Love after Marriage (17 page)

Roshni was amazed at how frequently Deepak was calling. She wondered if all this excitement would continue now that Sashank bhaiya’s wedding was over.

“Roshni, I know everything would have gone well. Since you coordinated it, there was no doubt in my mind.”

Roshni was flattered but did not react. She was silent for a few seconds.

“Roshni, how come you are so quiet all of a sudden? I almost felt you hung up.”

“Sometimes it is good to listen and not say anything.”

“I hear Sashank bhaiya and bhabhi are going to Vaishno Devi in a couple of days.”

“Yes, I asked them to stay longer or go away on a short honeymoon.”

Deepak was happy and sad. He wished he had done that with Roshni, taken her away on a honeymoon and spent time with her. He wished he understood her better, and how he wished she was with him and all that happened between them never happened. These thoughts kept him busy for a few seconds, and he was quiet.

“Okay, bye, Deepak, and take care,” she said abruptly. She’d mistaken Deepak’s silence.

“Oh, hold on, Roshni. What is the matter?”

“Since you were quiet, I figured we were done talking,” she responded.

“Roshni, you…”

He never hung up when she was quiet. He was tempted to give this rationale, but as she’d mentioned, it was better to listen sometimes…he learned this lesson from her!

Deepak tried to talk to her, but she gave short answers or tried to cut him off. It had become a question and answer session, and he did not want to force her. They decided to hang up.

Deepak was always ecstatic to talk to Roshni and felt cheerful after his telephone conversations. He was in a good mood and people around him began to notice this. Although he was busy with project work, he never procrastinated to call Roshni.

Chapter 14

Deepak’s surprise visit to India on Business

It had been over a month since Sashank and Kusum were married. Sashank tried to be a good husband to Kusum, and Kusum tried to be a good wife, good older daughter-in-law, and a motherly figure to Roshni and Akash. There was joy and happiness around.

Deepak, although busy with his approaching deadline, which was a week away, never missed calling India at least once a week and talking to Roshni for a few minutes.

Roshni led a project with a team of five individuals, and the design review for the prototype was scheduled for the second week of June. She and her team worked late hours, sometimes into weekends, to get this design and testing completed. Sanjay, her college friend, was on the same team. Work on this project progressed well. Roshni was very good technically, in addition she was a very good project manager, and she was sought after for any project at her firm. Everybody enjoyed working with her and had great respect and regard for her.

Nobody around Roshni was able to gauge the emotional trauma she was going through. She behaved perfectly normal outside but was going through a major internal struggle. Sashank and Akash were very close to her, and she herself had never lived with so many people and had become close to everyone.

Roshni thought of various options to move out of this house, move away from this family so nobody suspected her, and she wanted it to be a smooth transition for everybody.

Should she find a job outside of Mumbai for a year and then return once the dust settled in the Vermas’ house? Should she ask her director, Gupta ji, to transfer her out of Mumbai for a few months, and then later she could come back to the same firm in Mumbai. With several options available, she settled on approaching Gupta ji the first week of June.

Although Sashank and others made attempts to convince her, Roshni was adamant not to sell or rent out Babuji’s house, for she needed a place to live after December 14
^th
. She hired a young couple to clean the house once a week, and she took this opportunity to visit Babuji’s house, her house, and spend time alone with her childhood memories. This gave her a lot of solace.

~ ~ ~

While Roshni was occupied with thoughts of moving, Deepak was thinking of options to win Roshni back. The project implementation was due on the 6
^th
of
June, which was a Friday.

Deepak’s boss called him into his office and updated him regarding a possible trip to Bangalore, India, in mid-June to attend a conference as a speaker for their technology and software. Since Deepak was busy, they agreed to discuss the details after the project implementation, lest this distract Deepak.

Deepak’s joy knew no bounds; he was very delighted. He instantly wanted to call Roshni and inform her but decided to wait until he had more details. He became busy with the implementation plans…testing and verification.

Deepak’s project was implemented on the 6
^th
of June. The implementation went very smoothly with no major hiccups, and his team and colleagues were very pleased with the outcome. He was a very efficient team leader. Soon after this implementation, Deepak’s boss gave him all the details regarding the upcoming trip to India. A company in Bangalore had sponsored this event to update Indian IT companies regarding new technologies and software. Deepak’s company chose Deepak to speak and train the IT professionals at this conference.

Deepak asked his boss for a couple of extra days to spend time with his wife and family, and his boss agreed. This was a great opportunity for Deepak to combine business and personal time together, especially since he was looking for opportunities to visit India sooner than December 14
^th
, to spend time with Roshni.

He discussed this with Vivek and Vaishali, and agreed to keep this a secret to surprise Roshni and his family. Deepak was euphoric as he made all the arrangements for the trip. He had to be in Bangalore from the 16
^th
through the 19
^th
of June, which was a Thursday. He planned to spend a couple of days before and after with Roshni and his family.

Meanwhile, Gupta ji, Roshni’s boss and director, wanted her to attend a conference in Bangalore for a week in mid-June. She was informed that a couple of speakers were coming from the US to train them on the new software. She agreed; this would give her a chance to explore opportunities in Bangalore for IT professionals. Gupta ji also mentioned to Roshni that she may have to transfer to Bangalore for a few months because their company was collaborating with a firm in Bangalore on a project. This was certainly a great opportunity for her to move out of Mumbai, and she was relieved.

Roshni talked about the conference to Sashank, Kusum and Akash at the dining table. Sashank was initially concerned and unsure if Roshni should travel alone, but Roshni talked him into agreeing. The conference was from June 16
^th
through the 19
^th
; she decided to fly there one day prior and return on the last day of the conference.

~ ~ ~

Deepak arrived in Mumbai in the late afternoon on the 13
^th
, to everyone’s surprise. He touched Sashank bhaiya’s and Kusum bhabhi’s feet. Deepak was happy to meet his bhabhi for the first time, and Kaki and Lakshmi were happy to see him. He hoped to see Roshni, but she was nowhere to be seen. Kusum bhabhi suspected his curiosity and informed him that Roshni’s entire team was busy with the design of the prototype and that she would be home late, and Deepak was disappointed.

Kusum and Sashank wanted to inform Roshni of Deepak’s arrival, but Deepak asked them not to; he wanted to surprise her. Deepak had already noticed remarkable changes in Sashank bhaiya and everybody around. The house was bubbling with positive energy!

Deepak took his luggage to his room, which was now occupied by Roshni. He was pleasantly surprised at how well she had decorated the room; he felt her presence everywhere. A scented lamp emitted a wonderful aroma that spread in the room. The delicately designed bedspread, matching pillows, linen table covers, sheer curtains, and the walls hung with beautiful paintings – everything in that room spoke volumes of her taste and personality. He spotted Roshni’s babuji’s picture on the table and went closer and paid his respects to him.

Deepak had a wash, but couldn’t find a towel. He opened the closet to look for one. He found Roshni’s clothes in perfect order, well folded and well sorted out. He could not stop smiling to himself and admired her perfection everywhere.

Deepak had brought gifts for everybody, so he decided to unpack the suitcase and distribute them. Of course, the first people to receive theirs were Kusum bhabhi and Sashank bhaiya, followed by Kaki and Lakshmi and then Akash.

The entire family was together; they talked, laughed and had a good time. Deepak constantly looked towards the door, expecting Roshni. It was 8 p.m., and she was not home. Everybody else but Deepak had dinner; he wanted to wait for Roshni. It was 8:30 p.m., and he became anxious for Roshni to arrive.

He questioned Sashank bhaiya and Kusum bhabhi about her safety: Did she come home alone, or did somebody drop her at the house? Should somebody go to fetch her?

Sashank bhaiya retired to his room, and a few minutes later, Kusum bhabhi and Akash bhaiya went to their rooms. Deepak also went upstairs to his room and became impatient. He was very worried about Roshni when finally he heard the sound of a rickshaw in front of the house. It was 8:45 p.m., and he peeped through the window. Roshni was home.

Roshni was very tired. She’d had a long day at work, and she rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door.

Kusum yelled from her room, “Deepak, I think it is Roshni. Do you want to open the door?”

“Yes, bhabhi.”

He rushed to the door. Meanwhile, Roshni had already rung the bell a couple of times and wondered why nobody was opening the door. She massaged her neck and turned towards the street when she heard the door open. She turned around; Deepak was in front of her, smiling at her. She was startled. She stood there looking at him in disbelief!

“Hi!”

“Hi!” She stared at him in utter dismay. She turned around to make sure she was at the right house.

Deepak smiled at her and moved forward. He held her hand and brought her in.

She was still in a state of shock.
Is this Deepak? What is he doing here? When did he come? How come nobody told me?
Several questions rushed through her mind.

Kusum and Sashank came out of their room and saw the expressions on both Deepak’s and Roshni’s faces and could not stop smiling. Roshni walked in. She could not believe it was Deepak in front of her. Similarly, Deepak was so overwhelmed with emotions after seeing Roshni; both of them stood without any movement, staring at each other.

“Look at them, staring at each other as strangers. Deepak, go give her a hug,” Kusum broke the silence.

Deepak looked around at his bhabhi and towards Roshni. He smiled and hugged her, hugged her tight with both arms around her, and whispered into her ear, “Roshni, how are you? Gosh, it is so good to see you.” He was happy to see her, and he meant it by his action.

Roshni was speechless. She became quiet and reserved. Instantly she thought of the husband-wife acting they had agreed to do in public, but it was unclear if he was acting now. After a few minutes, Deepak let go of her but held her around her waist very close to him with his right hand, and both of them stared at each other.

“Roshni, Deepak has not had his dinner yet; he waited for you. Can you quickly freshen up and come down? I will warm up the food for both of you,” Kusum interrupted them.

Roshni looked towards Deepak. “You should have had your dinner. Why wait? I had called didi to let her know I would be late.”

Deepak shrugged his shoulders. “I wanted to wait for you.”

“Didi, I will be back.” She glanced at Deepak and didi. “It has been a long day for me, and would you mind if I quickly have a shower? I will feel refreshed.”

Deepak again shrugged his shoulders. “Sure.”

Roshni walked up to her room to freshen up. Deepak followed her to the room, and Roshni was already in the bathroom. His happiness knew no limits. The entire environment around the house was so charged: everybody was happy and cheerful, and there was more family feeling, which was missing before. Unbelievable! Roshni had worked magic in this house, and it did not take him too long to comprehend this. He had heard from others about these changes, but he experienced them now.

While he was engrossed in all these wonderful thoughts, Roshni walked out of the bathroom in a very simple, light pink nightgown with her hair still tied up. She was not aware Deepak was in the room. As she walked out of the bathroom, she undid her hair, and her braid fell swinging down behind her back. Everything – her gown, her gentle walk, her hair, and her gaze – was flowing in harmony. Deepak watched her and secretly admired her beauty and smiled to himself. Even in this simple gown, she looked stunningly beautiful.

She turned around and noticed Deepak staring at her. “I did not realize you were here.”

“Yes, I was very quietly observing you,” he said.

“That is dangerous, you know.”

“Dangerous, why?” he smiled and asked.

Roshni looked at him. “Never mind. Shall we have dinner?”

Deepak agreed, and they walked down to the table. Deepak was so proud to be walking next to her. Her gown flew with every step she took, and her braid swayed side to side.
How did I not observe this beauty before?
he thought to himself.

Kusum had warmed up the food and had the table ready for them.

“Thank you, didi, I will take care of it from here.” Roshni asked Kusum didi to rest.

“Yes, bhabhi, I will help Roshni clean up. It is already late; please rest,” added Deepak.

Kusum smiled and left.

Roshni was at the head of the table, and Deepak sat next to her. She served Deepak and herself, and they began to eat. Roshni was tired, and this was obvious to Deepak.