OTHER GROOM... the tale of the rejected guy...

Part 21

"You can't take leave without a notice before hand." Mr. Bhattacharya, Shuvro's project leader growled.

"Its emergency Apurva, try and understand." Shuvro growled back running his fingers through his hair. "My wife is seriously ill. I can not come. There is no one else to look after her..."

"What am I going to report to Neha?" Apurva pulled out the big gun uttering their boss's name.

"Do I look like I care?"

"She will not like it." Apurva muttered with his eyebrows getting knotted. Shuvro plugged out the thermometer from sleeping Tuli's mouth. "Listen to me Roychoudhury, come to the office today, give a notice and then take the leave. Cause if it's serious you might need a long leave that way you can be demoted to step down from the project. You have been working on so long..."

"I. Don't. Care!" Shuvro took each word with emphasis. The thermometer he was holding had its mercury spread till hundred. The clock's small hand was crawling towards seven as the big one was at the nine. Tuli was sleeping soundlessly and senselessly.

Since last night's sleepless caring of Shuvro had pulled down the temperature some degrees.

Last night after he had covered her with the thick duvet, he brainstormed all his childhood memories of his being ill and his mother taking care of him. He slipped a paracetamol into Tuli's mouth and made her gulp it sipping some water. He stormed towards the kitchen and fished out a big bowl. Filling the bowl with water he had grabbed a handkerchief and since then he had been placing the piece of cloth on her forehead dipping it into the water. The thought of calling Butu came in his mind as a habit as that's what he had been doing in all his medical emergency, but chucked the thought as his last words rang in his ear.

Shuvro had called Aparesh uncle, who was a doctor and Shubhra's father's close friend.

The doctor had came with in half an hour and after checking Tuli and handing Shuvro the prescription he smiled with assurance, "look I don't think there is anything to get worried, but if the temperature refuses to calm down, then you might need to do a blood test. I don't think of anything worrisome though." Aparesh uncle was a doctor of that generation when doctor did not use to scare the patient.

After he left Shuvro ordered the drug store of their area, that deliver medicines 24*7 and then resumed his work again - he soaked the cloth into the water then would squeeze out all the water droplets and place it on her forehead until it dried - he did this again and again. The sky got lighter at the break of dawn as well as the temperature descended a little. The temperature was stubborn enough to repress, but was nothing in front of Shubhra's pertinacity.

Jerking the thermometer to reset the mercury Shuvro hung up Apuvra's phone. He could never leave Tuli in this condition. Never!

***

At seven O'clock Chaya walked into the house unlocking the door with her spare keys. Her eyes could tell that something was different but couldn't point the finger at it until Shuvro walked out of Tuli's bedroom to ask her to make a cup of tea for him.

Chaya's eyebrows perked up seeing him coming out of the room. Curiosity burned inside her though she stayed mum and make the tea.

And everything cleared in front of her eyes as she walked in Tuli's room.

***

"You are know the consequences of taking a leave like this?" Ratul growled through phone.

"Are you insane?" Shuvro hissed "she is senseless and burning with fever..."

"You think she will appreciate your Florence Nightingale and will fall as soon as waking up from her beauty sleep! You are wrong..."

"Just fuck off dude..." barking loudly he hang up and threw the phone somewhere on the single couch of the room.

And almost as soon as that a light moaning caught his ears.

His eyes ran back to Tuli and saw her turning and tossing uncomfortably. He rushed towards her. She was sweating profusely.

Shuvro towered over her to touch her fore head. The coldness of her body was telling that the fever had got down.

"Tuli!" He called her name tucking the duvet to remove. But his hands froze as she replied still closing her eyes.

"Sumo?" Her lips trembled murmuring the name.

Shuvro's hand froze as well as his eyes fixed on her face. He could not even in his worst nightmare thought she would take Sumedh's name, or think of him as him.

The sleeplessness of whole night suddenly grabbed him from everywhere. He suddenly felt exhausted.

After sitting there for a moment his thoughts broke by her mumbling again.

"Sumo?" She asked again.

Something inside Shuvro happened and he heard himself replying, "Yah. Tuli, will you get up a little?" He tucked the duvet again and took off her.

"My eyelids are so heavy Sumo!" She complained pouting a little.

"Hmm... It will be fine baby, I am just here. Are you cold?" He took the towel he was using to cool down her fever, now to wipe all the sweat off her face.

She shook her head in negation "I am sleepy..."

"No, Tuli, you need to eat something now, get up a little. Eat and then you can sleep." Shuvro urged her and screamed taking Chaya's name to bring the Burley fast. He slipped his one hand under her back and made her upper body straight a little leaning on the cushion, her hand circled around his neck and clutched his orange T shirt as he did so.

"The light is hitting my eyes!" She made a face trying to open eyes. He rushed to close the curtains.

Chaya entered the room as Shuvro returned to Tuli's bed.

"Boudimoni should take a bath at least a sponge bath Suvoda." Chaya muttered as Shuvro took the bowl of the food from her hand. His hand shook a little hearing her. He looked up at her cautiously and then looked at Tuli.

Her body had no strength to sit properly even.

Sighing he sat beside her and called out her name, "Tuli, open you mouth."

Spooning the food a little and blowing off the steam from the contain he took the spoon till her mouth, his another hand hold up her face supporting her chin.

She made a face as soon as she gulped the food. "My face can't get any taste."

Her whimper made him chuckle dryly. "The thing has no taste anyway." He murmured under his breath blowing the steam off the next morsel.

Finishing feeding her he realized Chaya has left the room as he turned. Gingerly, he walked out to the kitchen where Chaya was chopping some vegetables silently.

Shuvro placed the bowl on the sink and turned to face Chaya "Will you please give her the sponge bath?" He cautiously looked at her while asking. She looked up at him with squinting eyes. "you don't need to cook lots of things even. Just boil those veggies and rice..." Shuvro blubbered to ignore the gaze Chaya was looking at him with.

He won't be able to give her a bath. No...

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