Mish' Fiction

Paritosh asked Soumitra and Sugata to stay away while he spoke to Rupali and broke to her the news of her illness.

“Jaundice?” she took the news calmly enough. Perhaps she didn’t know the implications. “What treatment is needed? For how long?” she asked further.

“A few weeks. Treatment is not complicated. It was detected early thanks to your fever. Some medicines, plain diet, lots of liquid and… bedrest.”

“Bedrest? For a few weeks?”

Paritosh braced himself for real fight now. “Yes.”

She chuckled, “We will see. When can I go home?”

“Today. But, Rupali–”

“What?” she looked at him sharply.

He sighed, then spoke patiently, “Please hear me out, Rupali. Can you do that?”

She nodded.

“Bedrest is not optional for you. It is absolutely necessary. You can talk to the doctor yourself, you can take a second opinion if you want. But trust me. Bedrest is not optional. It will help everyone, if you and your brothers agreed to stay with me for a few weeks – no wait – you agreed to hear me out. So hear me out. Jaundice is contagious. You can’t stay with Meenal all day. But you also know that she can’t do without you. If you are around in the house, she will be happy and then a maid can manage her. Someone can also take care of you and ensure that you get rest. Once you have recovered, everything goes back to normal. What you will have to do, however, is inform the folks at the pharmacy. I don’t know if you can get leave for such a long time from there. If not, I am afraid, you would have to resign. But when you are well again, I’m sure you will be able to find a job.”

She took a deep breath, and didn’t speak.

“Rupali,” Paritosh added, “Please don’t think that I am trying to hurt your self-respect. But really – there is no harm in helping each other in time of need. You have helped me with Meenal. Beyond what you are paid for.”

“You think I am overly conscious of my self-respect,” she snorted and looked at him. There was such sadness in those big, black eyes that Paritosh felt compelled to avert his for a moment. Then he willed himself to look back at her so that she didn’t stop speaking, “I don’t have that luxury, Dr. Khanna. I have worked in those supermarkets. Standing for hours together. You don’t even get toilet breaks and need to wear adult diapers. I have begged people to let us have a room to live in, but have had doors shut in my face. Not always because I couldn’t afford the rent, but because who wants to let a young girl with only two children for company stay in their house. God knows what she would be up to. If I had any self-respect, I wouldn’t have begged the man who claimed to love me to, but was now angry, to spare me my job. That too when he was calling me all the filthy names he could think of. If I had any self-respect, I would never have accepted the job back from you after you had fired me so unceremoniously and would definitely not have continued to keep it after Maya Ma’am–“

She stopped short, aware that she had spoken too much, and buried her head in her hands. She did not know how to deal with her frustration.

“Meenal’s mother,” Paritosh’ voice started her, “Her name was Amrit. She was fun to be with. Full of life. Life of the parties. At the time when you were dealing with the death of your parents, and the responsibilities that came with it, I was on the way of becoming the happiest man on the earth. I got married to Amrit. We had a great time initially. Then the excitement started dying down. Quarrels became a bit too frequent. It happens to all couples, we thought. Others confirmed. It was time to have a kid, and that would set everything right, that’s the advice we got. We went ahead. We were once again on cloud nine when Meenal was born. The first year went well. In the second year we started noticing issues. She was about two when she was diagnosed with Autism. Moderate on the spectrum, but enough to make her look not normal, enough to warrant extra effort, special treatment, enough to throw Amrit into a depression. Her life was a fairy tale. She couldn’t deal with this dose of reality. One day, about a year ago, I came home to find her sleeping beside our daughter. Meenal was trying to wake her up, but she was deep in sleep. When I tried to–” he stopped abruptly.

“What was it?” Rupali asked, having forgotten her own miseries for the time being.

He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them and looked at her, “She was dead. She had committed suicide. ‘I can’t deal with this,’ her note said, ‘Having a mentally-challenged daughter.’ That’s it. She left her child behind. To deal with the world on her own.”

“Were you reminded of that when you saw me sleeping?” Rupali asked gently.

“Yes. It was also Amrit’s death anniversary. But the reason I tell you this is not to justify what I did. There is no justification for meting out that kind of treatment to you. I tell you so that you know that what happened was because of my own issues. It wasn’t because I had even an iota of disrespect for you.”

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

“I also didn’t tell you this to emotionally blackmail you. But I do want you to take rest and recover. Please stay at my home. Soumitra and Sugata will not be able to look after you.”

“They can’t stay alone–”

“They will stay with me too. Obviously.”

“I will ask them. If they are comfortable…”

Paritosh nodded. At least on that count, he wasn’t worried.

—

Rupali alternated between bouts of anxiety and exhilaration over next few days. There were times when she felt extremely self-conscious of imposing upon Paritosh. She would try to become invisible in those moments and would get preachy with her brothers too.

“Make sure you eat whatever is cooked,” she had told them on their first day, “Don’t be fussy, all right?”

“Actually Didi,” Sugata had told her sheepishly, “The cook has already asked us.”

“Asked you what?”

“What we like and dislike.”

“Oh!”

Paritosh was prepared for everything. He ensured that Meenal talked to her every once in a while, even if from a distance. He had instructed the maid and the cook to stay at home throughout the day so that Rupali was taken care of. He had her diet plan prepared and made sure everything needed was available.

—

To be continued

“Dr. Khanna. My brothers are there and they need to be fed–”

“Yes. And they can stay here as well as you can. For God’s sake, Rupali. Stop making everything an issue of self-respect. It isn’t. The world will not look down upon you just because you let someone take care of you when you were ill.”

He regretted his outburst when she started sobbing. “Please don’t cry,” he asked miserably, “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I can never mean to hurt you. You will only worsen your condition if you cry. I’m sorry. Please now.”

She wiped her tears and said weakly, “I want to lie down.”

“I will take you to a spare room. And don’t you need to inform someone at the pharmacy?”

“Yes,” she rubbed her temples, “Thanks for reminding. I should call–” She picked up her phone, but her hand shook.

“Tell me the name,” he took the phone from her, “I will ask Soumitra to call. And come with me to your room.”

“I must talk to Soumitra. He needs to bring some stuff from home and inform Sugata–”

“He will come to your room. Tell him that they are also staying. So they should bring their stuff over.”

—

Paritosh was unable to sleep. A little past midnight he got out of his bed meaning to take a stroll outside. He walked past Rupali’s room to find it open. Soumitra and Sugata were sitting by her side with cold water strips.

“What happened?” Paritosh asked.

Rupali’s fever was increasing despite the medicine they had given her. They were trying cold water strips now. But she was delirious with fever. Paritosh went ahead to check her temperature and withdrew his hand with a start on touching her forehead. It was burning. He called up at the hospital and was advised to bring her there as soon as possible.

“Someone will have to stay with Meenal,” Paritosh told them, “Soumitra, can you?”

He wanted to be with Rupali, but he also knew that Paritosh could be of more help in the hospital than he himself. So he agreed.

Together they loaded her in the car and Paritosh drove as fast as he could. Sugata accompanied in silence. Throughout they could hear her feverish ramblings. Words were broken, but her fears were clear. She was talking to her dead parents. Beseeching them to come back.

“Baba. I don’t want my scooty. Please come back.”

“How can I manage everything on my own, Ma?”

“Where do I take them, Ma? Nobody gives us shelter.”

When they finally reached hospital and the attendants there took charge of Rupali, Paritosh noticed Sugata standing in a dark corner, crying and wiping his tears at the same time.

He went to the boy. He had interacted more with Soumitra, who came across as the more mature of the two, and had not spoken much to Sugata earlier. So he was a little unsure of how to talk to the boy. But he figured that in moments like these, what anybody needed was assurance. He patted him on the back and said, “Don’t worry. It can’t be anything serious. She will be all right by the morning. Let’s go in.”

Sugata followed him in silence and mechanically did everything he was asked to do.

Couple of hours later, they got a call from Soumitra.

“How is Didi, Dr. Khanna?”

“Her fever is in control now. She is sleeping. They are running a few tests to see if there is something other than a viral fever.”

“Is there?”

“We don’t know right now. But I’m sure she will be all right. Don’t worry.”

“And Dr. Khanna – Meenal is awake. She is asking for you… And Didi. She wouldn’t go back to sleep.”

“Okay. I will come home and bring both of you here.”

—

“Mamma is ill. Mamma is ill,” Meenal announced to no one in particular when she saw Rupali sleeping on the hospital bed.

“She’ll be fine, Meenu,” Paritosh assured her once again, then motioned Soumitra to go to Sugata who was sitting next to Rupali, morose and silent.

He took Meenal outside the room to leave the siblings by themselves for a while.

But when he came back it was with the reports and some bad news.

“Jaundice!”

“She will need bedrest,” Paritosh said and the twins looked at each other. They all knew the near-impossibility of the situation.

“She will never agree,” Soumitra said dejectedly, “She will have to leave her job. She will not let us work–”

“She will have to. It is contagious,” Paritosh said.

“Oh!” If that meant she lost her job, especially with Paritosh, she will take it even harder than if she had to leave it on her own.

“Is there a relative or friend you can inform?” Paritosh asked.

Soumitra shook his head.

“What about,” Paritosh hesitated for a moment before completing, “Her boyfriend?”

“Boyfriend?” Soumitra was startled, then recollected, “Oh! Mihir. No, I don’t think…”

He didn’t think they should inform him? Or he didn’t think Mihir was her boyfriend?

“Listen to me, then, Soumitra, Sugata,” he said, “You have let me help. And you have to support me when I talk to her.”

“Help how?”

“Whichever way required.”

“No. Why should you–”

“Because your sister is the best thing that has happened to my daughter. This is purely selfish.”

“If it is contagious, she can’t continue working with Meenal.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that Meenal needs her. Please guys? This is for everybody’s good. And it is a matter of few weeks. Then she would have recovered.”

“If you can convince her…” Soumitra replied weakly.

“I will try to. You must help me by agreeing.”

Soumitra nodded and then said sincerely, “Thank you, Dr. Khanna. I will never forget this day in my life.”

—

Rupali walked to Paritosh’ door with heavy steps and sleepless, red eyes the next morning. Mihir had been to the pharmacy, desperate and mad; and she had barely saved bottles in the store from being smashed. He had been so angry even when he had given up and was leaving that Rupali feared for her job at the pharmacy owned by his father.

Swallowing all her pride, she had pleaded with him, “This job is very important for me, Mihir. I know I have hurt you. But please don’t say anything to your father.”

He had glared at her. “I don’t give a damn about you,” he had growled, “Or about this pharmacy. If that’s why you had been fucking me, too bad. You didn’t need to.” She had relaxed and then had wondered how inured she had become to insults. She only worried about her jobs and income. And then a horrific thought had come to her. Was she much better than a prostitute which Mihir had claimed she was? If someone had to swallow all the insults and learn to ignore everything demeaning done to them, were they any better off than those who had to lock away all their feelings of self-respect and sell their bodies for money?

“What the hell, Rupali!” her appearance that morning jolted Paritosh out of the disinterestedness he had been feigning recently, “What happened to you?”

“What! Nothing. Why?”

“You look horrible. Come in and sit down,” he guided her to a chair and pressed her down on it, “Do you need something?”

“Dr. Khanna!” Rupali stood up, “You are unnecessarily getting worried. I am fine. Perhaps a little tired. But nothing alarming.”

He grew self-conscious and stepped away. She made her way to Meenal’s room.

Paritosh couldn’t rid himself of the feeling that Rupali was not well. He went to check on her again before leaving, but anticipating her rebuff didn’t ask about her health. Instead he asked her about Soumitra’s project.

“Did your brother get to do his project work?”

“He will come this evening, Sir. He might need a few days.”

“Sure,” he turned away, but looked at her again, “You take care, Ms. Banerjee.”

“You too, Sir.”

—

“Didi! You are not well,” Paritosh overheard when he came back that evening, a little earlier than was usual for him.

“Dr. Khanna will be back in an hour, Piku. I will go home then.”

“Please call him, Didi. I’m sure he can come back a little early–”

“What is going on?” Paritosh interrupted as he reached the door.

“Dr. Khanna!” Rupali jumped up.

He moved towards his daughter, but kept his eyes fixed on Rupali.

“You came early,” she mumbled, throwing a cautious glance at Soumitra. He was tactical enough to keep quiet. His sister wouldn’t like it if he said anything to Paritosh that she considered inappropriate.

“Yes. I got free. How are you Soumitra? How is your project coming along?”

“Fine, Dr. Khanna. I should be done in three to four days.”

“Take as much time as you need. Would you like to leave now, Ms. Banerjee?”

She gulped before replying, “If it isn’t a problem, Sir.”

“It isn’t.”

Rupali knelt to talk to Meenal. When she tried to stand up after that she felt dizzy and stumbled.

“Didi!”

“Rupali!” Paritosh was closer to her and he held her to steady her. Then he walked her to the bed. After hesitating for a moment, he felt her forehead and inhaled sharply.

“You have fever,” he spoke plainly, “Stay here. I will get a thermometer. Soumitra, please come with me.”

Soumitra threw a nervous glance at Rupali, hoping for some guidance, but her eyes were glued to the floor. So he was on his own as he followed Paritosh out.

“I don’t think she should go to her night job today,” Paritosh told Soumitra as he rummaged his cupboard for the thermometer, “We need to ensure that she doesn’t. Can she take a day off?”

“She does have a few leaves,” Soumitra replied, happy to find Paritosh on his side, “But I don’t have her supervisor’s number. I will need to get that from her.”

Paritosh nodded, then said, “Let me talk to her first.”

Soumitra was relieved that someone older was taking up the responsibility that he didn’t feel quite equal to shouldering.

“Should I take Meenal to another room?” he asked.

Paritosh gave him a sad smile, “You know her. She may not come with you.”

“She might. She came to me today. She wouldn’t call me by my name, but when I said I was her friend, she called me Friend several times.”

Paritosh was startled. He looked at Soumitra to find him smiling proudly.  He felt his throat choking. “That’s… wow! That’s quite something,” he mumbled.

When they went back to Rupali, she was sitting in the same position they had left her in. Meenal was standing beside her holding her hand.

“Mamma is ill. Manna is ill,” the little girl said, her face and voice unable to express her anxiety, but nobody in the room could help feeling it.

“Yes, Meenu. But she will be all right.”

“Come with me, Meenu,” Soumitra held out his hand. Meenal took it. Paritosh’ disbelieving eyes followed them until they disappeared outside the door.

The he turned his attention to Rupali and sat beside her. For the first time since he had deposited her in that position, she stirred.

“Put this in your mouth,” he instructed.

She obeyed, meekly.

Paritosh took the device from her once it beeped and saw the reading. 102 degrees. “You are unwell,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, “I should leave now. I will ask Soumitra to call a taxi.”

“Remain seated,” he spoke in his best teacher-like voice, “I said you are unwell. And you are not going anywhere unless you can assure me that there is someone other than two teenagers to take care of you.”

“I only need to sleep it off, Dr. Khanna. And if not, I shouldn’t be stay close to Meenal. She might get infected too. I’m sorry I put her at risk today.”

“There are enough spare rooms in this house,” he hissed at her now, annoyed, “What exactly is your problem, Rupali? You are not well. That isn’t something one needs to be ashamed off. Why on earth would you go on pretending that you are fine when you are not. Can you tell me one good reason why you can’t stay here tonight? Who is going to mind? Your boyfriend? If he will take you to his house, I don’t have a problem. But otherwise–”

—

To be continued

Rupali hadn’t seen Maya for last two days. But Paritosh had still been avoiding her. She wanted to talk to him, to clear the air. But what would she say? She couldn’t exactly complain that he wasn’t talking to her. She wasn’t a guest in his house. They weren’t friends. He wasn’t expected to entertain her. He was her employer. He was paying for her presence at his home. Beyond that, if he did not want to talk to her, it was his prerogative. What she wanted didn’t matter.

But today she had to break the wall of silence. For purely selfish reasons. She knocked at his door although it was already open.

“Ms. Banerjee?” his face flushed. Was he angry that she disturbed him?

She swallowed her pride and started speaking, “Sorry to disturb you, Sir. I needed…” She lost her voice as her eyes found the object he seemed to have been busy with before she came. It was a white dress, which he had tried to ball up in his hand, but it was too voluminous to remain confined there. She started as she recognized the dress. She turned her eyes back on his face, but now his were fixed on the dress.

“What do you think?” he met her eyes all of sudden. His own looked stony. “Will Maya like this dress?”

“I… I…” she stuttered at first, then gathered her wits together, “I don’t know, Sir. I have seen her in sarees mostly. But this is a beautiful dress. I’m sure she will like it.”

Why did he not look happy still?

“She’ll look good in it,” she added hoping that he will feel content.

But he only pursed his lips. Then suddenly he seemed to recall that discussing the dress was not why Rupali was there. “You wanted to talk?”

“I needed some help.”

“Yes?”

Her old computer had finally given up. She would have to look out for someone selling a second hand one. But meanwhile Soumitra was getting frantic. His summer project was almost typed up. He needed to figure out if he could recover it from the old hard drive and complete it. If it was lost, he needed access to a computer for long hours to redo it.  With school reopening in a week, he was running out of time.

She explained that to Paritosh and asked if she could use the desktop Paritosh had at home.

“Okay. But to use the desktop he will have to come here–” Paritosh intended to offer her a laptop, either his own if it was needed only for a day or two, or to arrange for another one if it was needed for longer.

“I will do the typing, Dr. Khanna,” she interrupted, “When Meenal’s counsellor is around and I am not needed.”

“You are doing his project?” he frowned.

“No. He will write things up and I will type it for him.”

“Why? Can’t he come here and type it himself?”

She hesitated in replying. She didn’t want her brother around the house. Maya had once accused her of stealing. She had put up with the insult meted out to her. But should something else happen and Soumitra was blamed for it, she might not be able to show enough forbearance.

“It isn’t a good idea to have too many people around the house, Sir,” she replied vaguely.

Now Paritosh hesitated in offering the laptop. One, she might shrink from his proposal if she thoughts he was going out of his way to help. Second, she was clearly still smarting from Maya’s insult and hence didn’t want to bring her brother to the house. He had to amend that.

“Let him come here. This is my home, not RBI’s vault.”

His tone brooked no dissent.

She thanked him and left.

—

“I met Mihir today,” Soumitra informed her after dinner.

“How come?” she kept her voice level.

“He called me and asked to meet. You had a fight?”

“He shouldn’t have involved you in this,” Rupali said irritably, “If he calls you again you tell him to talk to me.”

“Didi!”

“What?”

“I won’t presume to lecture you. But he seems like a nice guy–”

“Yes Piku. Don’t presume to lecture me.”

“I’m sorry, Didi,” Soumitra was persistent, “But the two of us are all you have got. Until you find someone more suitable, that is. So I have to ask, don’t you like him?”

She took a deep breath before replying, “I like him well enough. But he doesn’t know me and my circumstances. And I don’t see the point in telling him.”

“Why not? Why don’t you tell him and see how he feels?”

“Howsoever he feels, it isn’t going to work out. So why make him feel responsible? He has to leave India in a few weeks.”

“And even if he wants you to go with him, you can’t go because of us.”

“Wonderful!” Rupali was annoyed, “Wonderful logic, my dear brother. What about what I want? What if I don’t want to go anywhere, or follow anybody?”

She stood up and walked off to her room in a huff. She came back ready to go to the pharmacy. Soumitra’s eyes were glued to his book, but his shoulders looked sagged. Rupali could not hold on to her anger then. She sat down beside him and pressed his shoulder.

“Hey. Angry?”

He shook his head, but did not look up.

“Look at me,” she insisted.

“I am fine,” he replied and that gave away the reason he had been avoiding her in the first place. He was crying.

“Oh God!” she exclaimed, “Please Piku. I’m sorry. I really am–”

“No Didi. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to–”

“The two of you are all I have got, didn’t you yourself say so? I am sorry I reacted like a jerk. You’ve every right to worry about me and to ask questions. Okay? Just that you shouldn’t behave like you are some kind of a burden on me. That hurts me, do you understand?”

He nodded.

“There now. Stop crying. Good thing Pintu is not home. Else he would have teased you to death. I need to leave now. All right?”

“Go on, Didi. I am fine.”

—

To be continued

“I… I didn’t remember it. I’m not sure when I bought it–” Paritosh replied, not meeting her eyes.

“In Lonavala.”

“Excuse me?”

“It was on the mannequin in that shop where you had stopped to buy Ms. Banerjee her dress.”

Paritosh found himself tongue-tied. He remembered it very well. He had intended to gift it to Rupali someday. But what was he to tell Maya which wouldn’t upset her?

“Do you love me, Paritosh?”

“Maya! What–”

“Just answer me.”

“You have been my greatest support, Maya–”

“But an imposition all the same.”

“That’s not true. Have I made you feel like you are imposing? If so, I will correct it.”

“Why did you even propose to me, Paritosh?”

“It was the right thing to do, Maya and–”

“Right thing to do!” she snorted.

He hesitated, realizing that he had been honest, but not right.

“I can’t blame you, Paritosh,” she spoke after a moment of silence, “I have known. I have always known. But love can be desperate. I have loved you for so long that I grew desperate to believe in its reciprocity. But that is not how it works, does it? Just because your relationship with Amrit didn’t work out and just because she hurt you in the most unimaginably horrible way possible, it didn’t mean that my love will be reciprocated.”

“I haven’t cheated on you, Maya,” Paritosh said desperately and, as he immediately realized, ineffectually.

“I know that. It wouldn’t have been the ‘right thing to do’. No, you haven’t take her or any other woman to bed since you have been in a relationship with me. But I think you should give her your long-cherished gift. She is quite moon-eyed around you, in case you have not noticed.”

Paritosh slid on the bed and buried his face in his hands.

Maya patted his shoulder and said in a tired voice, “I must pack my things now. Good bye.”

—

“Mamma not home… Mamma not home…” Meenal said while fiddling with her toys.

“Yes, Meenu. It’s Saturday. She will come on Monday. But Papa is home, isn’t he?”

“Meenu loves Papa.”

“Papa also loves Meenu.”

“Mamma loves Papa.”

“Does she, Meenu?” Paritosh smiled amusedly at her daughter. Could she know Rupali’s mind? He ached to know it himself.

“Meenu loves Mamma,” Meenal continued to announce in her flat, droning voice.

“That she does,” Paritosh said and sighed, “We will go out, shall we, Meenu?”

“Go out… Go to park…”

“Shall we go to a cricket match, Meenu?”

“Cricket match.”

“Let’s go.”

—

Rupali had invited Mihir for the match. They were to go to a movie after that. The small rented stadium was sparsely populated. Perhaps only the family members of the players were there. So when Paritosh entered with Meenal in the tow, Rupali noticed them immediately. She was by herself because Mihir and Soumitra had stepped out to get some cold drinks and snacks. She got up and hastened to meet them.

“Dr. Khanna?”

He looked flustered for a moment, then gathered himself, “Hi Rupali!”

“I didn’t think you were so interested in local cricket,” she smiled nervously.

“I had come this way for some shopping,” he lied, “I thought I would stop by.”

“Mamma… Mamma…” Meenal drew attention to herself.

“Hi Meenu,” Rupali bent to talk to her, “How are you, sweetheart?”

“How are you, sweetheart?” Meenal responded mechanically. Rupali smiled.

As she stood up she saw Mihir and Soumitra coming back. She grew nervous. Mihir knew nothing about Paritosh and her other job. And she did not want to tell him.

“Didi. Dr. Khanna?” Soumitra was surprised, “Hello Sir.”

“Hello Soumitra. Hello…” he looked at Mihir.

“That’s Mihir,” Rupali introduced reluctantly, “And Mihir, this is Dr. Khanna. Prof. Paritosh Khanna. He teaches at the university.”

“Hello Dr. Khanna.”

“Hello Mihir. You are Rupali’s friend, I believe.”

“Boyfriend,” Mihir corrected quickly.

Rupali made a feeble attempt at a smile and prayed furiously that Meenal didn’t feel the need to address her just then.

Paritosh sensed the same danger and acted immediately, “Nice to meet you all. I am getting late. So I will take your leave. Bye, Ms. Banerjee.”

Rupali could barely acknowledge his goodbye. She wondered if Meenal understood the situation and that’s why she followed her father silently.

“That girl was strange,” Mihir whispered to her as they made their way back to their seats.

“Not strange. She is autistic,” Rupali replied dryly.

“Whatever! She looked strange.”

Rupali stayed silent.

Her outward calmness belied the storm brewing in her head. Why had Paritosh suddenly turned up at the cricket match? He must have remembered that she would be here. Did he want to talk to her? About what? Why did he leave once Mihir appeared on the scene? He, obviously, knew that her brothers would be there. Their presence wouldn’t have been unexpected.

And what had come upon Mihir? Why did he have to declare that he was her boyfriend?

She asked him that when they came out of the movie hall. The film had been boring and hardly worth talking about.

“Well, I had to,” he replied, “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”

“What way?”

“Like he would jump on you the moment you were alone.”

“Oh for God’s sake, Mihir.”

“Why, he is your uncle or something? How do you know him?”

“An acquaintance, that’s it. And you are my boyfriend, eh?”

“I’m not?” he stopped short and stared at her.

“Well, we never talked about it. And you are leaving in a few weeks.”

“Yes. And I intend to talk about it now. I want to meet your parents.”

Rupali inhaled sharply.

“What? Rupali?”

“Our paths are different, Mihir. We had some fun times. But…”

“Fun times?”

“I need to go home now. It’s quite late.”

“Wait a minute. What is it? Is there someone else? Dr. Khanna?”

Rupali got irritated. “Dr. Khanna knows me too well to be in love with me or to want to marry me. And you – Mihir – know me too little.”

“What kind of a woman you are, Rupali? You have slept with me.”

“So?” she glared at him.

“And you don’t think we should get married?”

“No,” she retorted, “I’m sorry if it offends your sensibilities. But I need to go now.” She strode off to the nearest bus-stop, aware that Mihir was too dumbfounded to follow her.

She had been unfair to him, she rued on the bus home. Most women would be happy to be with a man who didn’t take sexual relationships lightly. Mihir wanted to marry her, he had decided so before they ever slept together. There was some gratification to be derived from that. That didn’t stop her from feeling annoyed that he would take it for granted. Still she would have handled it more sensitively had he not irritated her by announcing himself to be her boyfriend in front of Dr. Khanna. What was Dr. Khanna doing in that cricket match anyway? And in what way did he look at her that Mihir should get so possessive? Had she missed something? Ugh! She should stop letting her mind wander. There was Maya waiting for Dr. Khanna at home.

—

To be continued

Paritosh refused to meet her eyes the next morning, he wouldn’t even acknowledge her presence, even though Maya was not around. Rupali grew remorseful. Perhaps she had hurt him the previous day. Perhaps she had been insensitive. She also felt sad. She had come to rely on their camaraderie. They weren’t best buddies, but he was the only adult in her life who knew all about her circumstances and treated her with respect. The half an hour she spent in the house while he went about his business made her acutely aware of how much she would miss it if that camaraderie were to disappear. Throughout the day she planned her little speech to Paritosh, which would end their awkwardness, but in the evening he came back with Maya. She had no opportunity to tell him anything. Even when it was time for her to leave, Maya came to Meenal’s room to relieve her; he didn’t. The next morning Maya was still there. Now that the marriage was on the cards, she didn’t have scruples about being seen by the house-staff.

When Maya came back that evening too, Rupali felt like she would fall apart. She hovered around hoping to have one quick word with Paritosh alone. But neither Maya was in a mood to leave Paritosh alone, nor Paritosh seemed interested in sparing her a glance. At last she could not help herself and went to the Paritosh’ bedroom, where a strange sight greeted her. Maya had literally turned the room upside down looking for something. Paritosh was looking on, his fist against his mouth and his brows furrowed together.

“Dr. Khanna.”

“Later, Ms. Banerjee,” Paritosh replied, his tone a bit too sharp.

Rupali pressed her lips together to avoid reacting as sharply. She made to retreat, when Maya turned her way.

“No. Wait Ms. Banerjee–”

“Stop. Maya! No.”

“Where can the necklace disappear from this house?”

“That’s for us to find out.”

“Fine. Call the police then.”

“Maya, no!”

“What’s the matter?” Rupali asked.

“My necklace, my gold necklace, has been stolen,” Maya replied instead of Paritosh.

Paritosh took a sharp breath. Then he addressed Rupali, “Please come with me, Ms. Banerjee.”

Puzzled, but happy to have an opportunity of talking to him alone, Rupali followed him into another empty room.

“Sorry about that,” he said, “The necklace was expensive. And Maya’s favorite.”

Rupali was least concerned with the upheaval in the room or with Maya’s necklace. She was just happy that in the furore, Paritosh seemed to have forgotten that he was not talking to her.

“You should inform the police then.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Paritosh replied irritably, “Who do you think is the primary suspect?”

That jolted Rupali out of her happy preoccupation. “You think that I stole it?” she asked, her voice shaking.

Paritosh sighed and stepped closer to her. He explained softly now, “I don’t. I, of course, don’t. But that’s precisely the assumption police will work on.”

“But it was expensive, you said. What will you do?”

“I will not let you be harassed.”

“You are not mad at me?” she asked, averting her eyes that were welling over.

“For what?”

“Because I refused your help–”

“I don’t blame you for wanting to stay independent. I appreciate it. I was disappointed. But no – I am not mad. My offer still stands, if you change your mind.”

“Thank you,” she said, her head still bowed.

“It’s time for you to leave, right?”

She nodded and left. He, obviously, didn’t want her in Maya’s way just then, who seemed to think what police would think. Gratefulness wasn’t enough to describe what she felt for him then.

—

“You let her go!” Maya growled.

“She hasn’t stolen it, Maya. For God’s sake. Do you not understand people even a bit?”

“What do we know about her, really? She is needy, for sure.”

“Let’s just say I know her a bit more than you do. Let it be, Maya. I will buy you another one.”

“Trying to buy me with money, are you?”

“Maya, please!”

Maya nodded and slumped in her chair. Having vented her anger out, she seemed placated. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” she said.

“Maya. I will not favor somebody else over you, if I had the slightest suspicion that she was wrong,” he kneeled before her and pressed her hands.

“Fair enough.”

“We should check the office and your house once more. Just in case.”

“Tomorrow. I’m tired now.”

“I will make us some tea,” he said, standing up.

“Let the maid come.”

“It’s fine. I enjoy making tea. Will you stay with Meenal? Ms. Banerjee would have left.”

“Sure.”

—

Maya was not there when Rupali came back the next morning.

“Maya left last night. She wanted to look for the necklace at her home,” Paritosh explained when Rupali asked.

“Did she find it?” Rupali asked hopefully.

“No.”

“Oh!”

“You don’t have to worry about it, Rupali. Nobody suspects you.”

“You don’t. That’s enough for me,” she said.

“Good,” he smiled at her, “How are things otherwise? What are your plans for the weekend?”

She chuckled, “Mostly doing what my brothers want me to do. Tomorrow Sugata is playing a cricket match. So I might go there.”

“Where is it?”

“They have rented the space from Decathlon.”

“Do you like cricket?”

“Enough to sit through his games.”

He laughed. She stared. She hadn’t seen him laugh that freely before. She was mesmerized and only came to herself when Meenal called her.

—

“What are you doing?” Maya came out of the bathroom after freshening up to find Paritosh bent over beside the bed, his hands groping for something beneath it. His cupboard also seemed to have been emptied out and his clothes and accessories were littered over the bed.

“Making another attempt to find your necklace,” he replied while grabbing a torch and shining it beneath the bed.

Among the things on the bed was a packet that piqued Maya’s curiosity. She unwrapped it carefully.

“Sorry! Failed attempt,” Paritosh stood up and cleaned his hands with a tissue paper. Hearing no response from Maya he looked at her and found her standing stiff, her eyes glued to a white dress spilling out of a paper packet.

“Maya?”

Maya turned towards him and looked at him blankly. “Who did you buy this dress for, Paritosh?”

—

To be continued

“Dr. Khanna!” Rupali mumbled, and then found herself tongue-tied.

“Think about it. Don’t reply right away. Tell me tomorrow or even later.”

He didn’t stay in the room after that. Rupali was thankful for it. She needed the space. And time. The enormity of what had been proposed to her made her mind shrink back in fear. It refused to tackle it. She focused her attention back on Meenal to guide her through the building block exercise.

But once she left Paritosh’ house, there was nothing to distract her from the tempting proposal she had received. She had been a normal teenager before her parents died. She made fun of her teachers, concocted plans to bunk the classes and dreamt of a world where she wouldn’t have to study so hard. If the opportunity to study had not been taken away from her, she would never have known that one could long so much to do it. The simplest things in life, especially those that we take for granted, when taken away, reveal their true value to us. If such things were offered back to you after you had realized their true value, it was impossible not to be tempted to succumb to the offer.

Only if it wasn’t too good to be true! Why should Paritosh do so much for her? It was true that he was already overpaying her, but that could be explained away as something he was really doing for his daughter. Perhaps that little gesture he witnessed that evening, of Meenal addressing him as Papa and saying that she loves him overwhelmed him. And he came up with this way of repaying her. But it was too much of a commitment for a moment of intense emotions he felt. By the time she reached pharmacy that night, she had been able to overcome her initial astonishment and think through it calmly. If it seemed too good to be true, it perhaps was.

After coming back from the pharmacy in the morning, her mind was made up and her morning nap was not disturbed.

When she reached Paritosh’ home Maya was also there. When Rupali asked to talk to Paritosh he told her that he had to leave just then and he could talk only in the evening. Rupali suspected that he didn’t want to discuss his proposal in Maya;s presence and that strengthened her decision to refuse him even further. She congratulated Maya on their engagement and received a hostile look and a disdainful response.

“Oh! So you have been told.”

Rupali nodded and withdrew.

“She is the first one to know, is it?” she heard Maya ask Paritosh.

“I didn’t think knowing about it was such a privilege, Maya,” Paritosh responded lightly, “That we should make a priority list of who should know whom. Things will change around the house. She had to know. I happened to mention it during a conversation.”

If Maya replied to that, Rupali didn’t hear it. She was out of earshot by then.

In the evening Paritosh came back unaccompanied.

“I’m sorry,” he told Rupali, “I couldn’t talk to you in the morning–”

“That’s all right, Dr. Khanna.”

“What have you decided?”

“It isn’t a good idea.”

“Why not?” he looked crestfallen.

“Several reasons.”

“Tell me some”

“I know that with Meenal’s surprise yesterday you were feeling overwhelmed. But it wasn’t anything special that I did. Sooner or later, with her counselling, she would have improved. You don’t owe me anything for that–”

“Wait a minute. I didn’t propose anything on the spur of the moment. It had nothing to do with Meenal. I had thought it through and only then–”

“Dr. Khanna. What you are doing for me, this job, this salary – it is already much more than I deserve or could have asked for. I don’t want to reach for more.”

“If only you would tell me your salary from the clinic and your other job, I will be able to say it with certainty. But even now I am pretty sure it won’t cost me a penny extra.”

“I cannot tell you just how grateful I am for your proposal. And it has nothing to do with money you are willing to commit. Perhaps that isn’t such a big deal for you. I am grateful because you thought so much for me. It makes me happy, trust me.”

“If it isn’t about money, and it actually makes you happy that I thought about this, then why are you refusing? Give me one good reason from the several you claimed you have.”

“One of those is the same because of which we couldn’t discuss this in the morning.”

“Excuse me?”

“Maya Ma’am doesn’t know about this. She would be uncomfortable, that’s why you didn’t tell her. There is nothing extraordinary there. Anybody in her place would have been uncomfortable. And she is going to be your wife. This alone is good enough a reason, Dr. Khanna.”

Paritosh looked thunderstruck.

After pausing for only a moment, Rupali took her leave, “It’s time for me to leave, Dr. Khanna. I will see you tomorrow morning.”

—

“I have barely a month and a half left in India,” Mihir told her that night. He had come to meet her at the pharmacy.

“Aren’t you excited?” she asked, smiling.

“I’m suddenly realizing how much I am going to miss once I leave.”

“At first, perhaps. But then you will find many more things to interest you there.”

“Rupali. I…”

She looked at him questioningly. But he decided not to continue. Instead he said, “Would you like to watch a movie? I have brought my laptop.”

“Why not? It’s not like there is queue of customers at this hour.”

She found the movie boring though and didn’t realize when she drifted off to sleep. She woke up to Mihir’s hands caressing her cheek, her head on his shoulders. She stayed still for a moment, letting the romance of the situation wash over her. Then she got goosebumps and stirred a little. Mihir realized that she was awake. He cupped her face and kissed her.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” he whispered and smirked.

“That was one boring movie,” she teased him as she stood up.

“And I thought women liked romance.”

“If that was romance I do not like it after all.”

“What kind of movies do you like?”

“Don’t know. I don’t watch that many.”

“What do you do then? Apart from this job, where you have to wait for the customers that are few and far in between and do the same inventories over and over again.”

She sighed. She didn’t want to share her miseries with him.

“This and that,” she replied, feigning frivolity.

“You do spend an awful lot of time with your family. What do you guys do?”

“This and that,” she replied again and laughed, “Stop being a detective and either help with inventorying or go back home.”

“I will go back home. Your inventorying will bore me to death. Have a good night. Let me know if we can go for a movie this weekend.”

“I will tell you on Friday.”

“Good night, Rupali.”

“Good night.”

—

To be continued

“It was her,” Paritosh told Maya over dinner, “The assignment was hers.”

Maya couldn’t help feeling vexed when Paritosh obsessed over Rupali, but she had also realized that expressing that vexation did no good to their relationship. So she tried to play it cool.

“Interesting,” she replied, “What did she say about it?”

“There is no mystery about that really. Her parents died. She had to take care of her brothers. She had to drop out.”

“Poor thing.”

Paritosh was about to tell her his plans for Rupali, but some instinct made him stop. He also noticed the Maya was pushing her fork around, but hardly eating anything.

“Are you all right, Maya?”

“Yes. Just not hungry,” she dropped the fork in her plate and leaned back.

“I’m also done. Shall we step out on verandah for a while before going to bed?” he asked.

She agreed and they stepped out.

He held her hands, “Maya. These two years have been the strangest time of my life. The situations such that I just didn’t know how to react to them. And you have been by my side through all this. Through the periods when I have been at my worst behavior–”

“Paritosh!”

“Maya – I may improve over time. I may not be as irritable. I may become more caring, but there are things in life that will not change. You may feel trapped forever–”

“Are you breaking up with me, Paritosh?” her voice cracked.

“No! God, no. I am… I am asking if I should ask you for more or would you rather I stay quiet? Because I just can’t be sure that I can give you what you deserve–”

“Paritosh, I love you. I have loved you for much longer than these two years. You must have known. Don’t stay quiet, for God’s sake. Don’t. I will do anything for an acknowledgement from you–”

“Will you marry me, Maya?”

“Yes!” she threw his arms around his neck.

—

Paritosh sat up quietly so as not to disturb Maya who was sleeping next to him. After glancing at the baby monitor and finding Meenal asleep, he fixed his eyes on Maya. The room was dark except for the street light filtering through the gaps in the window curtain. But he could make out her silhouette and her heaving chest as she breathed. She had stayed back several times earlier, but it was the first time that it portended a permanent arrangement. ‘I have done the right thing,’ he told himself once again. It was true that she had stood by him. It was also true that she had loved him for many years now, even though he had never responded to her feelings earlier and had, in fact, gone ahead and married Amrit. It was also true that even now what he felt towards her was more gratitude than love or passion. But perhaps mutual gratitude and respect was better for relationships than love and passion. Where had the love and passion he shared with Amrit left him? Quite in a lurch! ‘I have done the right thing,’ he assured himself yet another time, but instead of going back to sleep, he got out of bed. He wasn’t feeling sleepy. He stepped out of the room and tip-toed into Meenal’s. The seven-year-old assignment was lying on the side table. He ran his hands over it and then noiselessly slipped it into the drawer of the table. He would see to it that Rupali studied further.

—

Maya left early in the morning as she usually did. She had this strange sense of discretion, which mandated that she was not to be in the house in the morning when any of the house-help arrived. So there was nothing to stop Paritosh from discussing his proposal with Rupali. He tried to bring it up several times, but was either interrupted or lost heart. He concluded that he was in a hurry to reach the university and hence was unable to do it. He would do it in the evening.

He left early from work to avoid bringing Maya with him. He would make an excuse later. When he entered the house using his own key, it looked like Rupali was preparing Meenal for something.

“Dr. Khanna!” she looked flustered, “You came early.”

“Yeah. I didn’t have any more classes. Did I disturb something here?”

Rupali knelt before Meenal and whispered, “Papa is here, Meenu.”

Then she stood aside.

Puzzled, Paritosh went to the child and knelt before her to talk to her, “How was Meenu’s day?”

“Meenu loves Papa… Meenu loves Papa,” the child rocked, her face still expressionless and her words conveying everything her face couldn’t.

Paritosh was stunned and speechless for a long time. When he spoke, his voice croaked, “Papa loves Meenu too. More than anything.”

Meenal walked to Rupali and stood beside her holding her hands. Paritosh stood up and turned towards them. His eyes were brimming over.

“Thank you, Rupali. I can’t… She has never used that word before. She has never called me Papa. To hear it for the first time and in such a beautiful way… Excuse me!” he ran into his bedroom. Rupali knew he was on the verge of crying. She led Meenal away and commended her for doing well.

He came to Meenal’s room a little later with two cups of tea.

“Thank you,” she accepted the cup he offered her. He seated himself on a chair and gazed fondly at his daughter who was trying her hands at using the building blocks.

“There is something I wanted to talk to you about,” he started the conversation at last.

“Yes Sir?”

“Meenal’s counsellor should be back next week.”

“Yes Sir,” Rupali replied and felt her heart sinking. It seemed to be going in ominous direction.

“I don’t know the exact amount, but I think I pay the clinic much more than they pay you–”

“Are you firing me?” she blurted.

“What? God, no! What’s wrong with women in my life? I try to propose to Maya and she thinks I am breaking up with her–”

“You are getting married?”

“Yes. I’m getting married. Is that even a surprise? But coming back to us, I am not firing you. I am trying to come up with a plan.”

“Plan for?”

“How much do you earn from your night job? If you were to leave the clinic and work directly for me and I pay you what I pay them, perhaps you would earn enough and don’t worry – it won’t be any extra burden on me either. And then you could perhaps find time to continue your studies. There are open universities. You could study at home and just write exams–” he had said it all in one breath for the fear of being interrupted again.

—

To be continued

Rupali was thankful they had packed a dress for Meenal although they hadn’t expected her to get into water. She changed her clothes while everyone else got into their dry clothes. Then Paritosh noticed that Rupali hadn’t changed.

“Aren’t you going to change, Ms. Banerjee?”

“I didn’t bring dry clothes, Dr. Khanna. I wasn’t expecting to get wet. But don’t worry. It will dry soon enough. I didn’t go deep in water.”

“Your top is soaked.”

“It was just Meenal splashing water.”

His brows furrowed for a moment, then he said briskly, “Let’s go.”

He kept the windows of the car open and did not turn on the AC as they drove back. Without a word he stopped in front of a shop and got out of the car. He opened Rupali’s door and said, “I will stay with Meenal. Please go and buy yourself a dress.” He offered her his wallet, “There should be enough cash. If not swipe my card and have them bring the slip out for my signature.”

Rupali stared at him agape for a few moments, then found her voice, “That’s just not needed, Sir. In a little while my clothes will dry–”

“I’m not asking you, Rupali,” he sounded annoyed and there was an authority in the way he uttered her name – her first name. Throwing a quick glance at Maya’s impassive face, she stepped out.

“Mamma… Mamma…” Meenal called after her.

“She wants to go too,” Paritosh said, “Wonderful. Then we can all go. Maya, you want to come? You could buy something too, if you fancy.”

“No, thanks. I am fine buying my clothes in Mumbai.”

Rupali handed his wallet back to Paritosh and helped Meenal out of the car. Then she meekly followed him into the shop.

—

They discovered that the shop didn’t stock western clothes, only Indian.

“That’s fine,” Paritosh said, “She wears Indian.” Knowing that she won’t open her mouth about what she prefers, he ran his eyes over the mannequin displays. A white flaring, floor length dress caught his eyes and he immediately asked for it. His choice startled her out of silence.

“That’s almost a party dress, Sir. I don’t need it. Just something dry to change into,” she desperately addressed the shopkeeper, “Do you have a cotton kurti?”

“Yes, Ma’am. May designs–”

“Please show me something quickly.”

She picked up a kurti and legging at random and asked for a place to change. The shopkeeper directed her to a cramped storage space at the back of the shop. After assuring Meenal that she would be back after changing, she went in.

Once she was out of earshot, Paritosh got the dress on the mannequin also packed up. When she came out after changing, he was already paying and she didn’t know what he had gotten packed. She assumed it was a gift for Maya.

Paritosh dropped them at their home.

“He is a good man,” Soumitra said as they entered their home, “He really cares for you, Didi.”

“He scolded her!” Sugata protested.

“For her own good. Her clothes were soaked. She could not have fallen ill.”

“He scolded her all the same,” Sugata still complained, but knew that his argument held no water.

“Yes, he is a good man,” Rupali agreed, “Not just because he treats me well. He treats everyone well. And he is an excellent teacher too.”

“How do you know that?”

“I was in his class once, for a short time.”

“Before you dropped out?” Soumitra asked gravely.

She nodded, then forced herself to smile, “Anyway! I am so tired. Is it okay if I sleep for a couple of hours and then cook dinner?”

“Yes, Didi. Don’t worry about it,” Soumitra assured her; then asked gently, “Does he know about that? That you were in his class?”

“No,” she said, “How can he? It was a long time ago. I was there barely for a few weeks and he would have had so many students.”

—

“Dr. Khanna! Sorry for bothering again. I think I forgot my phone. It must be there somewhere in Meenal’s room.”

“No problem, Ms. Banerjee. Come in.”

Rupali couldn’t find the phone on the floor, table or the bed side table. She looked beneath the pillows and then saw it peeking out from under a bunch of papers. She reached out to pick up the phone, but forgot about it on seeing the paper.

She turned around and stared at a resigned-looking Paritosh.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” He sighed and picked up her assignment and phone. He handed the phone to her which she accepted absently. He leafed through the assignment. “You had to drop out because of your parents’ death?” he asked.

She nodded, then voiced her astonishment, “How did you find this assignment? It was so long ago.”

“Just one of those things that stay with you.”

She gave a hesitant smile and made to leave.

“Wait, Rupali.”

She looked at him questioningly. The last time he had addressed her by her first name was when he had been angry with her. Even if it was for her own sake.

“Did you ever consider resuming your studies? Finishing your degree?”

He wasn’t angry. Perhaps he used her first name when he was solicitous about her well-being.

She hesitated for a moment. That was not a question she had contended with before. She didn’t want to appear self-pitying. How should she respond?

“That ship has sailed, Dr. Khanna,” she said in a calm, neutral voice, “I have to make sure my brothers’ education doesn’t suffer. That’s all that matters now. I will see you tomorrow. Good night.”

“Good night,” he murmured and then thought about the night she had before her. She would sleep for a few hours, cook dinner and then spend the rest of the night working another job. In the morning she would be back here. Perhaps she would manage an hour or so of sleep before that. Even if he gave her the idea of pursuing her degree from an open university, she just didn’t have time to study.

—

To be continued

To everyone’s relief, after they reached Lonavala, Meenal did not mind getting out of the vehicle.

“Why did she not get down earlier?” Maya asked.

“She feels anxious in unfamiliar situations,” Paritosh explained, “Ms. Banerjee had been preparing her for Lonavala in last couple of days. She had been shown pictures and was repeatedly told that we’d do it. So she is prepared for this place. She wasn’t prepared earlier.”

“I see,” Maya’s voice was neutral enough, but Rupali felt a fresh whiff of antagonism wafting in the air. It hadn’t started well in the morning. Maya had obviously not been happy to see her brothers. And it wasn’t improving as the day progressed. Earlier, finding Paritosh and Rupali sitting in the car with only Meenal for company hadn’t gone down well with her. Paritosh had seemed unaware, but Rupali had been acutely aware of her pursed lips.

While Rupali was still reviewing all the offences Maya would have collected until then, Meenal started complaining, “Meenu tired. Meenu tired.” They were headed towards Bhushi dam and although Paritosh had parked as close to the place as was possible, there was still some walking involved.

Everyone stopped in their tracks.

“Not a good idea, I guess,” Paritosh said rubbing his temples, “We should go to someplace where we can park closer.”

“Let me try, Dr. Khanna,” Rupali said and knelt to be at level with the girl, “Mamma will pick you up. Is that fine, Meenu?”

Rupali could almost feel Maya seething at the word ‘Mamma’, but she could not help it. That was the only way Meenal understood that Rupali was talking about herself.

“Mamma will pick you up,” Meenal repeated the exact words.

“Good girl,” Rupali said and picked her up.

“Good girl,” the child repeated.

Soumitra and Sugata exchanged a quick glance and then Suagta, the more athletic of the two, walked to Rupali, “Didi, I can carry her.”

“No, Pintu. she wouldn’t come to you.”

He looked expectantly at Paritosh. Surely her father could carry her.

Rupali added hastily, “She doesn’t even let Prof. Khanna pick her up.”

“But you will get tired, Didi,” Sugata was calm by his standards.

“He is right, Ms. Banerjee. Let’s just walk back to the car…”

“She is light as a feather, Dr. Khanna. Let’s continue, please,” she turned to her brothers, “Come on, guys. It’s a little girl I am carrying. Not the Christ’s cross. Let’s go, please.”

Once they reached the dam, Rupali settled herself with Meenal at a safe distance from water. Her brothers offered to stay with her, but she persuaded them to go ahead. They changed into the spare shorts they had brought and went into water. Rupali watched on fondly as they climbed the famed steps of the dam and splashed each other with water. She did not notice where Maya and Paritosh went. They must have chosen some other secluded spot. Despite the crowd and noise surrounding her, sitting with Meenal Rupali felt at peace. She idly wondered if she could come back here with Mihir. How much longer was he going to be in Mumbai?

“Meenu water… Meenu water…”

Meenal’s voice broke her reverie. She offered sipper to the girl, but she refused. It took some time for Rupali to realize that the child wanted to go near water. She hesitated only for a while, then holding her tight in her hands and walking carefully, she went closer to water and put her down. The water came upto Meenal’s ankles. She started rocking herself, which was a sign that she was enjoying it. Then she pulled Rupali’s hand, wanting to go further in. Rupali took a few more steps. Meenal was now knee deep in water. Suddenly she bent, scooped up a bit of water and threw it at Rupali. The water missed its mark. Rupali was stunned for a moment and then she laughed. She could feel the child’s joy. She was trying to splash her. Holding Meenal’s hand tightly, Rupali also scooped some water and pretended to splash the girl, deliberately letting most of the water fall before it touched her. Meenal repeated her splashing act, this time with more success at Rupali. Then she tugged at her hand again.

“Meenu wants to go further?”

“Meenu water… Meenu water…”

“Mamma must pick you up.”

“Mamma must pick you up.”

Rupali picked Meenal up and carefully navigated the shallow water to reach the steps. Her brothers noticed and came running.

“Meenal is really enjoying this,” Rupali informed them happily, “Stay around to ensure that I don’t fall. Let me seat her on the steps.”

With her brothers flanking her to support her in case she slipped, Rupali bent down and had Meenal seated on the lowest step. The water was flowing around her and she happily splashed her hands.

“She doesn’t even smile,” Sugata said, sounding skeptical, “How do you know she is enjoying this.”

“Look at her splashing, and…” she suddenly fell silent and smiled, “Everyone has a language, Pintu. When you were a baby, the only expression you knew was crying. But Ma could figure out if you needed to be fed or to be put to bed. Slowly even I started understanding. Despite her autism, Meenal is as sharp as any child her age. She is listening to everything we are saying and she understands it all. And in her own way she expresses herself. I understand her now.”

As if to prove Rupali’s point, Meenal started splashing water on Rupali. Her jeans was already wet at the bottom, soon her top was soaked too. But she did not try to stop Meenal.

“What are you doing?” All of a sudden Maya was upon her, “What do you think you are here for? For enjoying yourself? Or for looking after Meenal? Do you have any idea how we panicked on not finding you where we left you? How could you bring her in water like this?”

Meenal stopped splashing water through this tirade.

“Ma’am,” Rupali tried to explain, “She is enjoying this. She made me come.”

“She doesn’t even speak. How do you know she is enjoying this?”

“She knows,” Paritosh’ voice broke in from behind Maya, “She knows what Meenal wants, Maya. Come on everyone.” He didn’t let Maya speak, “Let’s go back, change into dry clothes and head out for lunch.”

—

To be continued