The Leaps Suitors Take - II

(Continued from Part I)

Then one afternoon, she saw them walking out of the lobby together. Rather, Suitor 3 strode out and Sunflower, taking two steps to match his one, kept pace. They were flushed; their faces grim and Radhika knew at one look that they were taking a break from an argument. Sunflower specially, was looking resolutely ahead as if biting her tongue to prevent a scathing remark. As they drew closer Radhika felt the atmosphere to be so intense that she half needed oxygen.

“If Daniel hadn’t notified me on time…” Suitor 3 began harshly.

“Nothing would have-“ Sunflower interjected.

“You would have lost your job!” He thundered. “It is not your place to check on what Melinda or anyone else in that darned office is up to. Trust me or you’ll learn the hard way: look out for yourself, it’s no one else’s job!” He snarled.

“Seems to be yours!” she retorted icily.

Radhika couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation. Vel, who had better luck, managed to tail them till their cafe and he reported that “they were so frigid with each other... Dunno, reckon Artic would be warm fuzziness in comparison… mate, you could cut yourself with that sharp conversation!”

It was certainly odd to see quirky Sunflower in a bad mood. The three of them surveyed each other. Grace slowly said, “It’s funny you know.. But, people sometimes try to hurt you because they know you have the power to hurt them, and they wonder if they have it too.”

Vel scratched his head. “Um.. Or because you’re a regular ass.”

The three of them laughed. Was Suitor 3 in or out?

By the time Sunflower and Suitor 3 returned, an unexpected downpour of rain had begun. Maybe that contributed to Sunflower’s mood but Radhika noticed the spring in her step, Suitor 3’s relaxed demeanor and even before Vel gestured an A-ok behind their backs, Radhika knew that matters were back and better on track.

“Had a good lunch?” Sunflower called out to her.

“Yes ma’am, and how was yours?”

“Oh, delightful!” said Sunflower, shooting a mischievous grin at Suitor 3. He smiled and nodded at Radhika and she heard him ask Sunflower after they passed by, “You know her from before?”

“We’ve become friends…”

That made Radhika’s day.

An uneventful week later, Grace had some big news for them in the morning. The evening before, because of some locked cabinets on Level 36 posing problems to the cleaners, Grace was required to stay on till late. Around 7:30 PM, to her enormous surprise, she saw Sunflower storming into the elevator lobby closely followed by Suitor 1.

“No you listen to me, Carlos!” Sunflower spun around, her eyes flashing. “Who does he think he is?! There is only so much I can take!”

 “You know he cares” – she glared – “fine, I know that he cares for you. You guys get along like a house on fire…” Suitor1/Carlos said placatingly. “Dude, I wish I had someone like him having my back all the time!”

“Sometimes Carlos,” she lowered her eyes, her voice suddenly trembling. “That’s not what one needs. Haven’t you heard? Sometimes, you just have to let go of all the inane protective, defensive stances… just take that leap of faith and build your wings on the way down, up... whatever.”

Carlos shrugged. “This much I’ll say for him. He cares a hell lot for you. Maybe it’s the, well, age difference that makes him so-“

“My grandparents have a ten year age gap between them. Even after fifty years, they still worship and respect each other!”

“Good for them.” Carlos said easily. “Though unless you want to book him on a flight to your hometown so he can convert notes on familial harmony into tips on office relationships, I dunno why you’re bringing this up here. Ah, the elevator.”

Grace couldn’t follow them inside of course, the Level 36 cleaners would have her skinned for leaving them in the lurch. But she had enough of a story to keep Radhika and Vel hooked. After this incident, Grace automatically shifted her loyalty from Carlos to Suitor 3, though she always maintained that Carlos “had the best heart amongst the three and it is a pity Sunflower was blinded by height.” Even then, she took it upon herself to keep tabs on the Suitor 3-Sunflower equation and send continuous win-it vibes to the pair. Radhika, on the other hand, spent that time musing over Sunflower’s words, leap of faith, build wings later… somehow they seemed highly relevant to her and Ram’s situation.

Then one late afternoon, as she was tidying up her desk, she saw a blur in pink run out. The soft pink was familiar… “I’m taking the day off tomorrow – sister’s marriage!” Sunflower’s tinkling to her from that morning suddenly came to mind, and Radhika quickly made the connection between that voice and the pink. She immediately wanted to run after and comfort the girl, who had slowed down at Vel’s usual spot, looking lost, crushed and bewildered… But something about her deep sorrow screamed ‘personal, don’t come near a ten feet radius’ and Radhika felt she would be an unnecessary intrusion.

And then a blur in blue ran out. Suitor 3. Either he couldn’t read the signs like Radhika did or he ignored them because a second later, he was standing behind Sunflower. If she felt his presence, she didn’t show it; she just stood there hugging herself and, Radhika suspected, crying. And he continued to stand behind her. After a moment that seemed like an eternity, she turned to face him and Radhika saw that she was attempting a brave front through the tear-stained demeanor.

“Shh.. it’s alright, come.” He said, holding out both his hands. The winds carried his voice over to Radhika. 

She watched Sunflower shake her head and mouth something that suspiciously looked like “I’m an idiot, forgive me? Please?”

“I’ll have to give that serious thought and-”

Sunflower didn’t let him complete. She gave a small smile and placed her palms in his. He squeezed them. And they both stood there holding hands, whispering a conversation that – for the winds had changed – Radhika couldn’t hear.

Nor wanted to, she realized. Because, by then she had quickly moved away to the other side of Tower One thinking that she, in Sunflower’s place, would have appreciated some privacy. 


Continued in Part III and Part IV Alternatively, you can click here or search for "The Leaps Suitors Take" in the tag cloud on the left bar or in the search bar above to get all the parts.