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‘It is so wrong to marry someone you’re not sure about,’ Anu repeated ghost-like after me and spared a hand over my head.
‘Yes, Anu, it is wrong and unfair on both people who are getting into the marriage,’ I said, fully aware that we were now talking about Anu and Saumen.
‘What did Purva say?’ she asked.
I shook my head. ‘I told him what I wanted.’
‘And?’
‘I guess he let me have what I asked for…’
Anu and I sat in silence for a few minutes, both of us lost in thought.
‘Did the surprise engagement freak you out?’ she asked.
I nodded my head.
‘I thought it was a bad idea,’ she said.
I sat there staring at the planet-sized diamond on Anu’s finger debating whether to tell her about Rajeev. I wondered if I felt ashamed of speaking the truth.
‘Your story?’ I said, turning around to face her. ‘What the hell happened? Pitajee just won’t talk about it. He keeps saying that everything is fine. I don’t know what he means!’
‘My parents were very rude to him,’ she said.
‘Nothing new about that! I don’t know how he puts up with that, to be honest.’
‘When I went home,’ she began, ‘I could see that there was going to be a lot of trouble with Mum and Dad about Amay. They insisted that I forget him – after all, they said, girls do have these flings. When I refused to listen to them, they realized that I will only forget him if they place a suitable boy in front of me.’
I stared at her.
‘Why did you agree to the engagement?’ I asked, a familiar surge of anger now rising in my throat.
‘I had little choice, Kas,’ she said in a small voice.
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘Dad.’ she said.
‘What about him?’ I asked and then it hit me. ‘His heart?’
‘Kas, that night, after I had been forced to meet Saumen – that’s the name of the guy, by the way – I threw a massive tantrum. That is when Mum took me to another room and in a fit of mad anger began to fling files at me.’
‘What?’
‘Medical reports,’ she said quietly.
‘What medical reports?’ I asked.
‘Dad has a very weak heart,’ she said, tearing up as I shook my head disbelievingly. ‘Mum told me that Dad really wants me married to Saumen and could I not forget Amay, whom I have known for only two years, for the sake of my father who brought me into this world.’
I let out another deep breath. I could not contest the logic.
‘You should have seen Dad when I was throwing my tantrum! He was so red in the face, I thought he was going to have a heart attack! When Mum showed me the medical reports, she said…’
‘She said?’
‘She said Dad will die if I marry Amay.’
