Coffee @ 4:00

By Kavita Nalawde

In an ideal arranged marriage, parents choose partners for their children; boy and girl get married, have kids and live happily. However, things are much more complicated in real life.

Ria is married to Sunil. She feels that her existence is boring and routine but then suddenly things take a different turn when she starts getting strange clues about Sunil’s life.

She has two very special friends Geeta and Ryan who she meets every Thursday in a cafe. They both are victims of circumstances and had to overcome a lot of hurdles in the past to reach where they are now. They think that they have seen it all but destiny changes their path and they come face to face with their inner reservations.

Will these friends be able to cope with what life has to offer?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kavita Nalawde
• Release date: Mar 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458054401

Book preview

Coffee @ 4:00

By Kavita Nalawde

Copyright 2010 Kavita Nalawde

Smashwords Edition

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 1

Geeta was late getting up this morning. Her client had been extremely boring last night and it took her really long to reach home. She was so tired by the end that she took some sleeping pills and went to sleep. This was one habit she wanted to end. She was extremely fond of black coffee and her life revolved around black coffees and sleeping pills.

She got up the next morning and looked at her watch. It was 11.30. Oh shucks it’s really late she thought. She had an appointment at the beauty parlour at 12.30 and she had to hurry. Geeta always took care of her appearance and was up-to-date with all the things happening in the fashion world. She would know the colour of the season and the latest product launched in the makeup department. Her bathroom was filled with bottles of moisturisers, makeup removers and all sorts of glittery sparkly things. Being seductive was part of her life, not that she had to try very hard. She was tall with beautiful features and curvaceous body that any woman would die for. Her hair was shoulder length with nice curls and she used to colour them in different shades of brown according to the season.

She went to the kitchen made herself a black coffee, a really strong one and drank it. The smell of caffeine was like heaven for her and the few minutes spent sipping the morning coffee was the only time she would sit and enjoy rather than rushing around. She went to the shower and got dressed in blue jeans and pink linen top. She looked in the mirror, ruffled her hair around a bit and went to her beauty parlour. She was happy as today was Thursday. This was the day when she would meet Ria and Ryan and this was the day when Geeta could be the real girl that she was.

She reached the parlour and grabbed a copy of the latest women’s magazine. ‘Ten tips to spice up your sex life’ read the title of one article. I must give this to Ria she thought and tore the page of the article from the magazine. She glanced at it once, folded it neatly and then kept it in her purse. The lady sitting next to her in the waiting room seemed to be horrified at her action.

‘It is an old issue and almost everyone has read it. My friend desperately needs some tips as her husband is well... boring,’ Geeta said with a smile.

The lady calmed down a bit and smiled back. She looked at Geeta closely and asked ‘How long has she been married?’

‘Nine maybe ten years,’ Geeta said.

‘Do you think there might be another woman?’

‘Hell! No,’ Geeta blurted out.

‘I used to think the same. We were married for 15 years and he wouldn't pay any attention to me. I tried everything prayers, seduction, different positions but he would not be interested. Then I read an article about male menopause in a magazine and I thought maybe he is going through that phase.’

‘Then,’ Geeta was really interested now.

‘Then I found out the truth. He was having a secret affair with this woman. Well if you are fucking every night outside, how will you have the stamina OR desire left for your wife? I divorced him and have never been this happier in life.’

‘Oh!’ Geeta exclaimed.

‘Hi Geeta!’ her usual mate at the parlour called out. It was her turn to go in. Geeta smiled at the lady and went in.

She was getting her eyebrows done and her legs waxed. Normally she would be busy chatting with the girls in the parlour but she was silent today. Her conversation with the lady in the waiting room had made her sombre. She herself was a victim of a bad romance and she didn’t want Ria to be betrayed. She was too dear a friend.

The girl finished one of her eyebrows and went on the other side. Geeta had her eyes closed and was not paying attention to what was happening around her. She felt that each and every person she had met in the past was in some way responsible for her current attitude in life. There was a time when she used to think that her life was extremely uninspiring but she had changed herself now. She was lost in thought thinking of the events that had led her to her present.

Her parents had died when she was very young and her uncle took her to his house as he was her only living relative. Geeta entered his house holding his hand very tightly as she was not sure of how his family would react to her presence. Her uncle lived in a chawl with a very small room and a makeshift open plan kitchen. The room looked more or less like a square box with all the stuff arranged around the four walls. Geeta felt that the place was already crowded with his wife and three children and they were not too pleased with another member in the house. She was not welcomed by anyone as her uncle could hardly feed them properly. Soon Geeta realised that her life at his place was more difficult than she had imagined. She was more of a house servant rather than an orphaned cousin. The only good thing her uncle did was that he made sure she completed her graduation.

Her aunt wanted her to start working immediately after school but her uncle wanted her to study further. Once she gave her SSC exams and finished school he made her go to college against the wish of everyone in the house. He worked as a security guard in one of the local colleges and requested the principle to waive the tuition fees for all the hard work he had done over the years. Geeta had an amazing grasping power and sailed through her exams nicely. As soon as her studies were finished she started working as a junior typist. This was the only day her aunt showed some pleasure on her achievement as her employment actually meant another source of income for the house.

Her office was not very far away and Geeta would walk daily to work. Every day, while coming and going she would notice a young guy eyeing her regularly. Geeta knew how strict her aunt was and kept on ignoring his advances but soon he started following her. Geeta tried to find out about him and discovered that he lived in the opposite chawl and his name was Vinod.

Geeta maintained her distance for many days but slowly fell for his charm and began speaking to him. Vinod knew how to speak and soon Geeta started to open up. Love they say, has a very strange effect on a person and Geeta felt it as well. She had become completely oblivious to everything else now. She felt that her life had become beautiful and she didn’t mind the constant nagging of her aunt. It was a regular morning routine for her aunt to start the day with one sarcastic remark. The only day her aunt would be good to her was on payday as Geeta gave the entire salary to her. The next day would be the same and her aunt would continue with the regular abuse.

Geeta and Vinod started seeing each other more often and soon decided to marry. Her uncle had stopped working recently and the prospect of losing the monthly earnings that Geeta brought home was too much for her aunt to digest. She was completely opposed to her marriage. She told Geeta how rubbish Vinod was and he would definitely cheat her one day and then there would be nowhere for Geeta to go.

Geeta was in two minds. She had completely understood the fact that there was no chance of her ever getting married whilst she was in her uncle’s house but she had this gratitude for him as well. He had worked hard to get her educated and now when he had retired she had to support him. She had to make a decision. She could either remain a slave at her aunt’s place for life or elope with Vinod. She couldn't lose this opportunity to break free and decided that she will continue to support her uncle even after she got married.

One morning she went to work as usual and met Vinod halfway. They went to their local Arya Samaj centre and got married with just a couple of friends to witness their marriage. Her uncle was sad that she had to run away from the house to get married. He had always thought that it was his duty to find a suitable boy and give her hand in marriage but he was also aware of his financial status. He could never have done it realistically. Thus with a heavy heart but with a smile on his face he blessed the couple when they came to meet him at their house after their hidden wedding. Geeta knew that he was the only person in this whole wide world who was a well-wisher and would be happy for her. Her aunt on the other hand was obviously very displeased. She told her off for running away without thinking about her cousins. She called her selfish and pitiless.

Geeta left her uncle’s house with a heavy heart and crossed the road to go to the opposite chawl. Geeta’s married life thus began with a sort of turbulence that never ended. Within a few weeks she realised that Vinod was not the person he had shown himself to be. All the words and phrases that he had told earlier were part of a cunning plan. He was a very big drug addict and Geeta was the means to fulfil this habit. He was very demanding and dominating. She felt that her life didn’t change much after marriage. She used to give her salary to her aunt earlier and now Vinod would snatch it from her. She was a slave in her aunt’s place earlier and she was a slave in Vinod’s house now. Geeta had decided that she will continue to give some money to her uncle but Vinod barely left anything for her or the house. She was used to her aunt passing sarcastic remarks before but she was zapped to hear the verbal abuse that came from Vinod’s mouth every day. Geeta felt more and more frustrated as the days went by but she knew she couldn’t go back to her uncle’s house as her aunt wouldn’t spare her.

Vinod regularly came home late at night completely drunk. All he would do was ask for his dinner and demand sex. There was not much use declining as he would hit her on hearing even the slightest ‘No’. Geeta started to become more and more depressed with each passing day as the physical and mental abuse continued. There was no such thing as marital bliss in her life and she sometimes used to question herself if she did the right thing by loving this person or was she a fool in love?

One day Vinod brought a stranger home. He took Geeta to the kitchen and said, ‘this guy is my boss. All you have to do is please him and he will give me a promotion at work.’

‘What do you mean?’ Geeta asked angrily.

‘Simple. You are a beautiful woman and you have to show your charm. That’s it. He is very easy to please and the whole thing will be done in minutes.’

Geeta was outraged. Vinod was a lazy person and never reached his office on time. Infact his addiction was so bad that he wouldn’t go to work at all on some days. There was no chance of him ever getting a promotion. She couldn’t believe her ears. Her own husband wanted her to sleep with his boss for the sake of a promotion and where would all his earnings go? It would go to the same bottomless pit of drugs.

‘Are you out of your mind?’ Geeta said with anger.

‘Why are you getting so angry?’ Vinod said catching her hand tightly.

‘What type of a man you are asking your wife to do this dirty act? Is this the reason why you married me? I am never going to do what you want,’ Geeta was shaking violently with anger.

Geeta’s refusal somewhat surprised Vinod as he had always considered Geeta as his sole property or slave rather than his wife. He thought that he was the master of the house and Geeta had to accept his command. There had been a number of episodes in the past where he had coaxed Geeta into submission but this time her reaction was completely different.

Geeta’s negative answer irked him and he gave her a big slap on the cheek. Geeta was shocked to see this side of Vinod. He had been physical with her in the past but this was totally out of sync. He was no longer the charmer she had fallen in love with but had turned into a monster. A monster, whose addiction to drugs had taken control of his senses. She came out of the kitchen to see the stranger smiling at her and it was a very cunning smile. Geeta knew at once that he would not give anything to Vinod once his deed with Geeta was over. More important of all Geeta didn’t want to disgrace herself in front of anyone.

She asked Vinod’s boss to get out and he stood up angrily.

Vinod gave her another slap and said to him ‘Sir ji, you wait she will become all right once I have given her the dose.’

Geeta’s mind was racing. She couldn’t bow down to Vinod’s wishes. She was not his pet animal who required training. Once she agrees with one person there might be others coming to their house very soon. Geeta understood that there was no life here and she had to think super fast. She gave one last look to both the men and ran out of the house. She ran as fast as she could and the farther that she could go. She didn’t even stop to look behind. It was so late in the night that people were looking at her with strange eyes. She saw the train station and jumped inside the train that was about to leave. It was probably the last train going to town and there was no one in the ladies compartment except for this lady in a black dress sitting at the corner of the carriage.

Geeta sat down on one of the seats. The lady in black was looking at her now. Geeta looked at herself. She was wearing a very old colour faded dress. Her hair was in a mess and she had no shoes on her feet. She didn’t have any money and she didn’t know where she was going. She stood up and went near the open train door. The wind blowing outside was making her shiver but somehow she was finding it very peaceful. There were tears in her eyes and she knew she had lost, lost