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He left and was back in a few minutes with chai and fresh hot samosas.
“Roshni, I have some hot samosas. Let’s eat,” he said and came around to adjust the table over her legs.
He sat next to her and took the first bite. “Oooooh, very nice samosas. You know, Roshni, we get samosas in the US, but this taste, it’s unbelievable!” He felt the texture of the covering and smelled the spices of the potato filling inside. “How do they make these so good? We don’t get this quality in the US!” he commented as he enjoyed the samosas.
Then he continued, “I was so surprised at the tiny cups of chai.” He smiled. “I had to get two cups for each of us.”
“This is normal here. You’re probably used to drinking in large cups there, and you better get used to these tiny cups,” she said and chuckled at him.
Deepak first sniffed the chai, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was so refreshing. He took a sip of chai. “Ooooh, too much sugar! This is l
ike syrup.”
Roshni smiled again. “Don’t you take sugar in chai?”
“I do, but this is a little too much.”
“I think you can request less sugar, Deepak.”
“I can! Oh well, next time,” he said.
He noticed she wasn’t eating but was drinking chai. He suggested she eat the samosas while they were hot and asked her if he could get something else for her instead. She decided to have the samosas after her chai.
While they were eating, they intermittently looked at each other and exchanged glances. Finally Roshni broke the silence. “Deepak, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure!” replied Deepak and shrugged his shoulders.
“Why did you come here?” Roshni asked and looked into his eyes.
“What do you mean, why did I come here?”
Roshni lifted her head, looking directly at him. “I mean, there’s only two and a half months left in our relationship, you remember? I think everybody in Mumbai is getting used to me not being there, and I was slowly getting used to this place. So why did you have to bother coming here? It feels like we are enacting this husband wife drama here again.” She continued after a pause, “Why don’t you go back to Mumbai and spend time there before you leave for the US. You don’t have to stay here.”
Deepak very seriously looked at her. “What makes you think this is all acting? Why can’t it be that I am here for you and…and only for you.”
“Didn’t you say you were here for an assignment?”
“The assignment came later, Roshni. My priority was you. I wanted to be with you before we went back to the US, and since my boss knew I was coming here for an extended time, he checked with me to see if I could work remotely.”
He stared at her, and Roshni popped open her eyes. ‘We’? What does he mean by ‘we’? She had an expression of disbelief.
“Why don’t you believe me?” he asked with a very innocent face.
No response from Roshni, she was almost done with the samosa and chai. She left the plate and cup on the table and looked around for a napkin to wipe her mouth. Deepak helped her with it and cleaned her table and a few crumbs that had fallen on her gown, and made her comfortable.
Deepak sat next to Roshni on the chair. “Roshni, I want to share something with you.”
Roshni nodded and asked him to continue.
“Roshni, we had a rough beginning to our relationship, and it was all my fault. I will take the responsibility for everything, and I shared a few things with you in Lonawala as to why I reacted that way.” He paused briefly. “Roshni, I recognized that being with you and talking to you gives me immense pleasure. Of course, the marvelous change I see in my brothers is your gift to them and me.”
He waited for her response, but she gestured for him to continue.
“After the last trip, I recognized that me being in the US was not going to help us build our relationship; it is absolutely necessary for us to be together. After all the experiences you’ve had with me and my family, I can completely understand your situation and your distrust, so…given the circumstances, I decided to come. I talked to my boss about quitting and coming here for at least three months, but he decided to give me an assignment here to work with this company. I had to put in a condition that if this job takes away my precious time with you, I would resign if necessary, and he agreed.”
Deepak continued to look at her for her reaction, and Roshni silently listened, and within her heart, she admired him for such a step he had taken. It gave her glimpses that he cared for her, her company meant a lot to him, and that he was very serious in continuing this relationship.
For her to confide in him, it was necessary for her to watch him for a longer time, and she was skeptical if this was possible. She had doubted that Deepak would make such a decision. His coming to India to be with her was a confirmation from his side that he was committed.
