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“Wonderful idea, Roshni, can you make some kheer?”
Roshni, still recovering from this most recent experience, moved to the stove. Deepak went back to his chair near the dining table.
“Deepak, next week is Diwali. Do you have any new clothes to wear?”
“New clothes! What for?”
“It’s a tradition to wear something new for Diwali, especially for Lakshmi pooja. Babuji always bought me new dresses for Dashera and Diwali. We wore new clothes on these festival days.”
Deepak didn’t have anything brand new to wear. “So let’s go shopping this evening. Let’s get some new clothes for you and me,” he said.
Because of her handicap, she was confined to the apartment, and Deepak looked for opportunities to take her out.
Chai was ready, and Roshni was trying to pour it into cups when Deepak helped her as she was not able to use her left arm effectively. He asked her to sit at the table while he brought the chai. Roshni slowly made her way to the table. Deepak sat next to her.
“What time do you want to leave, Roshni?”
“I’m not sure.”
“It’s already 4 p.m.”
Roshni closed her eyes for a minute. “Deepak, let’s go tomorrow morning.”
“Why, I mean…why not today?” Deepak asked, being curious.
“Because it’s already late afternoon, and all the roads and streets will be very busy. We’ll be stuck in traffic at several places. Tomorrow morning about ten-ish is good so we can spend time in leisure, and…maybe, if you’re interested, we could have lunch and come home.”
Deepak liked the idea – spending time leisurely and having lunch together. What a big change in Roshni’s approach. He readily agreed to it.
~ ~ ~
Roshni was up early and was already in the kitchen getting ready to make some sweets. It was Saturday morning, and Diwali was on Tuesday. Listening to the sound of dishes in the kitchen, Deepak woke up and wondered what Roshni was up to. He came to the dining area.
“Shall I make chai for you?” she asked him, being in a good mood.
Deepak nodded in acknowledgement. “Roshni, what are you doing? You seem to be busy.”
“Tuesday is Diwali, and I’m getting ready to make some sweets.” She smiled.
“Oooooooo, sweets, I just love them,” he replied, being very excited. He came closer to Roshni. “What sweets are you making?”
“What sweets do you like? I will try to make what you like.”
“I just love all the sweets – gulab jamun, besan laddu, ras malai, burfi – you name it,” he said.
“Oh good, I planned on making besan laddu and burfi. Now that you mentioned gulab jamun, I will plan on making them too! Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll have any energy to make ras malai. We can buy some from the store.”
Deepak came closer to her, holding her by the waist and looking passionately into her eyes. “Can you really make all of these sweets?”
His warm breath made her shiver. She blushed and felt shy. She could not hide her emotions and gently lowered her eyes and agreed that she could make those sweets.
Deepak stared at her, full of passion. If only she cooperated, he would hug her. Roshni felt uncomfortable with him so close, and she moved away from him, but he leaned towards her. “Roshni, can I help you?” he whispered, being romantic with her.
There was passion and longing for each other, yet the little distance that Roshni had created still remained. Roshni came to her senses and moved away from him.
“I’m fine. I just want to complete them early in case I get tired and lose all my energy.”
“Don’t worry, Roshni. I’ll help you. Tell me what can I do?”
