Grace

By Supreeta Singh

Kavita had met Rana briefly a long time back, but Rana had always kept in touch with her. Many years later, Kavita and Rana both end up in the city of Pune, and they decide to catch up over a few drinks at the Bard, a popular pub and restaurant. There is only one night between them, and Rana urges Kavita to tell him her love stories. Kavita shares four of her romantic relationship sagas with Rana, which has taken her through heartbreaks, disillusionment, and bitterness in her pursuit of finding the one. While recounting her bittersweet memories, Kavita finds a friend in Rana, who is already enchanted by her. Through their conversations, each discovers and unravels their own feelings, but will that lead to another love story? Do all love stories need an end, or is the love in itself the end? Written in the form of short stories, Grace is about forgiveness, acceptance, and freedom that need not lead anywhere but within.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Apr 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543702682

Supreeta Singh

Supreeta Singh writes heartwarming tales that resonate with the readers today. Her writing style is lucid and her narrative flows seamlessly. Her writing has an emotional flair and reflects her belief that life does not always have all the answers but all the experiences.

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 by Supreeta Singh.

ISBN:                  Hardcover                     978-1-5437-0267-5

                             Softcover                       978-1-5437-0266-8

                              eBook                            978-1-5437-0268-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/india

Contents

Now

Then

Now

Then

Now

Then

Now

Then

Now

About the Author

Now

Tell me your story, Rana asked Kavita after the preliminary greetings were over. She had reached before him and was sipping on her favourite drink – the classic whisky and water. No ice.

My story? she asked incredulously.

Yes, your story, he reaffirmed.

Why my story? Kavita made a face, her eyebrows knit into a mock frown pretending to be suspicious of his intentions.

Why not your story? You seem to live a pretty wonderful life. You are always going to so many interesting places, attending so many parties and meeting all kinds of different people. You are always seen hanging out with celebrities and hobnobbing with the media. You somehow always manage to be in the limelight, in the thick of things. So many things seem to buzz all around you. A happening life. Look at me, an old man who has shunned the city life. But whenever I check into Facebook, I only see your pictures and your updates. You have made me curious, so obviously I want to know all about you, Rana said.

Excuse me but that’s my job! Kavita protested and then added, All about me, huh? Well, let me see. I don’t think you have so much time. Aren’t you flying out within the next few hours? she asked.

Let me decide that. I am all ears. Try me, Rana sat back in his chair, his eyes not leaving hers for a moment.

Okay, let me clarify something. I am a simple middle class girl and I live a simple middle class life. There is nothing more to it. No mystery. No drama. No huge ups. No low lows. I have led a decent, linear life that you expect any middle class Bengali girl to live. I feel it’s quite boring. There was a twinkle in her eyes.

He laughed out loud, You are such a liar.

How can you even say that? I don’t lie, Kavita feigned to be hurt as she rolled her eyes.

Oh, give me a break. You are telling me that you have not had your share of the cry pie and the happy high when you – wait, let me check my phone - changed jobs eight times, shifted places 17 times, dated 24 men in a year, consulted countless organisations, fell in love four times and finally plunged into your own business without an iota of planning. You are such a liar, he finished, as he looked up from his mobile.

Now it was her turn to laugh as she was thrown off guard by his ready inventory about her. My goodness, you are such a stalker! If I am not mistaken I had messaged this to you eons ago? You saved it for so long?

It surely seems like that. I am fond of storing fascinating memorabilia. That’s always helpful in my line of work, you know. I still have that message saved in my phone because at my age very few things crack me up. It was refreshing to hear someone talk like that! You are quite amusing, he said softly. This time, Kavita only smiled lowering her large kohl-rimmed eyes as she toyed with the coasters on the table. She bit her lips and looked up at him.

It was Rana who had decided upon this place for them to meet. Located right at the heart of the city, The Bard was a popular hang-out zone for the locals and Rana was quite fond of the Bengali owner, Abhijit Mukherjee. They had been childhood friends and grew up together in Mumbai, where Rana had his roots. Whenever he visited Pune, he would make sure he spent at least one evening here. But tonight there was another reason added to his own familiarity of the place - most importantly, the theme of the pub was based on literature with books stacked in uneven shelves on the two walls of the pub resembling a library and Rana knew how much Kavita loved to read. It had an air of sophistication and

Reviews for Grace

[cpom_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received this book from Goodreads/First Reads."Grace" is a well written quick read. I found myself invested in the characters from the very beginning. This book definitely elicited an emotional response and I found that I couldn't put it down.