Chapter 6 ~ CherishMorning dawned fresh and crisp, however Jaidev felt anything but fresh. After a fitful night of sleep, he was more than eager to jump on the first plane home and get back to work. As he headed to the restaurant for breakfast, he spied Sinhaal sitting at one of the tables, dressed in a dapper black suit, hair slicked back, poring over a newspaper. As Jaidev approached, Sinhaal looked up and greeted him with a warm smile.
"Hey, morning, Jaidev."
With his tall frame and suave looks, the man looked like a movie star straight out of a Hollywood movie, mused Jaidev as he returned the greeting.
"Good morning."
"Do have a seat," Sinhaal offered as he folded the newspaper and moved it out of the way.
"Where's Jaya?" Jaidev queried as he performed a cursory scan of the restaurant.
"Oh, I'd think you would know the answer to that," Sinhaal replied as he sipped his coffee.
"Maybe she's just slept in," Jaidev said with a shrug. He picked up his cellphone and began scrolling through the texts and email notifications, mentally cataloguing the ones that weren't urgent and could be attended to later.
"Jaya never sleeps in."
At that, Jaidev raised his head and gave him a questioning look.
"She is an early riser and always finds things to do when others are still wrestling with the sluggishness of sleep," Sinhaal replied.
"So you've known her for long," Jaidev said, his response more of a statement than a question.
"Depends on your definition of long. But I'll say, long enough," Sinhaal replied ambiguously.
"Are you from Mumbai?"
"Delhi. But I keep oscillating between Mumbai and Delhi for work," Sinhaal laughed. "This time around, I'm here for two weeks, which is why Jaya had to come down to meet me."
"Well, now Cherish will have to send someone else," Jaidev replied cryptically.
At Sinhaal's confused look, he elaborated, "Looks like you don't know. Jaya is resigning from Cherish."
"What? Separate a mother from her baby? That will never happen," Sinhaal said, a smile resting smugly on his face.
As Jaidev stared at him nonplussed, Sinhaal sighed. He poured Jaidev a cup of coffee before he began, "I'm not surprised that you're unaware of this, because Jaya hasn't ever told this to me either. I discovered it purely by chance."
"Can you knock the riddles and come to the point?"
"While Jaya may pretend to have joined Cherish only now, or formally at least, the fact is, Jaya has always been associated with Cherish because Cherish is Jaya's," Sinhaal's declaration stunned Jaidev.
"You can't be serious," he scoffed.
Sinhaal nodded, "Cherish was conceptualised in the final year of our university by Jaya because she loved kids. She always wanted to make a difference in the lives of the children who were forced to roam the streets for no fault of their own. She was passionate about it and had started working on the plans for making it a reality but her first major roadblock was funds. That's when her friend Suki, Sukeshi Mitra, joined Jaya. Sukeshi came from an illustrious background and pooling together some funds for a startup wasn't difficult for her. The two of them worked tirelessly, day and night for six months to ensure that Cherish saw the light of day. But six months later, Jaya got married to you and decided to hand over the reins of Cherish to Sukeshi and be a part of it only on an honorary basis."
"If Jaya was really so passionate about Cherish, then why did she move out?" Jaidev queried.
Sinhaal didn't fail to see the faint edge of sarcasm in his voice but chose to ignore it and continued,"It was a surprise for Sukeshi but Jaya said that she wanted to focus on the responsibilities of marriage, and needed at least a year before she could come back to Cherish full time. Sukeshi understood and obliged. A year later, however, Jaya felt she still needed time, but she made true on her promise in the most crucial way possible. Cherish was in dire need of funds for the various programmes that it runs for kids, and Jaya decided to put the newly acquired confidences of her new family's political connections to good use. With her influence, she managed to talk even the most thrifty people into loosening their purse strings, keeping her involvement lowkey."
"Why would she not want to make her involvement known?"
"Jaya believes that when one does charity with the right hand, the left one shouldn't know about it. Whatever she does, it is because it gives her happiness while bringing happiness to others in the process," Sinhaal shrugged. "For the past three years, Jaya has solely been responsible for finding sponsors for Cherish."
"If Cherish has functioned well without her physical presence for four years, then I don't see why it can't continue to do so even in the future. I don't see why she can't resign," Jaidev stated.
"For the past one year, Sukeshi has been trying to convince Jaya to come on board full time, and ever since Subhash Lal's case came to light, she has become relentless. But Jaya kept refusing until her sudden change of mind this week. What was the motivation for the change of heart, I don't know and neither does Sukeshi. But I would assume that you'd know about it," Sinhaal challenged, looking Jaidev in the eye.
"That's right, I do," replied Jaidev meeting Sinhaal's gaze but without elaborating further.
"Good morning, Sin!" Jaya's chirpy voice floated from a distance, forcing the men to relax as she reached their table.
When Jaya noticed Jaidev's presence opposite Sinhaal, she acknowledged his presence with a nod and greeted him coolly, "Good morning."
Jaidev responded with a perfunctory nod of his own.
"Morning, Beautiful! You don't seem to have slept well," Sinhaal replied with a meaningful glance towards Jaidev. "All well?"
"Of course, Sin!" Jaya replied missing neither the glint of steel in his eyes, nor the hint of concern in his voice. "I was doing some more research last night for the case and ended up staying late."
"Great, shall we talk at two? I need to reach court by 10 am for a hearing," he said.
"Sure," she replied with a smile.
"Alright, then. I shall leave the two of you to discuss your plans for the day," Sinhaal said before walking off, leaving Jaidev and Jaya to deal with the oppressive silence that seemed to have fallen over them.
*
Instead of walking off, Jaya took the seat that Sinhaal had just vacated and ordered breakfast. She didn't have a problem to Jaidev's presence. If he had a problem with hers, he was free to leave. Though judging by his dark expression, she knew that the last thing he had on his mind was walking off. A moment passed in silence before he finally spoke.
"I've been looking for you all morning. Where have you been? You're aware we have a flight to catch," he scowled.
"Not we, Jaidev. You," she replied as she slathered butter on a piece of toast.
"Excuse me? Didn't we speak about this last night?" he bit out, trying to keep his voice low against his rising anger.
"You spoke, Jaidev. I merely listened. A habit that I've realised is long due for change," she replied calmly.
"So what, pray tell, do you now intend to do?" He asked, reining in his patience from snapping.
"Do what I came here to do," Jaya simply replied.
"So you will continue with Cherish despite knowing that Dad is not happy with it?"
Jaya nodded.
"Wouldn't that create a dent in your docile and duteous daughter-in-law facade?" He sneered.
"You forget, Jaidev. I've already done something that will not only indent my perfect daughter-in-law facade, but rather completely shatter it," Jaya said nonchalantly, then added with a smile, "Much to your pleasure, I'm sure."
Jaidev narrowed his eyes.
"I'm talking about the divorce, Jaidev. Or didn't you get the papers?" She innocently asked.
"I got the papers, and trust me, nothing has made me happier in a long time more than their discovery," he replied.
"I'm glad that I could gift you with at least that one joy," she retorted.
Jaya munched on her toast as Jaidev seethed in silence.
A moment later, she said, "Seeing that I won't be a part of the Sinha family anymore, I don't see why my association with Cherish would make any difference to Papa or his political connections."
"Let me remind you, as far as Mama and Papa are concerned, they're not aware of our impending divorce, yet," Jaidev shot back sarcastically.
Jaya sighed, "I remember my promise to break this to Mama, but I can't do it until the end of this week. I have responsibilities here, Jaidev."
"If this was so important to you, why didn't you just ask Mama to sign up as the legal counsel for Cherish?" He asked, irritation evident in his tone.
"So you believe that I should have requested Mama to join Cherish and then informed her that I've decided to divorce her son in the same conversation?" Jaya scoffed. "Mighty successful I would be!"
"It would be illogical," she continued before he could reply. "Moreover, that isn't the only reason I didn't ask Mama. I was aware that it would be a conflict of interest for her. Subash Lal is a close confidante of the CM so I knew that if Mama signed up for Cherish, she wouldn't be able to continue for long, because she would have to succumb under the political pressure that would be directed her way through Papa. Even if Mama stood strong in the face of political pressure, the negative impact that it would have on Papa's career would add a strain on their relationship. I didn't want her to face such a dilemma."
"But your association with Cherish is adding a strain on my relationship with Papa," Jaidev said through gritted teeth.
"Only for a week, I promise. Until then, I can't do anything about it," she replied with a note of finality to her tone. "Have a safe flight."
**
Jaidev's cell rang, intensifying the throbbing in his temples that refused to subside. On one hand, Jaya refused to budge from her stubbornness, while on the other, his father would not let him be at peace.
"Yes, Dad," Jaidev said as he answered the call.
"When is Jaya coming back?" Manohar barked into the phone, ignoring any pleasantries.
"I'm trying to talk to her, Dad, but this is important for her," Jaidev replied trying to reason with his father.
"This is much more important for me, Jaidev. Your failure will not be acceptable," Manohar snapped.
"Right, Dad."
He wasn't returning to Delhi today, after all, thought Jaidev as he disconnected the call. A resounding crash reverberated around the room as a ceramic figurine landed on the floor, falling a victim to Jaidev's temper.
***
A/N: My WiFi was back so you have the next update, as promised, and a super long one. I'm eagerly waiting to hear your thoughts on this chapter.
For responses to your comments, check pages 12 and 13. :)
Edited by -Sarcy- - 9 years ago
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