Mukundo didn’t know what to expect from Mr. Banerjee, but he was not prepared for the calmness, rather resignation, with which he took the news.

“She is yours, Mukundo. You have brought her up. You do not need my permission.”

“Kaku! I… hope… you approve. It is important to me… and to her.”

“Mukundo,” he smiled, “If somebody else had come to me with the proposal, I’d have sent him to you to get the permission. Where am I supposed to send you? I am happy. Trust me.”

Mukundo was surprised into silence. Mr. Banerjee himself broke it after a while. “You would be surprised at this. Yes – it is true. All these years, I did not even notice how my daughter had grown up. Didi gave me a piece of her mind in this visit.”

“She did?” Mukundo was surprised.

“Yes. She managed to find me alone, when Pihu was not there. And then she was not to be stopped. A lot of things she said did not worry me. Because she does not know as well as I do, how well and how responsibly you have cared for Pihu. But I could no longer ignore that I have been a rotten father.”

“Kaku!”

“No. Let me speak, Mukundo. I can’t change how I feel. Yes – it scares me if she as much as steps out of the house. But don’t worry about me any longer. Marry her and take her away. I have kept her confined here all her life. I saw her travel books the other day… Take her away, Mukundo.”

“I’m not taking her away unless you also come with us, Kaku. But yes – I did want to persuade you to let her travel with me. She will be safe.”

“I’m sure.”

“And Kaku. Can I request something?”

“Tell me, Mukundo.”

“You should not go on this guilt ride, when she is around. She will not like it.”

The old man smiled. “God bless you, my son. I am lucky have both of you. Her mother and your parents have left me the treasure of the world.”

Piyali ran away from her hiding place behind the curtains, lest her sobs were heard by the two most important men in her life. She would go to Mukundo only after she had her emotions under control.

—

“Although I am not in favor of big weddings, we must invite Pronab to ours.”

“Really? Why? You don’t like him.”

“That was when I saw him as an intruder, who was plundering the garden I had raised so painstakingly.”

“Come on…”

“That’s true, Piyali. That’s how painful it felt. But I am thankful to him. If he hadn’t made me jealous, I may never have realized what I really wanted.”

“And my torture would have continued indefinitely…” she added.

“Your torture… Because of Pratibha?”

“Well… It’s complicated…”

“When did it start?”

“You won’t like the answer.”

“That is no reason to hide it.”

She took a deep breath. “Probably when I was fifteen.”

“What?”

“Don’t be so alarmed. It isn’t as bad as it sounds. It was just… a hopeless girlish sort of attraction. I was disappointed when I realized that the only reason you had taken me to Kolkata was because you could sweet talk me into studying for board exams. You only thought of me as a ward, a responsibility, nothing else.”

“Sweet talk? You have used that word elsewhere.”

“Yes. I have. In a similar context.”

“So you were disappointed? What were you expecting exactly?”

“I don’t know. When you had gifted that boot to me… I thought you liked me in that skirt.”

“All right! Let me tell you that I always thought of you as much more than a ward. You were the purpose of my life, Piyali. And yes – I did like you in that skirt. I am going to buy you lots of such dresses when we travel. But at that point of time, I had nothing like this in mind.”

She laughed, “I know. And it was for good. I got my head straightened after that. The reason I was distracted was not Saina. It was you. So… Yeah – you did well.”

“And then?” he held her hands and started playing with her fingers unconsciously.

“And then? Well I put it past me. Not attraction, but expectations. And things were fine. Once in a while I would pray to God that you should remain single. Else you won’t come to us, and we won’t remain as good friends. And then I heard about Pratibha Di.”

“And jealousy raised its ugly head?” he gave her an amused look.

“It was more of disappointment that you didn’t tell me or Baba,” she said, “She was better than me. I could hardly compete. You had devoted so much of your life to me and Baba. It didn’t seem right that I should continue to expect so. I just… I… was very disappointed that we weren’t important enough for you. That you would not tell us…” the sadness she had felt then, reflected on her face as she recalled those times.

“Oh Piyali…”

“I know,” she looked up at him and smiled, “How mistaken I was. But anyway  – that wasn’t so much of jealousy. I felt so inadequate that… Jealousy came after you had clarified about that and left for Kolkata. With Saina…”

“Saina?” This startled Mukundo.

“Ouch!” Piyali suddenly realized that she had spoken what she hadn’t intended to… “I shouldn’t have told you.”

“Well – you have now. And you should have, anyway. Tell me now. Where does Saina come into picture?”

“I received a couriered letter from her right after you had left,” she confessed and fished out the letter for him from her drawer.

He finished reading the letter in one go and his face was pale when he looked up. “What have I done? Have you spoken to her? Is she all right? The next time I met her…”

“I know what you are worried about. Don’t. There was another letter I received soon after you came back and… I have written to her and spoken to her since then.” She handed him another letter. This one he read at leisure, aloud, and even kept commenting on the content now and then.

—

To be continued