“Hold on, hold on. Isn’t that ring new, Dr. Banerjee? Are you engaged?” Meher exclaimed. Rupali was having lunch with her and some female faculty members. She hadn’t thought about the ring being noticed at all and was caught unawares.

“Really?” Everybody’s interest was piqued at the table, as they leaned towards her to take a good look at the ring.

“Indeed! I don’t remember you wearing this earlier. You are engaged?”

“Umm… Well… Yeah…” Rupali fumbled.

“That’s not fair. We weren’t even invited.”

“Yeah. It just… happened… suddenly…”

“Who is the guy?” Some other faculty members had also heard the commotion over the ring and had come to the table.

“Umm… You will meet him soon,” she said and got up from the table, “I need to go.”

She heard someone mumble, “I am wondering. Is it Dr. Khanna?”

“Dr. Khanna? Are you crazy?”

“They are often seen together.”

“Yes. But he is a helpful sort of a person. They are no match for each other. She is much younger to him. I mean, come on, he has taught her.”

“And he is the most gentlemanly soul I have ever seen. This is impossible.”

—

“What happened?” Paritosh asked when Rupali walked into his office and sat down on the visitor’s chair with a sigh.

“The ring. Everyone is noticing it. And asking questions.”

“Oh! Look, Rupali. It’s nothing. If you are not comfortable telling people, you can take it off.”

“Of course not! What is the meaning of suggesting that?” Rupali looked scandalized at the idea.

“Calm down. I was just trying to be practical. What do you think? Should we tell people?”

“I don’t know. Not right now. I don’t want to draw unnecessary attention. Life is fairly muddled up, as it is.”

“They have to know sooner or later.”

“Yes. But–”

“Tell me, Rupali.”

“It’s complicated, right? You are my boss. I don’t know how they will take it. Especially given that I am new here. All kinds of questions will come up and too much of scrutiny. Issues of favoritism. I am sorry. Don’t get me wrong, but I think right now I am not up for dealing with it all.”

“I understand, Rupali. Don’t worry. Let’s be discreet at work then. After a while, once you have established yourself here, we will rethink this.”

“Thanks. And it seems people won’t even believe it is you,” she chuckled.

“What was that?”

She narrated what she had overheard in the canteen. Paritosh, too, was amused, “Now that wasn’t a problem I had anticipated.”

“I think it is good for now. Keeps us off the hook.”

“I guess so.”

“And in front of others, I will continue calling you Sir or Dr. Khanna.”

“Okay Ma’am,” Paritosh sighed with a smile.

—

“I have to buy a new phone,” Rupali said when they came out of the hospital after meeting Mouli.

“What’s wrong with your phone? It seems all right.”

“All right? It’s, like, seriously outdated. Who uses these anymore?”

“Okay. You want to go now?”

“You will come with me?”

“Why not?”

“That’s great. Let’s go.”

“I used to have an iPhone in the US. I loved it, but it was not unlocked. So, I left it there itself. I have an Android phone. It’s good, but not the same. I want to buy an iPhone again.”

“Most of it is Greek to me, Rupali. You buy whatever you want and I will praise it, I promise.”

“Come on!”

“Seriously. Phone is there to call people up. All you need are those number buttons.”

“You should use an iPhone once. Then you won’t say this again.”

“I doubt, but let’s get you a phone for now,” he pulled over in front of the shop they were to visit.

“I like this one,” Rupali picked up a sample piece displayed in front of her, “Let’s buy one for you too.”

“55,000 for a phone, Rupali? Are you crazy? You buy it. Leave me alone.”

“Please. It’s a gift.”

“No. Just buy your phone; and then we are leaving,” Paritosh was firm and Rupali could not insist after that.

—

“You are angry?” Paritosh noticed that Rupali was quiet during their drive back from the shop.

“No,” she replied without looking at him.

“Do you know you look really cute when you are angry and pretend not to be?”

“These clichés do not suit you.”

Paritosh sighed, “I am sorry, Rupali. But trust me; I would not have used the phone you would have so lovingly gifted. That would make neither of us happy, right?”

She nodded, still looking grumpy.

“Okay. Listen. You get me another gift. Anything you want and I would happily accept it. Promise! Now, please give me a smile.”

Rupali pouted as if she is not satisfied, but is letting him go. Paritosh smiled and then she smiled back, “I can’t remain angry with you for long. You are taking advantage of that.”

—

“And how is Aditya?” Rupali asked Sunidhi. They were meeting at their favorite coffee shop.

“I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“We don’t meet any longer.”

“Why? I thought it was going well.”

“I had started thinking so too.”

“Then? He broke up? Just like that?”

“To be fair to him Rupali, we were not really together. So, there was no breaking up involved.”

“But something changed? What happened?”

“He found a long-lost sister,” Sunidhi sounded bitter, “A cousin actually, whom he hadn’t met in several years. She had some issues, some mental health issues. And she has been in a mental health facility for a while.” Sunidhi did not notice Rupali’s shocked expressions or pale face as she continued, “Apparently her marriage did not work out. After meeting her several times, he was not sure he wants to get into that. He thought I needed to move on and the only way to do so was if we stopped meeting.”

“Have you met his sister? Did he tell you more about her?”

“Nope. What I told you is all I know.”

“And do you agree with his decision?”

“How does that matter, Rupali?”

“How can it not? If you don’t agree, won’t you like to convince him otherwise?”

“Rupali. Nobody has seen the future. I can’t be sure that nothing will go wrong. All I can say is that I am still ready to commit to my love. But relationships don’t work with only one person trying, do they? If he is not confident, if he doesn’t want to commit, then the entire responsibility of making the relationship work will be on my shoulders. It will not be healthy.”

“Sunidhi. I am so, so sorry to hear this. I don’t know–”

“So am I, Rupali,” Sunidhi on the verge of breaking down and it wasn’t a usual occurrence. Rupali pressed her friend’s hand and tears started flowing, “I kept saying that I didn’t expect anything from this. I just wanted him to get better. And I didn’t want anything else.  But… he had given me hope, Rupali. In recent weeks, it had all been so encouraging… It just isn’t fair…”

“I know.” Rupali hugged Sunidhi and did not say anything to her. But there was a storm brewing inside her. Things were messed up and they were so connected. Aditya hadn’t told Sunidhi that Amrit was Paritosh’ wife. Even though he had accepted that Paritosh couldn’t have done anything better for his sister, he could not come to terms with her broken marriage. Did Rupali or her relationship with Paritosh become the reason for her best friend’s heartbreak? Especially after he witnessed their engagement? How would she live with that horrible feeling? Should she confess everything to Sunidhi? Even if she did, how would it help her? Should she talk to Aditya? But why would he listen to her? Talking to Paritosh would be futile. There was nothing he could do and he was prone to start feeling responsible. What should she do? She tossed and turned in her bed all night.

—

To be continued