“Would you like to go back and take rest?” he asked her after the lunch was over.

“I would like to sit here for a while, if that is all right.”

“Sure. I and the boys can try our hands at a game of chess.”

Rupali smiled and started walking towards the pool with Meenal. But Paritosh asked her to leave Meenal behind.

“You need some time off from her,” he said.

“She is not a bother at all, Sir.”

“Still. Leave her here.”

Rupali didn’t mind the solitary time. Her mind was in a whirlwind. She needed to settle it somehow.

She sat sprawled against a pole and closed her eyes. Paritosh was the best thing that had happened to her in years. Whether as an employer, or as a friend and a benefactor, he had made her life easier at every step. He had done all this without expecting anything in return and he still respected her and treated her with dignity. He never wanted her to feel inferior. And in giving her all the help she could ever hope for, he claimed his own happiness. Was Soumitra right then? Were Mihir’s misgivings about Paritosh’ feelings well-founded?

But how was that possible? She was nothing. She had no education, no money, no family, no talent. She wasn’t beautiful either. She opened her eyes and bent over the pool to look at her undulating image in it. The jaundice had made her already tanned, lanky, ageing face even more sickly. Then she folded her knees up and spread her hands out on them. The nails on her hands and feet looked even uglier than earlier. She was still staring at them when his feet came into her view. Her mind occupied by her muddled up thoughts didn’t completely process his sudden appearance. She didn’t remember her splayed palms. She stayed in the same position and looked up at him.

“What is bothering you?” he asked.

His question jolted her awake. She folded her hands around her knees as if that’s what she was in the process of doing when he had startled her with his question.

“Nothing,” she replied in a small voice.

He sat down before her, then held out his hand and asked, “Can I see your hands? It seems there was something there, which bothered you.”

“No, no!” she became anxious, “There was nothing.”

His did not withdraw his hand. Reluctantly, she put one of hers in his.

“Does it offend you,” he said clasping her hand in both of his, “That I am presuming to intrude on your most private thoughts.”

She shook her head.

“You don’t have to answer what I am asking. But I want to ask. What happened with Mihir? Are you no longer together? Why?”

“He fancied he was in love with me. But he was too young to know his own mind, much less mine.”

“As young as you.”

She withdrew her hands from his. “I am not as young as I should be. Neither in body, nor in mind. I’m not even sure what he saw in me. Perhaps it was just an easy conquest and he was too lazy to let it go.”

“Does it surprise you that men could fall for you?”

She looked away and replied. “Yes.”

“What would a man have to do to convince you that he is indeed in love with you?”

Rupali buried her head in her knees and stayed like that for a long time. Paritosh waited patiently.

Finally, she looked up. She appeared tired.

“Rupali!”

“I’m not worthy of being convinced, Dr. Khanna.”

“Let the one doing the convincing decide your worth.”

“Whatever I have right now is not much. But despite the ups and downs, despite the struggles, things are going in the right direction now. My brothers have turned out well. If I can support them for a few more years, they will do fine. And I will have the satisfaction of having done my duty by them. But if I reach for more right now, and it goes wrong, I will never be able to forgive myself.”

“So if I can convince you that irrespective of what happens between us, your brothers will be taken care of, will you give me a chance? Do I stand a chance of convincing you that I am not taking pity on you, or doing a charity for you, but that I am in love with you?”

“Why me?”

“It’s not like I have made all the right decisions in my life till now. I have lost money on reckless investments, I have fallen for wrong women, I have made bad decisions about my family, but never have I felt so drawn to a decision without any encouragement from anywhere else. There has been no salesman to lead me astray here, no coquetry or manipulation, not even an honest hint on your part to draw me to you. But I am drawn. And I am convinced that this is right. Perhaps it started in that moment when my daughter accepted you unconditionally. Perhaps my faith in you was sealed when I realized how much responsibility you have been carrying on your shoulders at such a young age. But it has gone far beyond all of that. Perhaps if we spend a lifetime together, I will have the time and means to express what I feel. Will you give me that time? Will you marry me?”

To his horror, Rupali started crying, biting her lips to avoid letting her sob escape which would have drawn the attention of her brothers.

“Damn it. Did I do it wrong? Rupali. Please. Are you scared? Have I presumed too much? If you don’t want it, just say so and everything goes back to as it was. You keep your job, you look after Meenal and I remain the same person I always was. Just don’t cry.”

“I am not scared,” she spoke through her sobs, “I am not scared of you.”

That gave him heart. He scrambled closer to her and held her by arms, “What are you scared of?”

“That all this is not true. That I am dreaming.”

He smiled, “And how do I convince you that you are not dreaming?”

He shifted so that he could block the view from children and then leaned forward. “Perhaps with this?” He gave a quick peck on her lips.

—

To be continued