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It was past midnight, and both of them retired for the night. Roshni felt relieved she’d communicated her feelings to Deepak and was thankful he listened to her patiently. She was thankful he was willing to cooperate, and this made her feel good about him. At least he appeared to be considerate and caring for others’ feelings!
~ ~ ~
The next day was December 21st. Their return flight was not until the 22nd. They woke up late, being tired from the previous night.
It was a beautiful day, the sun shining brightly through the curtains. Roshni pushed the curtains aside, allowing the bright rays to enter. She was at peace; in her mind she had clearly communicated her goals and decisions to Deepak. Deepak was satisfied that at least they had had some conversation and Roshni had talked to him. He had a long-term goal, and he was willing to take baby steps.
Roshni and Deepak got ready and decided to take a walk outside since the weather was good. They had their breakfast at the restaurant, and they learned that a bus toured Jammu, so they decided to take the tour and do some sightseeing.
After the tour, on the way back, Roshni expressed interest in looking around the shops. Deepak agreed to her request, and they strolled along the streets. The temperatures were low, and it was chilly. Men and women had shawls or sweaters on, people chatted happily, vendors hawked, women bargained in good-natured loud voices, streets were crowded with shops; the entire atmosphere was lively and jovial. The cafés were crowded; people had hot chai – very refreshing in this cold weather.
Roshni and Deepak kept the distance between them, respecting each other’s feelings. As they walked, they watched people, and occasionally a smile came to their lips. They were in a cheerful mood. Kashmir is famous for a certain type of embroidery, and Roshni had always longed to possess a dress with that embroidery. She spotted a boutique and wanted to check out salwar kameezes. This boutique included men’s and women’s clothing, so Deepak agreed to accompany her into the store. Men’s clothing was on the first floor, and women’s clothing on the ground floor. Deepak left Roshni and went to the first floor.
Roshni looked around and saw some beautiful salwar kameezes draped on the mannequins. She found a couple of salwar kameezes with Kashmiri embroidery, tried them on, and decided to buy them. She looked around and picked out a couple of shawls that
also had Kashmiri embroidery. In the meantime, Deepak checked out a couple of kurtas that caught his eye. As he came down with his kurtas, he met Roshni halfway on the stairs. Deepak was curious to see her go to the men’s section.
“Roshni, did you want to look at something here?”
Roshni looked at Deepak. “What did you select?”
“Kurtas.”
“Very nice, would you mind coming with me again, please?”
Deepak had a questioning face, and Roshni explained to him that she wanted to buy kurtas for Babuji, Sashank bhaiya and Akash bhaiya.
Deepak had never thought of this himself. He was so proud of her and how thoughtful she was of everybody.
He walked behind Roshni as they went upstairs. Roshni asked for cotton kurtas and pointed to Deepak for the sizes for all three men. Deepak and Roshni went back and forth and finally selected three kurtas.
After making their selections, Roshni looked at Deepak. “Deepak, these are very typical Kashmiri designs, and the prices are reasonable. Do you have any friends in the US you want to take any gifts? These would make good gifts,” she suggested.
Deepak completely fell for her. She not only thought of the family but reminded him of his friends in the US! “Thank you for reminding me. Yes, I have just one close friend, Vivek, that I could get something.” He picked out one more kurta for Vivek.
Roshni informed Deepak that she had bought a shawl for Kaki, and suddenly she paused for a second, “Deepak, is this friend of yours married, I mean, what about his wife?”
“Haan yes, would you please pick up something for her?”
They discussed it, Roshni and Deepak concluded that a shawl would be a good gift because Vaishali could wear it with any dress she wore. He finally bought a shawl for Vaishali.
After a few minutes, Deepak asked, “Roshni, are you done? Shall we pay?”
Deepak gave the salesperson all the kurtas he’d selected, but Roshni gave him only two shawls to be included in the same bill. Deepak wondered why she didn’t include the dresses.
“Roshni, give him everything that you have; we will have one bill,” he said.
“No, these are my dresses and shawls. I will pay for them,” replied Roshni.
Deepak insisted he would pay and asked her to give them all to the salesperson, but she was adamant. She did not want those to be included; she wanted to pay for her own dresses. Deepak got irritated at Roshni but did not create a scene in the store. He paid and she paid.
It was at this time that Deepak actually looked at the dresses she bought and blurted out, “Absolutely gorgeous,” and he looked at her.
She had good taste, no doubt. She had worn beautiful dresses, and he had noticed.
They returned to the room. Roshni was irritated at Deepak for insisting on paying.
“Deepak, you don’t have to pay for my dresses,” she spoke angrily as she laid the clothes they purchased on the bed.
