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His eyes were moist. He let her go and slowly moved to the bed and sat on it. At that moment, he was overwhelmed with emotions – feelings of guilt, his love for Roshni and her forgiving him – a significant leap forward in their relationship. He could not contain himself, and Roshni saw this. She sat beside him and hugged his hand, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Deepak, all that has happened is past history. I know you love me more than your life, and I love you too! Let’s not ruin our future now. We have a great opportunity ahead of us, and let us make the most of it,” she said.
Deepak turned around, nodding, and hugged her, and they remained in each other’s embrace, feeling the tenderness, comfort and support in each other’s arms. They felt complete with each other.
They came out of their trance when they heard Kusum call them for dinner. Both freshened up and joined the family for dinner.
~ ~ ~
Kusum updated Deepak and Roshni regarding all the arrangements made so far for the wedding, and then she delegated tasks to Roshni and Deepak. “I think both of you can take over the responsibility of distributing the invitation cards and buying wedding clothing for everybody.”
She paused with a thought. “Roshni, do you have to report to work here?”
“Yes, didi, I have to report on the 4th,” Roshni replied.
“Meaning tomorrow?”
“Yes, didi, I don’t have to stay for long; I will meet my boss and be back.”
“Roshni, can you take some time off, at least until the wedding?” Sashank said when he heard this conversation.
Deepak interrupted, “I think she should consider resigning this job.”
“What!” exclaimed Roshni.
“Yes, I think you should give your resignation,” Deepak repeated.
“Resignation? What do you expect me to do after resigning?”
Deepak did not want to prolong this conversation. “Roshni, let’s discuss that later; for now let’s focus on Akash’s wedding preparations. We have less than two weeks left.”
All agreed, Roshni asked several questions of Sashank and Kusum regarding Sheetal’s parents, the family background and wedding.
Sashank looked towards Kusum. “See, Kusum, did I not say…see how the whole house is buzzing with happiness and laughter as soon as Roshni is back!”
Kusum agreed.
Sashank came closer to Roshni and kissed her on the forehead. “Roshni, I’m so happy you’re back, beti. We missed you, missed you a lot! It felt the whole house lost its charm.”
Roshni smiled at him while Deepak gently rubbed her shoulders, acknowledging the same.
The evening passed on with a lot of chattering around the house when the phone rang, it was Sheetal. Sheetal informed Akash that she’d arrived safely in Poona and enquired about Deepak and Roshni. Later, while Akash chatted with Sheetal, the rest of the family continued with their conversations until late into the night!
~ ~ ~
Wedding preparations went on with Kusum engaging Roshni in several activities, such as shopping for clothes and jewelry, and organizing and coordinating the reception. Kaki and Aunty helped prepare sweets, and Lakshmi was given the responsibility of decorating the house. It was a great feeling to watch Kusum take over the responsibility as the ‘elder’ daughter-in-law of the house, planning and executing everything.
The invitation cards arrived. Kusum placed a card in the altar for the divine blessings for the couple, and then assigned the job of distributing the cards to Roshni and Deepak. They had to visit Sheetal’s parents in Poona and invite them formally. Kusum and Sashank informed Sheetal’s parents that Deepak and Roshni would be coming over to invite them.
Deepak was eager for this trip; he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. Since their wedding anniversary was around the corner, he decided to ask Kusum bhabhi if they could stay overnight in Poona when they visited Akash’s in-laws.
This would give him an opportunity to make arrangements for Suhaag raat in a hotel in or near Poona.
Kusum agreed, but she also requested that they would return the next day in the morning because of the wedding and reception preparations. Deepak asked Kusum bhabhi to keep this a secret, he wanted to surprise Roshni, and Kusum agreed.
Deepak made reservations at a decent hotel, giving instructions for arrangements to be made for their first night together (Suhaag raat). The date happened to be the 8th of December, and it was a Friday. Deepak respected Roshni’s sentiments; he planned to take her to a temple for a pooja before he took her to the hotel.
Roshni and Deepak decided to leave that morning to meet Sheetal’s parents and then come back to Mumbai after spending a couple of hours there. Deepak very quietly packed a change of clothes for her and him and left the bag in the trunk. He also realized that Roshni did not have a ring on her finger, so he got her a nice ring as a gift.
