Love after Marriage (26 page)

“You bought those for your wife, and I am not your wife. It is that simple,” she replied.

Deepak sighed. “Roshni, I took you with me intentionally so I could buy something you like, and you start this whole thing again.”

“How can I forget everything, Deepak? It may be easy for you, but not for me. Anyway, let’s not discuss this now. We’ve already discussed it enough and agreed on a few things. Let’s not go back there again.” She did not want to talk about it.

Deepak thought,
What can I do for her to talk about it? Every time I initiate this topic, she ignores it… I have to come up with a better idea!

~ ~ ~

Everybody at home had had their dinner and was relaxing in the family room, watching TV. Deepak and Roshni joined them. It was a family time together. Deepak had never experienced this before. He was so pleased to see this, and he gestured to Roshni and thanked her.

The phone rang, and Roshni picked it up. “Hello?”

The other voice, a female voice, said, “Hello, this is Nirmala.”

Roshni had heard this name before but did not place her immediately. “Nirmala who?”

Sashank, Akash and Deepak recognized the name, and their eyes widened in shock.

Nirmala continued, “This is Satish’s wife.”

Roshni recognized her: Satish, the oldest brother, and Nirmala, his wife.

“Hello, bhabhi, this is Roshni, Deepak’s wife,” Roshni introduced herself.

Deepak smiled; it felt good to hear her say ‘Deepak’s wife’.

Sashank was all red and angry. “Why did she have to call here? What does she think she’s doing?” Akash and Deepak tried to calm him down.

Nirmala continued, “Roshni, can I speak with Sashank, please?”

Roshni turned towards Sashank bhaiya, and she noticed he was upset and angry. Without uttering a word, she gestured to Sashank bhaiya that Nirmala wanted to talk to him, and Sashank shook his head ‘no’.

Roshni understood that Sashank was not interested in talking to her. “Nirmala bhabhi, Sashank bhaiya is busy. Do you want to leave a message for him?” she asked.

Nirmala understood; she continued, “Roshni, Satish had a stroke last week.”

“A stroke!” Roshni exclaimed with a shocked tone.

Sashank, Akash and Deepak stood up, dismayed.

“Yes, he had a stroke last week, and we brought him home a couple of days ago. He is recovering but needs to rest. He has been thinking of Sashank and asked to talk to him, so I called,” she said.

Roshni asked for a few more details and found out that his left arm and leg were paralyzed as a result of the stroke, but fortunately, he’d received medical attention promptly and the impact was not that severe. With further treatment, physical therapy and rest, he should be able to recover well. She collected the address and telephone number and agreed to communicate this message to Sashank bhaiya, and they hung up. Roshni turned around, and everybody waited eagerly for her to update them. She told them of Satish bhaiya’s stroke and his desire to speak to Sashank bhaiya. All three brothers took a deep breath and settled back in their chairs.

Sashank was fuming. His face was red, and he started clenching his fingers.

Roshni came to Sashank bhaiya and knelt in front of him. She held his hands and tried to calm him down. “Bhaiya, Satish bhaiya wanted to talk to you.”

Sashank did not respond; instead, he stood up and walked away to his room. He was concerned for Satish, but his ego was so strong he did not want to accept it. Roshni indicated to Kusum didi to calm him down.

“He is so young and…a stroke,” said Deepak.

“Haan, what must have happened?” responded Akash.

This news was heartbreaking to all three brothers. Agreed, they’d had some unforgettable experiences with Satish and his wife, but this was not the time to hold a grudge against him. After all, he was their blood relation; how could they not do anything!

After a few minutes, Akash went to his room, and Deepak and Roshni went to their room.

Deepak was troubled, and was concerned for Satish bhaiya. Roshni held his hand and made him sit on the sofa, and she sat next to him. He was quiet. Roshni gently squeezed his hand. She was brave and provided him with strength and courage.

“I don’t even remember his face, Roshni. It has been so long, so many years… They never kept in touch with us, and we never did either, and now, all of a sudden…this phone call…”

He looked at her. “Here I was…I was having such a good time with you and a great time with everybody and was ready to leave on a high note…and this news…” He stopped.

Roshni placed her hand on his shoulder and provided the support he needed, and he acknowledged it.

“Deepak, let us be thankful that he is recovering and is home. Who knows what went on in his mind. This is not the time to ponder over the past events. Whatever happened has happened.” Looking at him, she said, “Can I tell you something?”

He was helpless and waited for her to speak.

“Sashank bhaiya is enraged, but I think he is anxious too. I think he should talk to Satish bhaiya.” She continued after a pause, “Deepak, it is late now, but tomorrow morning, after breakfast, let us go meet him.”

Deepak did not respond. He was confused.

She looked around, and all his stuff was scattered everywhere. “I will help you pack tomorrow morning, and then we will go meet him.”

Deepak agreed.

Roshni got ready to sleep on the sofa.

“Roshni, you can sleep on the bed…like we did in Lonawala,” he said.

Roshni did not make an issue of it. She had slept on the same bed in Lonawala, so she agreed.

~ ~ ~

After finishing her morning chores, Roshni went to have chai. Sashank bhaiya, Kusum didi and Akash bhaiya were already at the table, and a few minutes later, Deepak joined them. It was a somber moment. Everybody was quiet and thought of the phone call from the previous night.

“Deepak, this was a very hectic trip for you. Hopefully you had a good time.” Sashank broke the silence.

Deepak looked at Roshni. “Certainly, a good one. I hope Roshni enjoyed it too.”

“Deepak, are you done with packing? We will have to leave by 5:30 p.m. this evening.”

“No, bhaiya, I am going upstairs after chai.”

“Bhaiya, Deepak and I planned to visit Satish bhaiya after he packs,” Roshni said.

Sashank had not expected this but didn’t say anything. He was quiet and just shrugged his shoulders.

Deepak and Roshni left to finish packing. Items were scattered everywhere, and she volunteered to help him. She asked him to sort everything – which items were absolutely necessary and which items could be left behind. Deepak was very proud of her organizational skills. He smiled at her and started to identify items that needed to be taken and those that could be left behind. Roshni took charge and packed his suitcase.

Meanwhile, Deepak received a call from Vivek. Vivek asked for flight details from Deepak, and after talking for a few minutes, they hung up the phone. In the meantime, Roshni had done all the packing. She was able to accommodate all the items in the suitcase.

“Thanks a lot, Roshni. This is great. You are so efficient and organized. Thank you, thank you!”

Roshni looked at him and the items for his hand bag. “You should pack these in your hand bag. Do you want me to pack these as well?”

“No, no, I mean, I can pack them.”

He was worried she would see the passport copies, marriage certificate, etc. She wondered why he acted so strangely but ignored it and walked towards the bathroom to get ready.

“Deepak, hurry up. We have to leave,” she said.

“Yeah, right!” He remembered they planned on visiting Satish bhaiya.

Deepak got his hand bag ready and checked his passport and ticket. He had brought the immigration papers this time with a hope to obtain Roshni’s signatures. How could he get her to sign them? He was successful in getting her passport copy and marriage certificate, but how could he get her to sign the immigration papers?

As he pondered it, he remembered the power of attorney she had given him on their wedding day. Roshni had given it to him when he left in December, asking him to apply for divorce. He was happy he thought of this. The power of attorney was in the US, and he could use it this time.

Both Deepak and Roshni were ready, and before they left, Roshni called Nirmala and informed her that she and Deepak were coming to see Satish bhaiya.

On the way, Deepak became nervous; he had not met his brother in so many years. What was he going to say? How would he respond to him? These questions bothered him. Roshni was his strength!

~ ~ ~

They arrived at the apartment complex, and just before they got out of the car, Roshni held Deepak’s hand. He was confused and looked towards her.

“Deepak, we’re here to meet him. Let him do the talking; we will listen. This is no time for him to endure any more stress,” she said, and Deepak agreed.

Roshni rang the doorbell, and Nirmala welcomed them inside. The house décor was very refined; certainly, Satish must have been in a very senior position at his company. The apartment had marble floors, mahogany furniture with expensive cushions, and rugs spread on the floor. The walls were hung with beautiful paintings and silk curtains, and the corner tables had beautiful decorative pieces. The apartment itself was huge and spacious.

Satish waited to greet Roshni and Deepak. He had not seen Deepak in so long, he was overwhelmed. Roshni and Deepak touched his feet, and Satish, although not able to use his left arm, immediately hugged Deepak and wept. Deepak stood still, holding Satish, lost in thought.

Satish was pleased to see them. Deepak sat close to Satish, and they talked for a long time. Deepak enquired of his health, and Satish asked for details about Deepak’s life.

Nirmala interacted very little with both, and it was hard to read her mind. During the conversation, they found out that their daughter, Purvi, was in Poona, and their son, Raj, was in Chennai. Both were computer professionals and well settled professionally.

They had a good visit. After some time, Deepak and Roshni touched their feet again, took their blessings, and were about to leave, when Satish said, “Deepak, mere bhai, it was so nice to see you and talk to you.” He looked at Roshni. “So nice to meet you too, Roshni. Please take care.”

“Deepak, I feel miserable and regret all that happened in the past. Please forgive me.” Satish had tears in his eyes.

Deepak could not control his tears too. He had not seen this brother for several years, and he was touched immensely when his older brother apologized to him.

“Deepak, I want to speak with Sashank. Can you please tell him? I have to apologize to him,” Satish continued.

Deepak nodded, and they left.

On the way back, Deepak was quiet and appeared sad.

“Are you okay, Deepak?” Roshni enquired.

“Yeah, it was difficult. I did not know how to react to him when he apologized.”

“His apology was sincere. He definitely felt sad over the past events and wanted to rectify his mistakes,” she said.

“You think Sashank bhaiya will forgive him?” Deepak asked.

“Not sure, we’ll have to wait and see. He was concerned for Satish bhaiya. He may not accept it, but…” She looked at him, and Deepak understood.

They arrived home, and no sooner than they entered, Sashank started bashing them with questions. “How is he? What happened? Why was he so stressed?” Sashank was eager to know everything.

Deepak and Roshni gave him all the details. Sashank was happy to hear that his children were with him and that he was recovering. Deepak emphasized that Satish bhaiya wanted to talk to him. Sashank bhaiya ignored this statement and walked away.

~ ~ ~

It was almost lunchtime, and Deepak and Roshni were in their room. Deepak was doing a last minute inspection of his hand bag when Roshni walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her hair. She walked towards the dressing table, removed the towel, and gently brushed her hair. She was engrossed in thought, not paying attention to her surroundings.

Deepak watched her and was so mesmerized he stared at her without blinking. Her simplicity and unconditional love attracted him; unawares, he left his bag and papers on the sofa and walked towards her, putting his hand around her waist and pulling her towards him. Alarmed, she tried to get away, but he pulled her closer to him.

Unable to comprehend what was on his mind, Roshni had a confused expression. Her hair lay draped on her left side, and she looked absolutely gorgeous in her navy blue salwar and bluish green kameez that had intricate designs. Her dupatta fell of her shoulder when Deepak pulled her closer. Deepak was dazzled. He stared at her while she struggled to adjust her dupatta and get out of the circle of his arms. The more she struggled, the tighter he held her.

After a few seconds, she said, “What are you doing? Please let me go.”

Deepak pulled her closer to him, with her one hand on his chest and the other hand on his arm, and she continued to struggle. Deepak kissed her on her cheek. “Thank you, Roshni, for everything.”

She was enraged and looked at him very sternly, “What are you doing? You have no right to kiss me or hold me. Let me go.”

They noticed the door was open, and Deepak let her go while Roshni locked the door and faced him. “Deepak, please…don’t you remember the agreement we had? I noticed you being romantic with me on this trip. Why? Why are you toying with my emotions when your wife is in the US?” She was very agitated with Deepak.

Deepak came to her. “Roshni, how many times do I have to tell you? I have no wife in the US.”

“Okay, maybe not wife, but you do have a girlfriend there, don’t you?”

Deepak lost his temper. “No, I do not have a girlfriend!” he emphasized to her.

“You’re lying.”

A bomb fell on Deepak. He could not take this anymore. He held her arms tightly with both hands, and he shook her. “Roshni, I have no girlfriend or wife in the US. You are my wife. Don’t you understand? How many times have I told you?” He noticed he was hurting her, and slowly he released her.

Roshni, with tears in her eyes, looked at him. She felt miserable and irritated. “You are lying.” She repeated, “You are lying. I do not trust you. I do not trust you.” She unlocked the door and walked out of the room.