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Deepak was unable to see this internal suffering of Roshni. He was restless too!
Roshni was in the kitchen preparing chai while Deepak was in the living room with his laptop. He glanced at her occasionally, and she was quiet and engrossed in her thoughts. He had several thoughts in his mind as he tried to figure out why she felt inhibited and had not accepted him yet!
The sadness and sorrow she had buried; he believed most of it was due to the events that had happened soon after their marriage, and he was aware that Roshni felt guilty for her babuji’s death.
As these thoughts rolled in his mind, lightning struck him – they’d never had any open conversation regarding their marriage or the other situations she’d encountered after their marriage. She never had the opportunity to vent her feelings. He had done all the talking, and she was patient and listened to him, but he never gave her the opportunity to vent. That was it!
The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that she needed to bring it out, and only then she would feel relieved and accept him. He was so excited as this thought flashed in his mind, he shut his laptop and got up from the sofa and ran his fingers through his hair and wondered how he could achieve this. He had to carefully think it through and at the right moment instigate her to vent her frustrations and anger that she held for him.
This would be his last attempt to win her back!
If things did not change, he was ready to accept that he’d lost her and move on; however, he was not ready to give it up so quickly. He was mentally prepared to stay in India however long it took for him to bring her back, and he was determined to go back to the US with Roshni.
Roshni brought chai for him. She was stunned to see him get up so swiftly and kept looking at him. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“Yes…yes. Just a thought occurred, and I was…could not contain the excitement,” he answered. “Roshni, do you feel better?”
Roshni, without a word, nodded her head and was ready to walk away when he asked, “Where is your chai?”
“In the kitchen.”
“Kitchen? Why? You sit here and have this chai. I’ll get the other one for me.” He forcefully made her sit on the sofa. She complied and relaxed on the sofa while Deepak brought the chai and joined her. He made attempts at light conversation with her while he tried to think of how he could create a situation for her to vent. No clue yet!
“Roshni, can I massage your foot? You have been on your feet a lot since yesterday.”
“No, I’m fine. It aches a little – you know, extended standing – but I’ll be all right,” she assured him.
Soon their conversation turned to Sheetal and her vacation, and then they talked about this Diwali being the first one after their marriage and also the first for Kusum bhabhi and Sashank bhaiya.
“I wish Akash bhaiya was also married. I really hope he finds a nice girl soon,” Deepak said.
“I think he found himself a girl,” responded Roshni without a second thought. She paused and looked towards Deepak, waiting for his reaction.
“What?”
Roshni nodded.
Deepak smirked. “Roshni, what are you saying? You mean…Akash bhaiya found a girl! Who is she? Do you know her well? Please tell me.” He was curious to know.
“I only suspect at this time. I will tell you once I have some more information.”
“Unbelievable! You are here and he is there, and still you suspect he found a girl.” He smiled.
“Yes.” She was very confident when she said this, and Deepak wanted to know more.
Roshni believed Sheetal and Akash liked each other. They enjoyed each other’s company, and she strongly suspected that Sheetal and Akash communicated via e-mail and phone. She was waiting for the right time to discuss this with them. She felt a little better thinking of this after a very sad day. Her promise to get both brothers married might be fulfilled very soon!
The relationship between Sheetal and Akash had grown tremendously. The communications increased – both by phone and e-mail. Akash visited Poona to meet Sheetal a couple of times, once for a spiritual workshop and once just to meet her. He was introduced to her parents, and they enjoyed Akash’s company too. They sensed a relation between Akash and Sheetal; however, they waited for Sheetal to inform them.
Diwali was over, and Sheetal had to come back to Bangalore in a few days’ time. Sheetal was interested in Akash, but she wanted to first discuss this with Roshni before she said anything to her parents.
Akash was also interested in Sheetal. He felt she was the right life partner for him. However, he too wanted to talk to Roshni and Deepak first before proceeding any further.
After Diwali, Sheetal planned to fly back on Thursday November 23rd. Friday was Deepak’s birthday, and Akash had talked to Sheetal about visiting Bangalore for his birthday and, of course, an opportunity to be with Sheetal. He booked his ticket and gave the details to Sheetal. They planned out everything so that Sheetal would have a cake ready at the time Akash came home, and they would have a small celebration for Deepak. All this was a surprise for Roshni and Deepak.
~ ~ ~
Finally it was Thursday, November 23rd, and Deepak picked Sheetal up at the airport. She definitely looked relaxed and rejuvenated.
