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“When I decide to leave, it might become very difficult for all of us to stay away from each other, so…”
This statement hit Deepak like a big, hard rock. He was nervous to hear what she had to say.
“I talked with Mr. Gupta, our director. Our firm is collaborating with a firm in Bangalore on a project. They need somebody from here to train their professionals and work with them, and I have accepted this assignment.”
Deepak was terrified of losing Roshni. He envisioned his task of winning her back becoming more challenging. “What? I mean, have you discussed this with Sashank bhaiya and Kusum didi?”
“No, I wanted to share this with you first. It is a project for four to six months. I have to be in Bangalore in July or August, and the project ends in December or early next year. This way, I can leave your house without any hassle, and nobody will suspect. I will continue to stay in Bangalore as long as the project needs me. I hope when you return next time with your wife or girlfriend, you can convince the others at home to accept her. I don’t have to come back to this house. When my project is finished, I can go to my house…Babuji’s house.”
To hear her say this was traumatic. He never expected this move from Roshni. With a raised voice, he said, “Roshni, are you out of your mind? Do you know anybody there? Where will you stay in Bangalore? How will you stay by yourself? It is a new place for you, and I don’t think it is a good idea for you to leave Mumbai and stay by yourself.” He pounded questions at her. The thought of losing her panicked him!
Roshni sensed his concern; he was perturbed. She observed that he’d developed feelings towards her, but her question was, “Are these genuine or is he trying to please somebody?” She was confused and needed more assurance from him before she trusted him.
“Deepak, please try to understand. This is such a great opportunity, both career-wise and personally too! And it works very well with what we talked about in December. It is a good transition for me to be out of your house and for the others to accept me not being around.”
Of course, she was attached to all of them, and this made her sad. “I am concerned. Sashank bhaiya and Kusum didi treat me as their daughter and will never let me go otherwise. Akash bhaiya is concerned for his sister…that is me. Under these circumstances, I cannot leave. You have to understand and support me. After all, they do not know what transpired between us!”
“No,” he said emphatically. “I will not listen to anything you say, and I do not approve of this move. You will not leave Mumbai, and,” he looked straight into her eyes, “you will not leave this house until…until…” He stopped; he did not want to inform Roshni of his plan of applying for her VISA to the US.
He stumbled and could not find the right words to convince her to stay. “Roshni, please don’t leave the house. I don’t want you to go anywhere,” he said, pleading with her.
“But…but…Deepak, please–”
He interrupted her, “I do not want to talk about this anymore. Let’s talk about something more pleasant and happy.”
Roshni did not want to confront him with the topic of their marriage and forgive him yet! Deepak, on the other hand, did not want to discuss her leaving the house; he was fearful of losing her! Both had their weaknesses and were hesitant to deal with them. Would they ever confront each other with these issues?
He hesitantly suggested, “So, do you want to go shopping?”
“No, I am not interested in shopping,” she snapped back.
“Fine, I want to buy a few things to take to the US; let’s look for them.”
Roshni, with a surprised expression, asked, “Here, in Lonawala?”
“Yes, what is the problem? I think we can shop here too.”
Roshni nodded her head. He’d behaved like a little child for those few minutes, and she smiled to herself. She began to get glimpses of his personality. With his behavior, he had established he could not handle stress very well. She had a few examples to prove this. He was upset with the thought of her going away, and this was visible in his expressions.
Finally she said, “Okay, Deepak, will you listen to me if I suggest something?”
“Yes, go ahead – other than you talking about going away to Bangalore.”
“After breakfast let’s drive back to Mumbai. Once in Mumbai, let’s go shop for your items and then go home.” She was handling things better than he was.
Deepak confirmed that she still had the dinner date with him, and she agreed. They left after breakfast and talked about their work and projects. Deepak shared his lifestyle in the US, and it was all fun and enjoyable and, more importantly, very relaxing for both.
~ ~ ~
As they got closer to Mumbai, Roshni asked for the list of items Deepak wanted to buy. He mentioned a few things, and she took him to a sweet shop.
At the sweet shop, Roshni noticed Deepak bought several varieties, and out of curiosity, she asked, “Deepak, pardon me for interfering, but do you really need to get so much? How many people will you share all these with?”
Deepak smiled and came to her. “Roshni, I am going to keep most of these for myself.”
Roshni opened her eyes wide in surprise. He sensed this and with a smile said, “Roshni, do you know I like sweets? So whenever I feel like eating something sweet, I will eat these and think of these sweet moments with you.” He tried to be romantic with her.
She was taken aback. “Deepak, these sweets don’t last too long; I hope you know that.”
