Yours Accidentally Read Online Free Page A

other behind his shoulder and
expertly helped him sit up.
    This time,
he was surprised at her strength. She looked too delicate and fragile to be
able to handle a big man like him so comfortably. Meticulously, she untied the
sling which held the cast in his right arm and then deftly retied it,
explaining the exact position in which it should be carried to provide maximum
support.
    Gautam
reluctantly admitted to himself that she was not bad at her work; in fact she
seemed to know what she was doing. Her touch was light as a feather and soothed
his skin like a balm. Her movements were gentle and swift. He felt no pain. She
could handle him all alone and spoke softly yet so firmly that it left no room
for dissent. This was her turf and she was in complete control. He could not
believe that she was the same Sameera he had met a couple of weeks ago. How
could one person be so different in two settings? Was it really her?
    “Would you
like to come back tomorrow?”
    “No, I
definitely would not like to come back tomorrow. Why would anyone like to come here?” Gautam was taken aback by his own irate tone and caustic
reaction. Just her presence transformed him into some kind of a monster.
    “Sorry. That
is not what I meant; of course you would never want to come here if you could.
But, you will need several more therapy sessions before you can get back to
work and normalcy.”
    Gautam felt
like an errant child and could not bring himself to meet her eyes. He could
have handled it better if she had snapped back at him.
    “Right now,
you are really sore. Please rest and I will try to get you an appointment with
my colleague for tomorrow. My nurse will call and confirm in the morning. In
the meantime, remember to keep your arm absolutely still and restrict movement
as much as possible. Take your painkillers, take care, and try to relax.” She
turned around and walked off.
    If it wasn’t
for her lingering fragrance, it could have been just a dream.
    ≈

 
    SEVEN
     
     
    It was
evening and Sameera was late for her pilates class with Tanya. The sessions
were held in an ultra-modern studio with air conditioning, concealed lighting,
wooden flooring and gleaming mirrors all along the walls. Since the session had
already started, Sameera slid in discreetly, passed several lycra-clad girls
holding big exercise balls between their ankles, located Tanya, and flopped onto
the mat next to her. Tanya was engrossed in her regimen, doing leg raises with
the ball. Sameera was distracted; her mind replayed the events of the day and
she was impatient for the class to be over.
    “You won’t
believe what happened today,” she whispered to Tanya who continued with her leg
raises.
    “Shhhh. Just
wait for the class to be over,” Tanya whispered fiercely.
    Sameera
barely went through the motions and sprang into action only when the session
came to an end. Tanya walked over to her. “What happened? Why are you late
again?” They rolled their mats and put the balls back in place. “On second
thoughts, you don’t even need this exercise. You are already strong, tall and
lean; this is meant for weak, short and plump creatures like me.”
    Sameera
pulled her friend’s rosy cheeks. “ Arre paagal , you are perfect. Kamaal
lagti ho . Let’s grab coffee at Barista first, and then I’ll tell you what
happened.”
    They found a
corner table in Barista and settled down comfortably.
    “Guess who
came into my clinic today?”
    “Some star?”
    “Not from
Bollywood.”
    “Hollywood?”
    “No silly,
no star. Guess again.”
    “No guesses,
spill yaar .”
    “Gautam.
Remember Gautam? Sanjay’s friend? He met up with an accident; the poor guy was
knocked up quite badly.”
    “Oh my God.
Of course I remember Gautam,” exclaimed Tanya.
    “Usually, I
never discuss my patients but Sanjay may like to know about this. They seemed
really thick.”
    “He’s
Sanjay’s best friend but I don’t think he knows anything about this. Spoke to
him a couple