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“Pretense…what pretense?” Deepak had no clue what Roshni was talking about.
Roshni looked at Deepak and explained, “Deepak, as I mentioned before, our relationship does not exist anymore. We are no longer husband and wife; however, we will act as if we were husband and wife until December 14th. This will give me the right to stay in your house, move along as your wife and their daughter-in-law, and also work towards fulfilling my promise.”
Deepak listened intently, and she was lost in thought. She came back to her senses. “You will be in the US, and yes, unfortunately we will have to act as husband and wife in front of people, this society.”
“Looks like you gave this a lot of thought. You have everything planned out, but I still…” Deepak scrambled for the right words so as not to offend her again.
Roshni pleaded with him, “Deepak, all this is just for one year. Please, will you cooperate with me?” She looked at him. “And this is all for your brothers and your family. I would really like to fulfill the promise I made to Babuji. This is the first time he has wanted something from me, and I want to keep him happy.” She wiped her tears.
Deepak could not help but respect and admire Roshni for her courage and loyalty. He agreed instantly to cooperate with Roshni. He wanted to see some positivity in the family; he wanted his brothers to be happy. This had always bothered him, and now, there was some hope. However, the thought of her ending the relationship bothered him. At least this will give me some time to think about it, he thought.
Roshni looked at him with gratitude. “Thank you! Just keep in mind not to visit India until December 14th next year. By then I will have left this house, and I hope with all the changes, Sashank bhaiya will not have any problem welcoming your life partner into this family.”
Deepak obviously had not given this serious thought – his relationship with her and their marriage. He believed in ‘core’ values, in that they went through the rituals and she was his wife, but he was not ready to accept the fact. He needed more time.
“I hope you realize this is a great challenge. Sashank bhaiya is very stubborn,” Deepak said, looking at Roshni.
“Yes, I saw that. The very fact you were not able to have him accept your preference in marriage is an example.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Regardless, I would like to try.”
Deepak nodded his head in acceptance of her challenge.
Roshni had observed enough around the house in the few days she was there after their marriage to see how the brothers behaved with each other and how disconnected they were. It was apparent to her they were sad, but it bothered her to see they would not communicate openly with each other.
“I have something else to talk about, Deepak,” she said.
Deepak raised his eyebrows and waited eagerly for Roshni to continue.
“It is another request,” she said. “You are visiting India to spend some time with Sashank and Akash bhaiya, right?”
“Yes!”
“Then why don’t you spend quality time with them? I have not seen you with them during lunch or dinner or, for that matter, even any good conversations with your brothers.”
Deepak was again dumbstruck at Roshni’s observations. “What do you mean?”
Her first step was to bring the brothers together. “All I am asking is for you to spend more time with them: have meals together, involve them in lively conversations, maybe go out together. There are several ways you could spend time with them.”
Deepak had no words for her; he listened and she talked.
“It appears that Akash bhaiya is doing his own thing, Sashank bhaiya is busy with his activities, and you are here, but there is no interaction at all. Why?”
“You think this is possible, I mean…all of us together at the dining table or in the living room discussing various topics as a family?” Deepak asked.
“Certainly, have you tried?” Roshni replied very confidently.
“No! That is how all this turned out, Roshni, all the past experiences have an impact, don’t they?”
Roshni was not ready to give up. She insisted that Deepak take genuine interest in inviting them to the table, inviting them to participate in conversations, and cheering them up.
Deepak was beginning to understand Roshni. She placed a lot of importance on family and the environment, and she had a point! He agreed to give his best in involving them while he was here and asked if she could help.
“Yes, of course!” She emphasized, “Just remember, we are enacting a drama of being husband and wife. While in front of them, we are husband and wife, but while alone, we are separate.”
“Why do you keep coming back to the same topic again and again? Both of us have goals, and let’s talk about them,” Deepak retaliated.
They looked at each other, acknowledging the fact that both had their goals and needed to work towards them by helping each other.
“Deepak, thank you for listening, and thank you for your cooperation,” Roshni said. “Conducting myself as your wife and a daughter-in-law while in reality I am not is certainly a challenge. I will try my best!”
