lost the right to call me that when you left me hanging, helpless. And yes, it's exactly that plain and simple. I don't know why I didn't see it before. I tortured myself for months, left in the guilt and hurt of what happened. Do you know how long it took me to bring myself trust anybody after that? To look myself in the mirror?" Tears were streaming down her face. Her voice was shaky but she continued to scream. Everybody stared open-mouthed at the events unfolding in front of them, but Trisha couldn't take it anymore. All the hurt and pain came flooding back to her and she was determined to have it out with him. "You humiliated me in front of my friends. You accused me of cheating on you after you got me pregnant and walked out on me. Didn't even stop to see what your words were doing to me. I lost the baby Gaurav." The hurt was too much for her to bear. She slumped to the floor and broke down. He bent over to hold her but she stopped him before he reached her hand. Through her sobs he heard her whisper, "Please just leave me alone." Without another word, Gaurav stood up and headed toward the exit, wiping away the embarrassment from his face. He had been a fool to think that she would listen to him. Trisha sat sobbing in the middle of the bookstore. Nobody else was brave enough to venture and pick her up. Alicia entered, wondering where Trisha had disappeared to and realized something was wrong when she noticed her sobbing on the floor. Running to her side she almost yelled, "Oh my God! What happened?"
Trisha was too weak to reply. She just sat there, crying. Another girl who witnessed the entire episode ran to help Alicia. "What happened, why is she crying?"
"She ran into her ex, a G-g-aurav I think. I'm not too sure. I tried not to listen but they were yelling." Alicia froze at the sound of his name. She looked at the girl. "I know what happened. Could you just sit with her? I'll get her some water." The girl smiled and nodded and Alicia ran to the nearest stall. Trisha sat up and wiped away her tears. "Some birthday huh?" she said, looking at the girl keeping her company. But she didn't say anything, just looked at her and smiled. Alicia was soon at her side. "Hey sweetie," she said, handing her the bottle of water. Trisha gulped the water down, her face still damp from the hot tears that fell just moments earlier. Trisha smiled. "I knew that I'd have to face something like this sooner or later. But did it have to be now? Today?"
"I know. But it's over now. Here, wipe your face," Alicia said, handing her a tissue. "Don't let it irritate you anymore." Trisha picked up her bag, straightened her t-shirt and slowly walked towards the door.
"Thanks for sitting with me. I'm so sorry about all this."
"No, it's alright. I'm glad I could help."
"Look at me, I'm so rude. I'm Trisha," she said, holding out her hand. The girl laughed, taking it. "I'm Sharon."
"Sharon, would you like to join us for lunch? I'm buying…"
"That's sweet. But I have somewhere I have to be. Thanks so much though. And don't worry about it. He did seem like a jerk." She waved good bye as they made their way out the mall. The whole episode seemed to drain her. Trisha turned to face Alicia, her eyes still stinging. "I'm starving. Let's just get out of here quickly."
"Ok, wait here, I'll get the car." Alicia quickly ran in the direction she was parked. Trisha stared after her, reliving every moment of the unpleasant conversation. She had never felt such a vile, loathing and merciless hate for anyone before. She didn't think such strong feelings were possible. As she tried to push the memory aside, she saw Gaurav staring at her from across the street. She flashed him a quick disgusted look and got into the car as soon as Alicia pulled up next to her. They both turned and glared at him before driving away.