Love after Marriage (41 page)

It’s a small world!

Everybody was very happy to watch both sisters get caught up with old times. Kaki was very disappointed to hear about her nephew but was glad Aunty had come to Mumbai.

Everybody was curious to know about Roshni’s recovery, and there were a lot of questions on this topic. Aunty very patiently answered their questions, and everybody was thankful that Roshni was recovering well.

Kusum looked towards Sashank. “As soon as we see some improvement in Roshni’s condition and she is able to walk, we should bring her here. I don’t want her to spend time alone in Bangalore,” she said, being concerned for Roshni.

“I agree. She will stay here until her immigration, and she is not going back to Bangalore,” responded Sashank.

Akash listened to this conversation.
Oh, bhaiya and bhabhi, I hope Deepak and Roshni patch things up. There is a bigger issue that you do not know about
, thought Akash. He appeared troubled, and Sashank noticed this expression.

“Akash, what happened? Is everything all right? You look so worried.”

“I’m okay, bhaiya. I’m just worried for Roshni and Deepak,” Akash replied.

“What happened to them? Aunty told us a few minutes ago that Roshni was improving and Deepak was taking good care of her,” asked Kusum.

“Yes, bhabhi, Deepak is doing a great job taking care of her, and Sheetal ji is also there to help them. It’s just Roshni has so many injuries, it may take time for her to recover,” he said and sincerely hoped Deepak was taking good care of Roshni.

“Yeah, it may take time, but I’m glad Deepak is with her,” responded Sashank.

Kusum took Aunty to the room she was sharing with Kaki, and Kaki was happy to have her sister for company. Then Kusum gave Aunty a tour of the kitchen and the house. It did not take too long for Aunty to become very comfortable with everybody in the family, and they were pleased to have her.

Chapter 28

Sheetal Leaves for Poona to spend time with Family

Roshni was unhappy; she missed Aunty. The house seemed vacant. It was just her and Deepak all day long, and she did not know what to expect. Aunty called later that evening to talk to Roshni and Sheetal, and her joy knew no limits. Roshni and Sheetal could sense her happiness in her tone.

Then Aunty revealed to them that Kaki was her older sister and they had been reunited after several years. Roshni, Sheetal and Deepak were very delighted to hear this news. Finally, Aunty found somebody from her family!

After dinner Deepak and Sheetal cleaned up the table and kitchen. Sheetal expected Roshni to join them in the conversation, but Roshni, with the help of crutches, slowly limped to her room. Sheetal followed her.

“Roshni, are you okay?” Sheetal asked.

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“You were pretty quiet all evening, and now, you quietly walked back to your room!”

“I’m fine, just a little tired. I did a little more walking today since Aunty left, and my foot bothers me.”

Deepak heard this and came to Roshni, holding her around her shoulder. “Roshni, why did you have to do so much walking? You know you’re not healed completely. Please don’t overdo it!”

Roshni pulled his hand away from her shoulder. “I’m okay, Deepak. I just need to rest,” she said.

“Sheetal, I will wake up early and have a shower before you leave. Will you please help me? I might need some help getting dressed,” Roshni asked Sheetal.

Sheetal looked very subtly at Deepak. “Certainly, Roshni, just let me know, and I can help you.” She left Deepak and Roshni alone and went to her room.

Deepak was curious and turned to face Roshni. “Roshni, you know I am here if you need any help.”

His voice was very authentic, and he meant what he said. Roshni looked at him and nodded in agreement. He could help her with other activities; however, she could not imagine accepting his help with her dresses. She kept Deepak at a distance!

Deepak helped Roshni to the bed and brought milk and medicines for her. After she was comfortable, he tucked the blanket under her and brought his laptop and settled next to her on the bed.

“Deepak, you don’t have to go to bed this early with me,” she said.

“I know, I’m not sleeping yet. I have to attend to some e-mails, and then I’ll sleep.”

He moved closer to Roshni and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and very caringly ran his hands gently over her hair. Both of them stared at each other.

“Roshni, you look really tired, please sleep,” he said.

Roshni nodded and closed her eyes.

He went back to reading his e-mails, and Roshni dozed off slowly. Deepak turned towards her, and with a newfound determination in his eyes, he quietly whispered, “Roshni, I only hope I will be able to convince you that I love you and I want you back in my life. I am incomplete without you. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, but I am here and will not leave until you go with me to the US.”

His eyes were moist. The past flashed in front of him, and then this accident…he could not control his emotions. He bent forward and kissed her forehead and repeated, “Roshni, you belong to me and me only. I will win you back. This is my promise.”

He shut off his laptop and lay next to her, staring at her, and gradually fell asleep.

~ ~ ~

The next morning Roshni woke up and, without disturbing Deepak, used her crutches to slowly walk to the bathroom. It took her ages to walk such a short distance. She leaned the crutches against the wall in the bathroom and supported herself by leaning on the countertop and brushed her teeth. Then she slowly limped to the tub and took a shower. She struggled putting on her clothes, but was unable to brush her hair or hook her bra. Limping slowly, she walked to the kitchen area to fix chai.

Sheetal was up and almost ready to leave for work when she saw Roshni. Roshni came to Sheetal and whispered in her ear to help her with the bra hook at the back. Sheetal helped her and asked her to sit at the table, talking to her while she prepared chai and breakfast. A few minutes later Deepak joined them. Sheetal packed some fruits and snacks for lunch and left for work, leaving Deepak and Roshni alone at home.

Roshni made an attempt to get up, being very careful.

“Roshni, what are you doing?” Deepak asked and held her hand so she could not get up.

“I’m getting ready to clean the table, and then I’ll wash the dishes,” she responded.

Roshni had walked more and stressed her foot and arm the previous day. She had to take a painkiller to relieve the pain. Deepak was perturbed to hear Roshni. He pulled a chair out and sat next to her. “Why don’t you rest? Sit there near the TV and watch some shows or movies. Talk to me and keep me company, and I will do the work,” he said.

Roshni was exhausted after the little walking she’d done that morning. She was missing Aunty, and above all, this – Deepak in her proximity. All this did not sit well with her. “Deepak, please leave me alone. Why are you here in the first place?” she said brusquely.

Deepak was taken aback at this question being asked again, and he already knew what was coming next. He placed his arm around her shoulder. “What do you mean, Roshni? How can I leave you alone?”

She angrily shrugged him off. “Deepak, you know well what I am referring to. Why did you come here? You know as well as I do – our relationship does not exist. Why all this pretense of a caring husband and…and I am really tired of telling you the same thing again and again. Don’t you understand?”

“Understand what?”

Frustrated, she said, “Oh my god, Deepak, please…our relationship is over. What are you trying to accomplish? You cannot take me for granted anymore. Please stop bothering me. I have already accepted that all is over between us, and you should accept it and move on.”

Deepak was raging with anger. He moved a step closer. “Roshni, I keep trying to tell you – you are my wife. I love you, and it is my responsibility to take care of you.”

“What? Love me! Is this some kind of joke? Love me!” She continued, “Why? Why do you want to take care of me?”

“Roshni, I’m tired of hearing you say ‘our relationship is over’. Now you listen to me,” he said with a raised voice.

Silence followed.

She quietly listened to him as he held her hand and looked into her eyes. “Roshni, I know with what happened in the past, you think I’m irresponsible and not dependable, and that’s fine; I take the blame for it. But things have changed now. You have made me realize several things, and…and I never asked you to love or respect me. All I’m saying is I love you. You are my wife, and you’re injured. Let me take care of you.”

He was calm and continued, “I have always had a lot of regard and respect for you, Roshni. I have always known you to be very mature and to handle situations very well, and over time I started to adore you. Without me realizing it, I fell in love with you, so much so that I cannot imagine my life without you.”

“B-but–”

Deepak interrupted her, “I have a sincere request, Roshni. I am here to spend time with you and hopefully convince you to be my wife. This is not going to be easy for us, especially if you continue to have this attitude, but we have to make an attempt to resolve our differences. You made a comment regarding this in Lonawala: both partners have to work together to make it happen; one person’s efforts are not enough! Do you remember?”

Roshni stared into his eyes.
He remembers that conversation!

“Roshni, I have said this to you a few times before, and I repeat – I love you and want you back in my life. I want you to be my life partner, and I mean it. However, I can understand your situation; past experiences are not easy to forget. So as you mentioned, December 14
^th
, haan, December 14
^th
; we will live as husband and wife until December 14
^th
. During this period, if you develop any feelings for me and are ready to accept me as your husband, we will continue, but December 14
^th
, yes, at that time, if you still believe you cannot accept me as your husband, I will leave you and go away, never to bother you and never to enter into your life again. But until then…until then I do not want to hear these statements: ‘I am not your wife, you please go away,’ and so on. Will you cooperate with me this time?” he asked.

They looked into each other’s eyes. Deepak’s request was genuine. Roshni was devastated, but this request of his touched her, and her eyes were moist. She had a magnanimous heart and was forgiving; however, this time she was at a crossroads. Deepak had saddened her tremendously in the past. Could she forgive him? She was unsure!

She began to see his personality and his sincere efforts to continue with this relationship. She nodded her head, agreeing to his condition, and slowly walked away, and Deepak went into the kitchen to do the dishes and clean. He was upset as well, both at himself for bringing Roshni to this situation and at her for not giving him an opportunity to prove himself. But he felt joy when Roshni accepted his request. This brought a ray of hope for him!

After the dishes he went to check on her and then started to work on his laptop. Looking at one of the e-mails from the project manager, he wondered if Roshni was aware that she was on the same team as him for this project.

Roshni calmed down after a few minutes, and she turned on her computer to attend to her e-mails, and after a couple of minutes…“What!” she exclaimed and turned towards Deepak with a startled expression.

“What happened? Is everything okay?”

Roshni came to her senses and could not believe what she saw. It had been a few weeks since she’d turned on her computer and checked her e-mails, and the first thing she saw was Deepak on the invitee list for a meeting, and he was copied on several project-related e-mails. She could not believe it – Deepak on the same project team! Looking towards Deepak, she asked, “Deepak, did you know you were on the same project team as me?”

“Yes, I found out when I went to meet the project manager.”

“Why did you not tell me?”

Deepak nodded. “I knew you would figure it out soon, so…” He had his head buried in the computer, busy scanning the e-mails. “Are you surprised?”

Roshni casually glanced at him and went back to checking her e-mail.

“Roshni, it’s good both of us are on the same team. This way we can work together at home. You missed the training I gave last time in Bangalore; I can train you on this technology and software now.”

He smiled, and Roshni observed he was happy. Internally she was excited that she was on the same team and that Deepak would be able to train her, one more opportunity to be closer to him!

~ ~ ~

At lunchtime, Deepak asked Roshni what she would like to eat. Instead of responding to his question, she started to walk into the kitchen, and he stopped her. “Roshni, you are not entering the kitchen. I will cook, please.”

He was serious when he’d said he would cook, she realized!

“What can you cook? Let me do the cooking.”

“Ohoooo! You have no idea of my capabilities. Just wait and watch. Do me a favor, will you? Can you sit here at the dining table across from the kitchen and talk to me. Both of us will cook this way,” he said, feeling confident of his cooking skills.

“Can I chop the vegetables at least?” she asked.

“Okay, sounds good.” Then he continued, “Why can’t we just talk politely to each other? Why do we have to argue?”

Roshni glared at him and opened her mouth. He interrupted her, “Okay, okay, let’s just focus on cooking for now.”

Deepak was all professional; he wore an apron and brought vegetables for Roshni to cut while she sat at the dining table and he began to cook. He pulled a couple of pans from the cupboard, to one he added moong dal and water and allowed the dal to cook.

From the kitchen he said, “Roshni, how much rice should I make…one cup, two cups?”

“One cup should be good,” she replied.

He took the rice, rinsed it one time, and added two cups of water and left this pan on the stove. Roshni chopped green beans, potatoes and carrots. He decided to mix all three vegetables, placed a skillet on the stove, and added oil. To the heated oil, he added the seasoning ingredients and vegetables. He looked for spice powders and couldn’t find them in the cabinet. “Roshni, where are the spices?”