By the time Pronab and his parents had left, Piyali was exhausted and uncomfortable despite her initial enthusiasm to adorn herself to impress them. She tripped when she got up. Mukundo supported her and walked her to her room.

“Who had asked you to wear this monstrous dress? You look good enough in your salwar-kameez…”

“Well –for a change – it got a complement out of you, instead of complaint.”

“Piyali…” he softened immediately, “I…”

“I was joking, Mukundo Babu. Relax.” She sat down and squeezed a large teddy bear in her arms.

“Where did that come from?”

She blushed. “Pronab! He is mad, Mukundo Babu. He had it sent yesterday at midnight. To celebrate three-week anniversary of our first meeting. Can you imagine such tomfoolery?”

She had worded it ostensibly as a complaint. But she wasn’t complaining at all. It was her romantic dream come true. Since she was old enough keep awake till midnight, she had always wished Mukundo on his birthday at midnight. Either by barging into his home, or at least on phone. But he thought the practice childish and never returned the favor on her birthday. Wishes could wait until morning.

“Change into something comfortable,” he told her and came out of the room.

—

Their engagement was scheduled for after pujo.  The wedding would be in February. Pronab’s family was to stay in Kolkata for pujo. Piyali was on cloud nine.

“We must show Pronab all the Kolkata glory of pujo, Mukundo Babu. He has never seen it. And will probably never see it again.”

“How about you? You will never see it again, either.”

“I will. I will come for pujo, even if he doesn’t,” she was defiant.

Mukundo just smiled. “Where is your hero though?”

“He should be here any moment. There! Pronab!”

“What happened,” she asked him. He looked stressed out.

“It’s so crowded.”

“What is the fun of pujo, if the pandal is not crowded? Come. Have some…”

“Oh! Thakuma has brought home some five different kinds since yesterday. But I don’t like this, Piyali.”

“But it’s bhog..”

“I know. But I don’t like it….”

“No problem. Let me and Mukundo Babu finish it. Then we can walk around pandal…”

“I am suffocating here…”

“Take him out, Piyali,” Mukundo suggested, “He is not used to this.”

“Okay. Let’s go…”

“Umm… actually…” Pronab interjected, “Thakuma is expecting me at home soon. Some guests are coming. You stay here, Piyali. I will see you later.”

“Will you come in the evening? There are performances… Ours too…”

“Yes sweetheart. I will. Promise…” he said and leaned to kiss her, but she stepped back.

“Right…” he grinned, “Not here!”

She found it difficult to meet Mukundo’s eyes after that, even though he pretended that nothing had happened.

—

Pronab was thoroughly bored through their classical performance. But that made him acutely aware of how much they enjoyed performing together. It didn’t look like the rest of the world mattered. He might be a bad listener. But there others in audience who appreciated what they were singing and who had gone crazy applauding the performance. But even they didn’t seem to exist for Mukundo and Piyali.

When they sung a duet next, Pronab had to acknowledge that they deserved all the applause. It was a bliss hearing them sing together.

Gum hai kissi ke pyaar mein, ye dul subaha sham
Par tumhein likh nahin paun, main uska naam….

After the performance, the joined Pronab in the front row. Mukundo went again after a while for a solo song.

Chalo ek baar phir se ajnabi ban jayen hum dono…

Piyali tried to conceal it, but he could see tears in her eyes. “What happened?” he asked, concerned.

“Nothing,” she smiled to through her tears, “It’s his singing. Even if he sings the happiest song in the world, I am moved to tears. Don’t tell him though. It will be embarrassing.”

Towards the end of the program Piyali went on stage with a solo performance.

Ye galiyan, ye chaubara, yahan aana na dobara…

“What happened, Mukundo Babu?”

“Nothing. It just her singing. Don’t tell her, please. It will be embarrassing.”

And what was up with the choice of their songs? Those almost sounded like subtle messages to each other.

“An ice cream, Piyali?” Pronab asked as they were leaving the pandal.

“No. It isn’t good for my voice.”

“But you ate one at Mukundo Babu’s place…”

“Yeah. He started making ice cream at home because I could not give up my temptation. There he controls the ingredient and even temperature. Sometimes I only get a milk-shake instead of ice cream,” she chuckled, “But it tastes good.”

—

“Pronab!”

“What’s up, sweetheart? We are coming in the afternoon for the engagement. Couldn’t you wait?” he teased her on phone.

“You have to help me. I don’t know what’s up with Mukundo Babu. He is… He is behaving strangely. He is avoiding me. And he has been drinking since morning. Everybody is too busy with preparations to notice…”

“Arr… what can I do, Piyali? Why don’t you…”

“I… Pronab. I don’t know. Oh God! I am panicking… I can’t…”

“All right. Stop worrying. I will be there in twenty.”

—

“Do you love her?” Pronab found Mukundo on verandah around midmorning.

“Excuse me?” Mukundo was baffled.

“Do you love Piyali?”

“What kind of question is that, Pronab? Of course, I love her…”

“Nah! Not that… Do you fantasize about her? Have you thought about taking her to bed…”

“Have you gone mad?”

“It’s a very valid question. She is an attractive woman. And you two have been so close…”

“For God’s sake, Pronab. She is a baby!”

“Was… She was a baby. We all were, at some point of time…”

“Have you changed your mind? Is this your sick way of getting out of… By insinuating…”

“I am not insinuating. I was only asking. Let me guess. Here is how it is. All you want is that she remained close to you. Closer to you than to anyone else. And you don’t need to take her to bed for that. You don’t feel that need for her. But you do want to possess her. You have… all these years. And right now, probably the only regret you have is that she is going to go away. If only she had stayed in Kolkata… But here is what you have failed to take into account. As soon as she has a lover, or a husband, whether he is in Kolkata, or in Texas, he takes precedence over everyone else. You don’t remain the closest person to her. He becomes that…”

“I don’t know what you are implying. But if you hurt her, Pronab, I swear…”

“No. I won’t hurt her. If neither of you breaks down before the engagement ceremony, everything will go on as planned. She will have my love all our lives. Because I have never had anyone better than her. And am unlikely to have in future either. I will have her loyalty, devotion, unconditional acceptance and affection.”

“Then what is your problem?”

“Problem is not mine, really. I will have a good life. But what you have here – between the two of you – is magic. It is what I wanted in my life. I don’t think I can have it. You, on the other hand, have it. Even without being lovers. But if you won’t be her lover, someone else will be. And then… this magic will be lost forever. And you aren’t exactly her brother, are you?”

“You must be drunk, Pronab. Just go back and…”

“You are the one who has been drinking since morning, Mukundo Babu. Think it over.”

“I can’t be her lover. I have never given her what a lover should… Never pampered her… Never gave her a complement… Never…”

“Point is not what you didn’t do. Point is what you can do. From now on… And even about the past. If you looked at yourself form her eyes, you would be surprised… But to do any of that, you need to stop drinking…” Pronab said and walked out of the verandah.

Mukundo stared blankly at his glass. For a moment, it looked like he would throw it away. But he changed his mind and gulped the remaining content down in one go.

—

To be continued