The New Car Ch. 04

Note: This story is a sequel to the previous chapters. Those who have read it before can continue from here. For those who haven't, I suggest they start from Ch. 01 to better understand and the enjoy the story.

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"Shit, I am late... " I said to myself as I drove down the highway.

I had gone to one of my work sites and after working all day, supervising the construction, I was making my way back to my home. The work site was in a township that was around 30 kilometers from my house.

It was a big ticket contract and one of the first big ticket projects I received after starting my practice. I had worked hard in these years to earn a large number of small clients and the hard work had paid when I received this contract.

I had to make this perfect because I knew this was my chance to push myself into the market in big way. I knew this contract would get me many such contracts. The work had almost finished and I was waiting for the clients to visit the site and review the work.

So with that zeal, I left early in the morning, drove all the way to the site and checked on every tiny detail of the project. I was pretty much done inspecting and checking all the work, nervously waiting for my clients to arrive. I waited and waited and finally they showed up at 3pm!

The waiting paid off when the clients said they were very impressed and extremely pleased with my work. They also promised me that they would give me another project of theirs in a few months. They asked me for my views on their new projects and the discussion took a couple of more hours and finally when I left for the day, the sun was setting. It was the middle of the winter and the day ended faster.

I wanted to get off this highway quick because I had read in the newspaper of some robberies, muggings and even a few murders on this particular stretch of the road. Even though I had been driving for more than a year now, I was still not a good driver. I had my amateur moments and they came pretty often.

My mind was completely occupied from the satisfaction of successfully completing the huge project and at the same time worried about driving down a supposedly dangerous road. With all these thoughts jumbling in my brain, I drove faster and faster. My thoughts were broken when my cell phone started ringing.

'Damn it' I thought when I realized that my cell phone was in the handbag and the handbag was zipped closed. I didn't want to stop or slow down, so with my left hand, I tried unzipping the bag. Every few second I would look at the bag, desperately trying to open it, even so hurriedly to answer the call. I tried to juggle the driving and the endeavor to open my bag at the earliest.

It is said that women are good at multi-tasking. I am not one of those women. I was so pre-occupied in opening the bag that I completely stopped looking at the road. When I finally got the cell phone out of the bag, I looked down the road. The moment I looked down the road, I saw a huge speed bump, appearing out of nowhere. My immediate reaction, scream!

"Aaaiiii... Ohhhh... Shittttt... " I screamed as I saw the bump coming closer and closer.

Within a second I heard a loud bang and a screech. The car first hit the bump which caused the bang and then the bottom of my car scrapped against the top of the bump causing the deafening screech.

The car was in the air the next second and a second later hit the ground with a huge thud. My hands were glued to the steering the whole time and steering turned to the left, the moment the car landed on the ground. The next thing I know, the car was heading towards a huge banyan tree on the side of the road.

Finally my grey cells worked and I turned the steering to the right and pressed the brake to the hilt. I heard the loud rustling of the wheels on the dirt as they grinded to a halt but the sheer momentum of the car kept propelling it forward.

"No... No... Nooooo... " I screamed and closed my eyes as my car was about to hit the banyan tree. But the timely turn of the steering wheel prevented the head on collision and the left part of my car hit the tree.

I was wise enough to wear the seat belt because that collision would have definitely hurled me out of the car and into the tree. The car had stopped but the shock had prevented me from realizing it. It must have been a good minute before I finally opened my eyes and looked around. I realized that I was still alive but I was too shocked to even cry.

My body shivered violently as I tried opening the door. After a few attempts I managed to grab the handle and open it. I stepped out the car, still shivering like a Chihuahua and walked over to the front.

Fuck! This was bad! The left head light was completely destroyed along with the bumper. The left side of the windscreen was cracked and the bonnet was severely damaged. Thank God that I had the smarts of steering the car away or I would definitely be going towards the light. The car didn't have an airbag, in fact, for Indian cars of its time; airbags were a concept of a distant future.

I quickly touched my crotch and then my ass fearing the worst. Had I shit myself? I was relieved when I realized I hadn't.

'This is bad... this is really bad.' I thought as I rested on the bumper. Tears welled up in my eyes as I cried out of fear of being stuck here and the relief that I was alive.

'Arjun is going to kill me.' I thought. Fuck! He is going to be so mad. He had just talked to me about buying me a new car a few days ago and after this, let alone buying a car, he would never even let me sit in a car.

I knew how he would react. First he would worry and fuss, then be relieved that I was okay and when he was finally done with me, he would worry about the car. And this story would end up as 'I Told You So!' story for the rest of my life.

I kept thinking of all the possible future scenarios for a few seconds when my grey cells acted up and I realized that all that would happen when I get me and my car back home. I immediately took out my cell phone from my car and decided to make a call.

But who do I call? Arjun was out of town on a 4 day conference. I thought about calling my best friend Rhea but quickly changed the decision realizing she would be of no help. I didn't want us to be stuck here.

"Who should I call...? Who should I call?" I kept asking myself.

"Gurnam... yess... I can call him. He will definitely be a lot of help." I thought as the eureka moment hit me.

I quickly dialed his number from the cell phone address book. Gurnam answered immediately and I pleaded him to help me. I managed to tell him my whereabouts and Gurnam said he would be there as quickly as he could.

Relieved a little at the fact that help was on the way, I sat in the car waiting for its arrival. As I was sitting quietly, watching cars pass by, I realized one thing. Not even one person stopped to help me after the accident. Not one passing by car, bike, cycle, pedestrian offered help.

A few slowed down to watch the wreck but drove away after watching the show. The world is full of bastards. Is decency and chivalry dead?

I sat in the car and waited for Gurnam. The sun was setting fast, leaving the night to envelope the sky. It was a good hour before I saw a car stop near me. I gave a huge sigh of relief as I saw Gurnam step out of it.

"Are you alright madam? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Gurnam threw a volley of questions as he quickly walked over to me.

"Yeah... I am fine." I replied.

"Thank God." Gurnam said as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Let's take a look at the carrr... ohhh shit!" Gurnam yelled as he saw how I had almost totaled the car.

"It used to be a car... it's not anymore! How the fuck did this happen?" Gurnam said as he looked at me in horror.

'Are all men like this? The car is wrecked, that's a big deal but I could have died, that is not a big deal?' I thought as I looked at Gurnam angrily. I told him the entire story and relived the horror. Gurnam walked around the car a few times to inspect it.

"You said you went over that speed bump?" Gurnam asked.

"Yeah... " I replied.

"Hmmmm... " Gurnam said as he got down on his knees to check the bottom of the car. He looked around for a few minutes before getting up and started shaking his head.

"The damage is pretty bad. The axle is damaged and I think the wheel is too. Along with that, the bottom floor is damaged from the crash. Not to mention the broken headlamp and the fender and bonnet." Gurnam spelled out a laundry list of damages.

"What are we going to do?" I asked as I started sobbing again.

"Let me think." Gurnam replied.

"Can we drive it back?" I asked him.

"In this condition, let's not take that chance." Gurnam replied as he walked over to the driver's seat. He sat inside the car and tried to start it. The car started in the first try and I was a little relieved.

"At least it runs... " Gurnam said to himself.

"Madam... we can't drive this car. We will have to tow it." Gurnam said as he turned to me.

"How are we supposed to do that?" I asked.

"At this time of the day, we can't even tow it all the way back to my garage. I have a friend near by who owns a towing truck and also has a garage. Let me call him and see if he can help us." Gurnam said and took out his cell phone. Gurnam dialed a number and waited for a few seconds.

"Oye Pappu... How are you? Gurnam here... " Gurnam said as walked away little to talk. He talked for over a minute and came back when he was done with the call.

"Madam... help is on the way. My friend Pappu is coming here with his tow truck. He will tow your car back to his garage and we will follow him in my car. We will try and fix your car there so much so that we can drive back. I will work on the car once we get back home."

That sounded like the best option available at the moment and I instantly agreed. We sat in the car waiting for Gurnam's friend, occasionally making small talk. In a while my heightened emotions were in control. The fear and worry was somewhat gone knowing that there was a way out of this.

'Arjun!!... Shit' I yelped as I remembered my husband.

In all this chaos, I had forgotten to inform my husband. I was stuck on the highway, with a totaled car and I hadn't yet told my husband. I knew that Arjun would be mad and it was inevitable. I had to tell him anyway.

I got out of the car and walked a few yards away. I dialed Arjun's number and nervously waited him to respond. His cell phone kept ringing but he did not answer. I tried to call him again but to no avail. Perhaps Arjun was still busy in the meetings.

Right now I had nowhere to go but where Gurnam had suggested us to go. I went back to the car. Gurnam and I talked for a while before he got out and lit a cigarette. It was now completely dark and I was getting a little impatient waiting for this Pappu.

'What kind of a name is Pappu? Sounds to me like a kid's name.' I thought. I smiled at myself when I thought that we were going to be rescued by a kid.

As I was busy visualizing a scrawny kid, Gurnam called to me, "He is here... "

I saw a truck pulling over to the side of the road and then slowly towards us. As it got closer, the big, bright lights of the truck almost blinded me. I covered my eyes with my arm trying to block out light. The truck stopped but the lights were still on. I saw a man get down from the truck and walk towards us.

"Hey man." Gurnam said as he took a few steps towards the man.

"Hi man... long time huh... " The man said and embraced Gurnam in a very manly hug. After they were done with their bear hug, Gurnam and the man walked towards me.

"Aditi Madam... this is Pappu." Gurnam introduced us to each other. The man smiled and nodded. I too smiled and nodded.

Pappu was nothing like I had imagined. He was a full grown man. He was just a couple of inches taller than me, in fact Gurnam towered in height compared to both of us. He was definitely older than both of us, perhaps in his mid thirties. He had a rather large belly but I wouldn't call him fat. I would say he had a desi wrestler body, fat but with muscles around. I could only make out that much of him against the bright lights of the truck.

"Is that the car?" Pappu asked Gurnam.

"Yes." Gurnam replied.

Pappu got back to his truck and turned it around and reversed it near to bring it near my car. Gurnam immediately pulled out the towing cable and connected it to my car. He whistled to Pappu and Pappu towed the car back onto the road.

"Madam... let's get into my car. I will follow him to his garage." Gurnam told me. We walked over to his car and soon we hit the road, following my towed up car.

"How far is his garage?" I asked Gurnam.

"About 5 kilometers from here. We will get there soon." Gurnam replied with his eyes watching the road.

Soon we got off the highway and started driving on a bumpy village road. The winter cold had started setting in so I just rolled up the tinted windows. We passed a few houses along the way, perhaps one of those tiny hamlets on the road.

After a good twenty minutes, Gurnam slowed down the car and took a right turn onto a smaller road. A few meters down the road, we turned again into a driveway.

Our car stopped behind Pappu's truck. We got down from our respective vehicles and Pappu switched on the lights. The place was a garage, very similar to Gurnam's but was much smaller. The garage roof was slanting, like it is in villages and there were just a couple of cars in the garage.

Pappu went inside a shack and brought us chairs. I sat on one of them but Gurnam and Pappu preferred to stand. They both released the car from the tow cable and brought it down.

"Sorry Madam... I cannot offer you any refreshments right now. All the shops are closed for the day." Pappu said as he sat on the chair opposite mine. Gurnam too sat on the chair next to me.

Gurnam told Pappu about all the damages the car had suffered. They talked about how to go around fixing it, most of which zoomed above head.

"Does it start?" Pappu asked as he walked to my car.

"Yes it does." Gurnam answered as he followed Pappu.

"Okay. Let's take it to the platform then." Pappu said as he sat inside the car and started it.

Pappu drove the car over to the platform and Gurnam directed it precisely over the platform.

Pappu immediately out of the car and got under the platform to check the car. Gurnam too peeked under the car and the men then spent of few minutes there. I was too tired to get up and walk over and quietly watched them. Pappu got out from underneath the car and they both walked over to me.

"The car is pretty badly damaged; needs a lot of work." Pappu said as he stood a few feet away from me.

"How long will it take?" I asked, worried about being in a strange place with two men.

"The axle shaft is cracked and so is the floor. I think even the wheel is damaged. The wheel will hold on if the axle shaft does so we must first work on welding it." Pappu said.

"Do you have welding equipment here?" Gurnam asked Pappu.

"No... but there is a fabrication shop near by and they have one. But they must be closed now and they live far from here so we can't get their help." Pappu said.

"Gurnam... lets keep the car here and take your car. We will come here tomorrow." I said to Gurnam to which he nodded.

"I don't think it is a good idea madam. The roads here are bandit infested and incidences of mugging, looting and even murder happen often. In fact, just 2 days ago, two men were looted and beaten up so bad that one of them died on the spot and the other is battling for his life in the hospital. " Pappu said.

"So you mean I have to spend the night here. What rubbish." I said dismissing Pappu.

"Madam, how many cars did you see on the road while driving here? A very few isn't it? That is because of the bandit problem. I don't think it is worth taking risk here Gurnam especially in the company of a woman." Pappu said with concern.

"You are right. I have read and heard about these incidences." Gurnam said as he sat on the chair and lit a cigarette.

"Is there any hotel or lodge nearby where I can spend the night?" I asked Pappu.

"Haha... Madam... look around you, there are hardly a few houses here and the nearest hotel is in the city where you come from." Pappu replied.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" I yelled at Pappu.

"Madam, please don't worry. My room is just behind the garage where you can sleep. I and Gurnam will work on the car and then sleep in the tool shed over there."Pappu said as he provided me an option.

I thought over it for a few minutes. 'What choice do I have but to listen to him? At least Gurnam is there so I don't have to worry about being with a total stranger. I will wake up early in the morning and take Gurnam's car and head home even if he doesn't come with me.'

"Well Okay. Show me your room." I said as I stood up. Pappu and Gurnam stood up as well and we started walking. In a minute we were at his room.

Pappu first walked in and switched on the lights after which I and Gurnam walked in to the room.

The room was small but tidy. It had white, distempered walls, with a few posters of cars on one wall and a few posters of actresses on the other wall. There was a desk and a chair next to which there was a single bed. I kept my hand bag on the desk and pulled the chair to sit on it.

"Please make yourself comfortable madam." Pappu said.

"You stay here madam and take rest. We will go and work on your car." Gurnam said and they both walked out of the room.

I sat on the chair wondering what to do when I realized that Arjun still hadn't called back. I quickly took out the cell phone from the bag and called him.

"Damn it Arjun, pick up the phone." I almost yelled as I waited for him to answer the call.

I tried a couple of times more but he did not answer. I looked at my watch, it was quarter passed nine. The meetings must have been over by now then why hasn't he called back? I knew that such conferences were followed by parties at night and Arjun was a party boy. He must be busy hogging on the booze and the food.

I kept the cell phone on the desk and stood up. I walked around the room to check it out. There was a steel cupboard in front of the bed. The cupboard had a large mirror on it in front of which I stood.

I saw myself in the mirror. My skin had tanned a bit from being at the construction site all day and then being at the side of the road all evening. My face looked pretty tired and remnants of sweat were clearly visible on my forehead.

I was wearing a white salwar kameez and a matching dupatta. I had a black bindi on my forehead and tiny diamond earrings on my cute little ears. Like any decent woman would, I was wearing a white bra under my kameez but a black panty under the salwaar.

It was now pretty cold and the clean air of the village and the large open fields in the surrounding made it even colder. I had not taken a sweater along with me in the morning because I never thought I would end up here at this point. I thought I would be home with a couple of my friends celebrating the success of the project.

I walked around the room and at times sat on the bed or the chair, restless and nervous about being in a stranger's house. It was almost 10pm when I decided to sleep. I had to get up early and leave. That's what I thought I would do.

It was extremely cold and a couple of thick blankets on the bed were my only refuge. I pulled it on me and tried to sleep. As soon as I closed my eyes, the whole evening flashed in front of me. I went through the whole accident all over again to the point that I was about to hit the tree.

I opened my eyes when I couldn't take it anymore. I continued staring at the ceiling. There was an old, dusty fan just above me. I could hear both men talking and working. There were occasional sounds of hammering.