“And what do you expect me to do with it? Travel to town every morning just to get ‘Good Morning’ text?”
The dirt road wasn’t the short one to the highway – the children would be taking that to get to the school bus in mere days. It was the long one, that wrapped through the forest. The one parents would warn against, lest a hungry tiger wander by.
Poaching had taken the last of the tigers decades ago.
“I wouldn’t mind you receiving them in bulk.” Uddyam slipped his own phone back into his pocket. The only signal it was acknowledging was GPS, and he was never going to deny Mina a claim to knowing these roads better.
“You just don’t want to spend money on postage.” A little squeeze of the hand she held.
“It’s always a bother, you know. Finding a post office after sitting over a hot projector all day.”
They walked for a moment. The wind was warm, but finally not oppressively humid. Monsoon had died its usual inglorious death. When the sound of a motor echoed through the trees, Uddyam stepped ahead of his wife – a rickety truck passed, gas canisters stacked in back.
“Jyo-“
“You don’t have to go. Really.”
Uddyam gave it a moment.
“I don’t trust what they’re saying on the radio. If everyone is out again…”
“Perhaps. Perhaps. You think I’m done growing up, then?”
“You always say that.”
“It always feels true. When I look at you. It’s like I’m back in school again, getting a har-“
“Shut up. You’re going, you incorrigible man, I know.”
“And I expect to see you at the back of the tent when we come though.”
“Before or after Vikira is sent home?”
“Yes.”
He pulled her back into his periphery. Even now, seeing the way her hips swayed as she walked… no. This was a walk to say goodbye, not to say hello.
“I was a surprised you didn’t get the Super 8 out.”
“No film. It was hard enough to get without things shutting down. I think… I think maybe I can use the phone camera, though. But I haven’t figured out how to cut it down. And it starts complaining if you don’t get rid of things.”
“So we aren’t out here so you can push me in the river, then? Good,” The bridge over that river had just come Into sight – barely adequate for one vehicle.
“I would not push you in the river anywhere but the falls,” He stopped for a moment, “unless your boat were to capsize… hmm. I think I’d need to take precautions with getting the phone wet. Hmm.”
Mina turned on her heel right then, letting her arm wrap around her chest and stretch the slightest bit before he realized what was happening and jogged to a more proper place besides her… leaving the arm draped for a moment, before whipping it over her head like a jump rope.
It very intentionally shrunk to normal proportions. The sides of his finger dug into hers. This was restraint. On a quiet but still public road.
Wait.
“I noticed Jyoti looking down on you.”
“Hmm?” It had a hint of patronizing to it. She all ready knew where this was going.
Still he continued, “Every time she looks at you, she looks at your forehead, then down. You’re still doing it, aren’t you?”
“I can do what I want.”
“Eye can doo waht I waant.” It wasn’t a very good representation of her voice.
As he walked, he slumped down over the course of a few steps. Just a little bit. Until his eye level was at Mina’s lips.
She let this stand for a moment. Then, in his periphery, Uddyam’s wife shrunk down. Plumped up. They were eye to eye again.
He put on a scowl, dipped lower – his knees, they were not bad for his age, but they still started to complain. But a side glance showed Mina hadn’t waited this time – her smile wide and mischievous, her cheeks plump, the hem of her saree starting to trail on the hard packed dirt of the road, her long braid started to bounce against it.
He sighed, and stood up, stopping to lean back and stretch for a moment. He was a little surprised to seen Mina adjusting her saree as he stood up. She was practiced at it. He shouldn’t have been surprised.
“Whatever I want.” He noticed little details- the little bit of extra sway to the arms’ underside, the changed outline of the imprint in her sandals.
He gave a long sigh, and as she patted herself down, he rested his chin on the top of her head and gave her a squeeze… she returned it. With special emphasis on his butt.
“Though I do like staring into your eyes”
Uddyam snorted, in spite of himself, “Not really fair, is it? As soon as I say what I like it will change.”
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