Next-door (Variation) (Part 1)
Mrinal slumped on the bed as he read the short note.
“Mrinal,
I am sorry. But it was all a big, huge mistake. I am going away. Don’t look for me. Neither of us could be happy in this.
Raksha”
Mrinal looked at the baby’s crib lying close to the bed with vacant eyes. His ten-days old daughter Mahi was sleeping peacefully there; unaware of her mother’s little note. This was too wild even for Raksha! It was her idea. Having a baby. The most beautiful creation one can think of. Mrinal wasn’t sure. But if this was what it took to turn around their rocky marriage, he had agreed. Because despite everything, he continued to love her. He had prepared himself for responsibilities. But not for this! Not for the ten-day old mother running away.
Incredulous, he read the note again. It was a joke, wasn’t it? He fished out his phone from his pocket and dialed her number. It was switched off. Panic started to kick in. He took a deep breath; then dialed her parents’ number. Her father picked up the phone.
There was a tremor in his voice as he said hello. Mrinal’s heart sank.
“Uncle. Has Raksha called?” For some reason, even after all these years for marriage, he had continued to address her parents as Uncle and Auntie.
In reply he only heard a sigh from the other side.
“What happened? Is she there?” he asked cautiously.
“No. She isn’t. She sent us an SMS an hour ago though. I am still hoping it was a joke.”
“What… did she… write?”
“That she is leaving.”
Both of them stayed silent for a while. Mahi woke up and started crying.
“She has left Mahi behind?” Mrinal’s father-in-law asked
“Yes. I will call you later,” he needed to attend to his daughter. Or call her nanny.
“How will you… We are coming over,” he offered to help him with the infant; at least for immediate needs.
“No. No Uncle,” Mrinal objected, “Don’t come now. Actually…. My parents are due in another hour…”
“Hmm…”
His mother had been strictly against his and Raksha’s relationship. Raksha wasn’t a family woman. Not to mention not from the community. Having his parents and his in-laws under the same roof was nothing other than embarrassing for Mrinal. His mother did not even attempt at being civil. His father did not want to disturb the peace of his own domestic life and chose to remain silent. In such circumstances, there was only so much forbearance he could expect from Raksha’s parents. He had, thus, been keeping them apart all these years.
“Later, Uncle,” he disconnected the call and went to the crib. Mahi needed a change of diaper. He picked a fresh one up from the table and proceeded to change the diaper as he had learned to do from online videos. But what would he feed her now? Mother’s milk was no longer an option.
—
“Gone? She is gone? What do you even mean?” Mohini Agarwal was not going to make it easy for his son. She had wanted to come earlier to take care of her daughter-in-law and newborn granddaughter. The idea of a grandchild had finally made her warm up to even her daughter-in-law. But she was stuck with an unavoidable wedding in the extended family.
“Mummy. Please freshen up and have lunch. It should be ready.”
“That is not an answer to my question. Where is she gone? How can she just be gone?”
“She is an adult – fully capable of going whenever and wherever she wants to go. Now! You are not helping me Mummy. I need to feed my daughter.”
“She has left you and her infant daughter?”
“Yes.”
“How can…”
“Stop Mohini,” Nishant Agarwal, her husband, intervened for a change.
“Stop? How can I…”
“It is difficult enough for him. Don’t make it more difficult. Give him time…”
“Give him time? To do what? If he had listened to me in the very beginning…. Hadn’t I said that this girl would do no good… Hippie that she was…”
“Mummy. If you have to shout, please go to your room and do it. You are scaring Mahi.”
“She damn better be scared! What are you feeding the ten-day old, anyway?”
“Formula.”
Mohini stomped her feet in anger. But she did leave the room to Mrinal’s temporary relief.
—
Mrinal had been adamant initially. Raksha would have gone back to work anyway. They had hired a nanny well in advance, much before Mahi was born. And there were other household staff to help as well. He can take care of his daughter by himself. But his mother had worn him down. He had argued that he at least needed to get a divorce, which would take time. But apparently in Kolkata they could manage everything. And when Raksha did call to confirm that she was fine and had indeed left of her own volition, and that she would like a divorce with mutual consent, Mrinal was not left with much to resist with.
“What does she want to do about Mahi?” Mohini had asked.
“She didn’t mention her. I don’t think she wants the custody.”
“Who has she gone with?”
“I don’t know,” Mrinal lied. He knew. It was an ex-student of his. A Ph. D. student. He hadn’t even tried to ask her to come back. She had crossed the limits. Whatever became of his life, he wasn’t going to ask her anything.
Summer vacations were going on. He didn’t have to go to the university. He had no alibi when his mother insisted that he should go to Kolkata with them. Mahi’s nanny accompanied them. But he was in for a shock when he realized that Mohini intended him to get married immediately.
“Even with mutual consent, divorce needs one year of separation and six months after that…” he had tried to reason.
“Both of you want the divorce, right? Leave the rest to us.”
Anything was possible with connections in this country. And definitely so in the city with their ancestral roots. They knew everyone. Everyone worth knowing, at least. Divorce came within two weeks. What all had to be fudged up for that to happen?
What had been more surprising was the speed with which she had managed to find a girl of her choice. “Here. See this photo. This is Antara. Gupta ji’s niece…”
Mrinal had just relieved Mahi’s nanny and was putting her to sleep. “Later Mummy…”
“You can’t keep doing this alone all your life,” her mother’s voice was unusually soft, “You won’t regret this. She isn’t like other girls…”
“Go ahead Mummy. I don’t have much to speak for my choices any longer,” his reply was sad, rather than bitter.
His father had a heart-to-heart with him the day before. “I know your mother is being hyper. But this time, I would say go with her, son. Mahi is young right now. She will whole-heartedly accept someone else as her mother. It won’t be the same if you waited a few years. And this is the time when you need maximum support.” The effect on him, however, was not of hope or enthusiasm, but rather that of resignation.
He looked at his daughter. She had fallen asleep. He put her in the crib and rushed to the bathroom. For the first time, he let himself go. He cried and sobbed – uncontrollably. Why Raksha, why? He had married a free-spirited woman. That was what he had liked about her. There were times when he had feared for their future. Her free-spiritedness did get too much at times. Especially when it manifested in unabashed flirtation with not just her friends, but his friends and colleagues too. And at least in one case with his student.
But she couldn’t have just gone away. Not like this. Not when she had decided that she wanted a family. Not after giving birth to their baby. She couldn’t have left him helpless like this. With an infant daughter to take care of! She didn’t even ask about her. Being free-spirited was not supposed to mean being insensitive, was it? But that is what it had gotten too. “How could you do that, Raksha?” he cried out aloud, “How could you?”
He was a broken man despite his best efforts to hold himself together.
—
To be continued