One day, true to form, Tulasi failed to answer one of Abhi's questions in the operating theatre. "How did you manage to pass out of your school?" he demanded.
Annoyed, Tulasi retorted, "Sir, why do you say that? I was TOPER in my school".
Abhi scoffed, "Oh really? Is your school in Andaman and Nicobar Islands? You couldn't have come first anywhere else. Now, go do your work!". Everyone laughed, but Tulasi, her lips pursed in a pout, walked away. What she didn't see was Abhi also smiling to himself. He thought, "No matter what, making her angry is so much fun, such good entertainment. And that signature pout of hers is so…".
Their unusual dynamic continued. One day, a patient, heavily intoxicated, arrived for an OP. The strong smell of alcohol made Tulasi instinctively step back, partially covering her nose. Abhijit said nothing then, but after the patient left and all OPs were complete, he summoned Tulasi. "In the second cabinet, there's a vodka bottle. Bring it," he instructed.
Tulasi was shocked. "What?" she stammered.
"Yes, a vodka bottle. Go, bring it!" he repeated.
"Why should I bring it?" she asked, aghast.
"Why won't you?" he challenged. She crossed her arms, standing firm.
"At home, I never even touched a bottle, even when my father drank. Why should I touch it here? It's not my concern," she declared, pressing her Luscious lips,but her expression screams DISGUSTING
"Oh, really? Fine then," he said, picking up the landline and dialling a number. Tulasi watched in horror as she realised it was the Dean's number. "All the mistakes you've made in the operating theatre these days, the abuses you write in the case sheets... I let it slide by not informing your inefficiency. But today, you'll see what happens!" he threatened. Panicked, she quickly snatched the phone and cut the call. her face turning red with anger, and her Luscious lips pressed even more.
"Alright, I'll get it," she conceded, cautiously picking up the vodka bottle with her shawl and placing it carefully on his table.
"Now, go to the other cabinet. There's a glass there, and soda in the fridge. Bring them," he commanded, his gaze unwavering.
Tulasi glared, but he simply stared back, compelling her to obey. She returned with the items.
"Pour exactly this much soda and this much vodka. Don't pour too much. And only two ice cubes, okay?" he began, giving precise instructions. Tulasi stared, mouth agape.
"What? Have your ears stopped working along with your brain, too?" he asked sternly, though a hidden smile played on his lips.
Her face flushed with anger. Using tissues, she carefully poured the exact amounts, her mind flashing back to chemistry experiments in college. "This wicked demon will scold me if I mix it wrong. 'Don't you even know how to fix a glass? Who gave you a degree?' I've truly fallen into the hands of a demon!" she cursed inwardly. Carefully, she prepared the drink and placed it before him.
He tasted it. "Hmm, for a first attempt, it's mixed quite well," he acknowledged. Then, he added, "Now, bring a cigarette and light it".
Her face turned even redder. "No way!" she declared. She thought, "When people are tired, they drink water or juice. What is this demon doing? Drinking alcohol first, then smoking? I will absolutely not light it!". She turned to leave room.
"What? Why are you going far? Come here and light the cigarette!" he demanded.
"This is too much, Abhi! I absolutely won't light it!" she cried, narrowing her eyes .
"Abhi? You called me 'Abhi' like how a wife call's her husband? Call me 'Abhi Sir,' 'Sir'!" he retorted. Then, a roguish glint in his eye, he asked, "Are you feeling like I'm your husband?".
Tulasi, still fuming, replied sarcastically, "husband?Oh yes, where else can one find such a righteous, noble man ? A man of such good virtues as you, That's why I've come to choose you and pray to you!my lord". She replied sarcastically
He took a step towards her, his gaze intense. "What's wrong with me? I'm good-looking, well-educated, have a good job, I'm handsome, what more could be missing?" he challenged. He added, with a suggestive smirk, "And I have a lot of experience too, my dear wife".
"Don't talk like that, sir. Someone might hear you calling me like that. We are just strangers, that's all," she insisted, trying to draw a clear boundary.
"Do you have any lovers?" he asked, surprising her. If not, why is she rejecting him? he wondered.
Her anger flared even higher. Her eyes turned red, and she clenched her fists . "Lovers? Why use the plural? Do I look like someone who maintains more than one boyfriend?".
"Oh, isn't it?" he challenged. He couldn't stop himself from teasing her more.
"Don't think of me as a terrible characterless person!" she snapped.
"Oh, so there's only one then?" he teased.
"Ugh. No one. I have no one!" she declared with pouting lips.
"Really? Tell me the truth. In school, college, or MBBS, MS was there really no one?" he pressed, taking another step closer. She is such a beauty. why would any man ignore such a …
"Oh, with my problems and all.. I don't need any of that"
"Truly, no one,"
"My lord, I have no one, I swear, it's true!" she insisted. Annoyed, she tried to walk away. Abhi swiftly grabbed her elbow, stopping her. She looked back, questioning. He merely pointed his eyes towards the cigarette. "I won't do it, I absolutely won't!" she declared, crossing her arms.
"Okay, fine then," he said, pulling the landline towards him.
"He's going to eat me alive," she muttered, grudgingly taking a cigarette from the packet and placing it in his hand. He pointed to the lighter. With clenched fists and a face red with fury, she slowly picked up the lighter, fumbled with it for a moment, and eventually lit the cigarette.
He put the cigarette to his mouth and smiled at her. That smile fueled her anger even more. "Wicked demon, he's truly showing me hell!" she thought, then stormed off to the washroom. There, she scrubbed her hands repeatedly with hand wash, then sanitizer, cursing him. "These hands, which perform pujas and light incense to GOD now this wicked demon made me mix alcohol and light a cigarette! What kind of doctor is this? Drinking during duty? Doesn't anyone say anything? It's my karma that I had to touch all these today," she lamented, rubbing her hands until they turned red with her vigorous scrubbing and cleaning.
But Abhijit, once she was out of sight, was far from sullen. The laughter he had held back burst forth, shaking his entire body. He recalled her flushed cheeks, her pout, her angry red eyes, and her clenched fists, and he laughed even harder. "There's such a kick in making her angry; it's truly good entertainment,She is like a rabbit dancing in anger in front of lion" he mused.