Pat Miller is a thirty-four-year-old PhD holder who had recently moved to India from South Africa. After completing his PhD in Psychology from Harvard at the age of 27, Pat travelled around the world working with an international NGO. Originally from Johannesburg in South Africa, Pat spent three years in the Middle East and four years in the Northern African region.
After publishing four books and being a part of several TV talk shows, Miller shifted the focus of his research to Asian countries. During one of the conferences, Pat met Dr. Iliyas Alam, the Dean of one of the top public universities in Delhi. Iliyas had invited Pat to join his university as a visiting professor and share his knowledge. Pat obliged and joined.
'Welcome to the society, Dr. Miller. Your flat is ready with furniture. You may move in and set it up as you like it,' the secretary of the gated community said.
'Thank you very much.' Pat followed the secretary, a man in his sixties, as he showed him around the society. After a few minutes, Pat reached his apartment. It was on the twentieth floor and faced the University that Pat was going to be working at. The view was amazing. Pat loved the spread of green and the canopy that practically covered the entire landscape with occasional buildings popping up in between. He loved his job. And now he loved where he was going to work.
'Alright, Dr. Miller. I will take leave now. Once you settle down, I will introduce you to your neighbors. You can call the Residents' Welfare Office for anything you need. We operate round the clock,' the secretary said and left.
Pat liked the apartment. It was a 4 BHK. All the rooms had furniture that was still packed. He knew he had a lot of work to set up the apartment. But first, he wanted to visit and report at the University.
He took a quick shower, dressed up in a three-piece suit, took all his briefcase and went out. He got into an Ola cab and reached the University in a few minutes. The Dean Dr Iliyas Alam had gone to Singapore for a three-month trip. So, after finishing his joining formalities, Pat returned to his apartment.
***
Pat finished his sprint on the treadmill in the society's clubhouse and went to the water cooler where he had left his water sipper. He picked up the bottle and took a sip.
'Excuse me, sir. That is my bottle,' said a voice from behind.
Pat turned around to see a woman standing a couple of feet away from him. She wore a black jogger and a white loose t-shirt. She tied her hair up in a bun. Pat looked at the bottle and then looked at the lady questioningly.
That is my water bottle you are drinking from, sir,' the lady repeated.
On observing the bottle carefully, Pat realized that it was not his water bottle but looked exactly like his. And then he looked inside his gym bag that was lying on one of the shelves and found his bottle inside. 'I am extremely sorry, ma'am. I forgot my bottle in my bag,' Pat said his face filled with embarrassment.
The lady smiled at him as she saw that the bottles looked the same. It was a genuine mistake. 'That's alright. I am sure nobody would want to drink water from someone else's bottle, especially during these times of pandemic.'
Pat smiled back. The lady spoke in a sweet tone which gave him a sudden sense of comfort. It had been one month since he had moved into his new apartment. And the Covid-19 situation forced him to stay home. The only time he stepped out was once a day for his workout. And the rest of the time, he had remained in his apartment. He had no friends and people were in no mood to make new friends. So, the secretary was the only person who would occasionally speak with Pat whenever they ran into each other. Pat was glad that finally he got to speak with someone, although it was a slightly embarrassing start.
'I will wash the bottle and return it to you tomorrow if you don't mind.' Pat said hesitantly.
'Oh, don't bother about it. I can do it myself,' the lady said.
Pat returned the bottle to her and got back to packing his bag. He had finished his session for the day. The lady too seemed to have finished her session for the day and got to packing her bag. They both left the gym at the same time. Pat walked ahead not realizing that the lady was following him a few feet behind. He stopped at the elevator and found that the lady had walked up and stopped next to him. He looked at her with exclamation.
'I live on the twentieth floor too,' she said with a smile.
'Really? How do you know that I live there?' Pat was surprised.
'Your landlord is a family friend. Also, I saw you the other day,' the lady said.
Pat smiled. The elevator halted and the doors opened. They got inside the elevator. 'I am Pat,' he hesitated to shake hands.
'I am Roohi,' the lady offered her hand without any hesitation.
Pat responded with a firm handshake. Her hand was tender. 'How long have you been living here?' Pat asked.
'It's been more than six years now. We were one of the first families to move in. I see that you are new to the country,' Roohi said with a smile.
Pat was drawn towards her smile. It was evident that she was at least ten years older than him, but Roohi was in excellent shape. Her breasts were heavy and might have been saggy. But he couldn't tell from the outside as she had worn her gym wear -- a loose T-shirt and joggers. The straps of her halter-neck sports bra were unmistakable though. They seemed to be doing a fantastic job of holding those jugs tight and upright. He was drawn back from his thoughts as the elevator halted at the twentieth floor.
'Yeah. I have recently moved from South Africa,' he said as they both walked. After a few meters, Pat stopped at his door and realized that Roohi lived in the apartment right next to his.
'Well, too bad that Coronavirus is catching up like wildfire. You may be feeling bored at home,' Roohi said unlocking her door.
'It would be an understatement if I said that I am dying of boredom.' Pat unlocked his door but still stood there talking with Roohi.
Roohi chuckled. 'Well, you know what, please feel free to drop by if you feel bored. My husband had gone to visit our kids abroad and got held up due to the lockdown. So, I am feeling bored too.'
Pat thought about it for a second. But he was not sure if it would be a good idea to visit Roohi's home. He also figured it may be impolite of him if he had not invited her to his place. 'Sure. Why don't you come over for tea today, if you are free?'
'At your place?' Roohi asked.