It was impossible not to give into the feeling of safety, security and love it brought to her. It was incredible to feel so cared for and to not have to worry. ‘It is only for few weeks,’ she reminded herself often, but forgot all about it as she slipped into her comfortable bed.

One source of uneasiness for her was that Maya was never around. Was it because of her? Could they have fought because of her presence in his house?

The other source of uneasiness, but also of immense gratification, was Paritosh’ solicitousness for her well-being. But she was jolted out of her near-carefree joy when she saw Soumitra working on a laptop one day.

“Whose laptop is this?”

“Mine!” he grinned at her.

“How did you get a laptop?”

“In a reuse-recycle competition.”

“What competition? Where?”

“A reuse-recycle competition. People had given away their non-functional electronic items for the competition. If you could repair it, you could take it home. Dr. Khanna saw me opening his desktop once and asked if I knew about internals of computers. I said I knew a little. Then he told me about this reuse-recycle drive his club was running and asked me if I would like to try a laptop his friend was giving away. It only needed a RAM replacement, then it was mine.”

“Only needed a whatever-you-said replacement? And this guy just gave it away?”

“I think so.” In face of Rupali’s skepticism, Soumitra was not so sure any longer.

“Did you meet this friend who had given away the laptop?”

“No. Dr. Khanna said it was lying at the club and he brought it home.”

“Can’t you see what is happening, Piku? He himself has gotten it for you. We are already too much in his debt. You make sure you return it.”

Soumitra looked at the laptop wistfully. But more difficult than parting with the laptop was the task of facing Paritosh.

“What do I tell him, Didi?” he asked, nervous about the unexpected responsibility that had just befallen him.

“I will talk to him,” Rupali declared to his relief.

—

She confronted him that evening.

“You gave Soumitra a laptop?”

“I didn’t give it to him,” Paritosh was quick to spot the trap.

“You concocted a ridiculous story, Dr. Khanna. He is young enough to fall for it. But I’m sorry, I can’t keep it.”

Paritosh stared at her for moment, then got up and left. Rupali’s heart sank. Was this how he was going to deal with it? By refusing to discuss it?

But he came back after a while, carrying his laptop.

“Here. See this mail. From my club’s administration. They are running a reuse-recycle drive and there is a competition being organized.” He was thankful to have adopted an alibi, which had a grain of truth in it. But she was also quick with spotting the one lie in the story.

“But the laptop was yours. Not your friend’s. Please Dr. Khanna. I can’t keep it.”

“It will make me happy if you did,” Paritosh said plainly.

That gave her a pause. Her voice was softer and apologetic when she spoke next, “You shouldn’t… Does Maya Ma’am approve of it?”

“She doesn’t have to. We are no longer together.”

Rupali practically jumped at the news. Then she gathered herself together and said, “I’m sorry to hear that.” Then she blurted quite against her good judgement, “You didn’t tell me.”

“Should I have?”

She averted her eyes.

“Anyway. The laptop wasn’t for you. I wasn’t using it, while Soumitra can use it for his studies. There is nothing wrong with it. If you let him keep it, I will be very happy.”

She nodded, her eyes still fixed to her lap.

Paritosh left without another word.

—

“I don’t understand you, Didi,” Soumitra was annoyed, “One moment something is not right. Another moment it is. We hadn’t imagined that you would consent to stay here even for a night. Then he speaks to you, and you are fine with not only staying here yourself for weeks, but also bringing us along. Yesterday it was a crime for me to have this laptop. He talks to you, and then it’s okay? What changed? Is it not his laptop?”

“It is,” Rupali replied in a guilty, sinking voice.

“Then what has changed?”

‘He no longer has a fiancee to object to it and it will make him happy,’ Rupali thought, but could hardly have offered that explanation to Soumitra.

“Piku. I am not a perfect person. I try to do the right thing. I also try to teach you guys the right things. But, perhaps, there is always more to understand, more to know. I don’t think we should ever impose ourselves on anyone. But if I do not recover, I will not be able to do my duty towards the two of you. If I insisted on staying at home, I would not have gotten the rest and care I needed. It felt right that I should give my body what it needs to recover. Between two rights, I could only choose one. Something similar has happened here too. I don’t want to be dependent on Dr. Khanna, although he is a nice, caring man. But after talking to him I also realized that my insistence on not accepting his help could hurt him. Somehow that didn’t sound right either. Perhaps I chose what was more important, perhaps I didn’t. But don’t be angry with me, my brother. I am trying my best.”

“You can be such a drama-queen,” Soumitra sighed and then smiled, “You should become a writer. You don’t need a degree for that.”

“People aren’t exactly dying to read my story. Anyway you go back to your studies. I better lie down.”

“Didi?”

“Hmm?”

“Is Dr. Khanna in love with you?”

“Don’t be an idiot, Piku. You think he doesn’t have better women in his life? Don’t you remember Maya Ma’am? Educated, graceful, well-groomed.”

“Where has she been these days? If they are in a relationship, isn’t it odd that she hasn’t been around at all?”

“I don’t know,” she lied because she didn’t want to fire up him imaginations further. He was moving towards a dangerous territory.

“Do you love him?”

“For God’s sake, Piku. Stop being a fool and go back to your studies.”

—

To be continued