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He reached for them and accidentally knocked down a box. It was one of the jewelry sets he had given Roshni for her birthday. He remembered how beautiful she looked when she tried them on. He smiled involuntarily as he picked up the box, but when he tried to put it back, he felt some resistance. He brought a stool and was about to replace the box when his mouth dropped open in astonishment. Roshni had left the dresses and the jewelry sets he’d bought for her there.
A few seconds later, his mouth went in a big O… “What!” He picked it up, and there it was…her passport with their marriage certificate in it.
How can Roshni be so careless of these documents? Does she realize how important these are? he thought to himself.
He’d speculated that soon after their marriage, she was in anguish and might have just thrown away her passport along with the marriage certificate. He was very happy to have found it because he had planned on asking her for a copy of her passport, but was in a dilemma to ask her because of her attitude towards this topic.
Deepak planned on applying for her immigration soon after he went back to the US and needed this information along with the marriage certificate. He thanked God in his mind for helping him find these. He made photocopies of her passport and marriage certificate and replaced the originals in the closet where he’d found them.
Now that he was on this task, he wanted a few photographs of their marriage as well, and he found the DVD on that shelf. He took the DVD and put it in his bag.
One major mission accomplished! The next task for him was her signatures, and he had
to think how he could accomplish this. In an instant, he thought of the power of attorney, the papers he had taken with him soon after their wedding. Never mind, I don’t need her signatures. I have the authority to sign on her behalf. I will take care of it, he thought.
The rest of the day passed with him resting and getting some packing done. Since he’d arrived in India, he had been busy, so he never had an opportunity to call Vivek’s parents. After lunch and while he waited for the clock to tick until 5 p.m., he called Vivek’s father to check on his health.
Vivek’s father certainly improved, and they had a conversation for some time when Deepak asked if they wanted to send any parcels for Vivek and Vaishali. Vivek’s father indicated that he would discuss this with his wife and get back to him. They had a good conversation and hung up.
Deepak became restless waiting. He passed the time by watching TV and checking his e-mail, and it was only 3 p.m. when he felt the urge for chai. As this thought crossed his mind, he heard the doorbell ring. He opened the door, and his mouth opened wide. Roshni was at the door and waited for him to move so she could get in.
He could not believe his eyes, as he had planned to pick her up at 5 p.m. Roshni asked Kaki to make some chai for her and walked up the stairs to her room.
Deepak followed her. “Roshni, why are you home early?”
“Why? Are you not happy? I thought I could surprise you a little too!” She winked at him.
Deepak liked this gesture of hers, and he smiled. He undoubtedly was very pleased to see her home early. Roshni left her handbag on the table and went to freshen up. She felt relieved after the last few hectic weeks at work. She splashed her face with cold water. Her thoughts went back to the day’s events – the meetings and the prototype design release – and she smiled, feeling very accomplished.
She came out of the bathroom while Deepak waited patiently for her. She asked him if he’d had chai, and when he replied in the negative, both went downstairs.
As they drank chai and relished it, Deepak asked, “So, Roshni, how was it?”
“What?”
“How did the release go? Was everybody happy with the design?”
“Yes, no problems during the final testing. Everybody was very happy.”
“Great, congratulations, good work!” He had done designing and release in the past and was aware of the stress.
“Thank you!” she acknowledged.
Both of them were quiet for a few minutes, neither saying anything. Finally, he said, “Roshni, can I ask you something?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“I want to take you out to dinner tonight; what do you say?”
“Tonight?” She looked at him very curiously.
Deepak nodded.
Roshni looked at her watch; it was 4 p.m. She fasted on Thursdays every week. Usually, she went to the temple and then had dinner. She communicated the same to Deepak.
This was news to Deepak. “Roshni, you haven’t eaten anything since this morning?”
“Yes, today is Thursday, and I fast every Thursday.”
