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‘I don’t know.’
‘Hmmm … you must ask. I am sure he has a reason.’ said Mum.
I grunted.
‘I have some more news,’ she said gleefully.
‘What?’
‘The wedding date has been fixed.’
‘Whose wedding date?’ I drawled, lazily stretching myself.There was silence. I sat upright. ‘My wedding?’ I asked slowly.
‘Yes, your wedding. Remember, you are getting married?’
I didn’t say anything.
‘To Purva,’ Mum added helpfully.
‘Oh,’ I said, th
e hundreds of emails from Rajeev still dancing in my head.
‘6 August,’ said Mum.
‘Eh?’
‘Your wedding date, Beta. 6 August.’
‘Oh,’ was all that I could come up with.
8.00 a.m.
The bell rang impatiently. I had already called in sick at work, citing issues with my ear, and disliked the injustice of being forced out of bed at this unearthly hour. Anu had left at five in the morning today to be with her mum in Pune. Ahya had rung up the previous afternoon, bidding her eldest child to drop everything and come home. She refused to give her a reason, leaving Anu to imagine the worst. Anu, of course, dutifully decided that there was something wrong with Govind’s heart.
‘There can’t be anything wrong with Govind’s heart,’ I had said.
‘Why?’ she had asked, looking hopefully at me.
‘Because he doesn’t have one,’ I had said, before collapsing into giggles.
The doorbell rang again, bringing me back to the present. I shook my head, an old habit, hoping that in doing so, I would be able to rid myself of the noise that was making my head ache. I trooped to the main lobby, hitching up my pyjamas, and opened the door.
Purva.
Feeling anger surge inside me, I turned around abruptly and walked right back in, shutting the door on Purva’s face. I almost ran the last few meters to my room and threw myself down on the bed, breathing in deep bursts.
Purva walked in slowly behind me and put a hand on my shoulders. I shook it away.
‘Kasturi,’ he said gently. ‘Look here.’
I sat still on my bed with my back towards Purva and my hands crossed across my chest.
‘Please?’ he pleaded.
I sat unmoving.
‘Please,’ he repeated, gently turning me around. I narrowed my eyes in surprise as I looked at him. Purva’s hair was tousled and his eyes looked weary. It seemed like he had not slept in ages.
