Posted:
Hi Every one, thank you for your lovely comments, appreciate them. Ending in two more parts...let me know how you like this chapter. It's a bit different theme and different place! Bani's character is aggressive and career oriented, Jai is the silent hunk in a rugged place. A new twist in the story, Jigz and Adi are Bani's parents...small time actors... 😉
Hope you like it...excuse any mistakes, I wrote this in 45 minutes....mmm, also it has a slight profanity...that goes with the hill billy environment...
Part 3
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She walked through the palm trees and passed the small pond on her way to the love shack as he called it. It was indeed the most romantic place on the earth, the tall trees hiding the small house from neighbors completely. The log cabin look outside gave it a quaint charm; she knew from first hand experience, the inside was charming too. Two old cars stood outside, almost in a beat up condition, she recognized one of them as her own. Good old Minnie…gave her service loyally – Jai had always said that the car had the same temperament as her boss, stubborn to the boot and never giving up. His pickup truck still looked beat up as ever. She wondered why he didn't sell her car as scrap? By the looks of the house, he needed the money.
She spotted Lassie on the porch, her ears perking up as she approached the stairs. She stood up and sniffed in her direction but made no attempt to come and meet her. Bani's heart dropped, the mutt was hers but always showed more loyalty to that no good husband of hers. She climbed the stairs and sat on her haunches next to the dog, and noticed the haze on the old dog's eyes. Bessie was 14 years old, in dog's years, that's a hundred. The dog whimpered slightly as Bani rubbed her ears and licked her hand with enthusiasm. Bani's heart melted, the poor thing lost its eye sight. The dog drooled some more on Bani's expensive shoes. She was too engrossed with the dog to hear the front door open.
"Can I help you?" the deep voice sent the hair rising on her nape. It was obvious he didn't recognize her with her new hairstyle and sunglasses. For some reason, it gave her the courage she needed.
"Well, for starters, you get your stubborn ass down here and give me a divorce!" she stood up and put her hands on her waist to look at him.
The dark eyes squinted at her, recognizing her instantly. He leaned against the doorjamb after a minute and drawled in his sexiest voice.
"You are shitting me, right?"
"No, I am bloody well, not shitting you! And I hate that expression" she mimicked him. "I want a divorce, Jai Walia!"
"I am not giving you divorce if you act like snotty bitch with your nose up in the air, right now, I would like nothing better than to piss you off" Jai walked toward her, towering over her.
She leaned back to stare at him. "I am divorcing you, that's that! I found some one else, Jai, he is handsome, he is loaded and he is a perfect gentleman!"
"You mean, he didn't sleep with you on his first date?" He smirked.
"Not everyone is highly se*ed like you are, JW!" Bani flung at him.
"You mean to say that he hasn't slept with you at all?" his eyes rounded with wonder. She thought she saw a glimmer of satisfaction in those dark brown eyes.
"Well, not every one seduces young girls, on their first night out!" she kicked herself for falling into his trap into defending herself.
"Bani, it was our third night out and I didn't seduce you, you seduced me, didn't you tell Pushy that you have the hots for me?" he tucked his thumbs in his back pockets and challenged her.
"F…..off, you rotten b****rd" Bani took a step forward to push him.
"You know what your problem is princess? You have a temper that needs to be subdued by some one!" he deliberately wiped off all expression from his face.
"You try it, Jai Walia…I will kick your a**e all the way to the beach and back." Her aggression amused him.
"Oh, I did it a few times before, my darling wife! And I had a lot of fun doing so!" he needled her.
"Don't call me that!" she looked irritated.
"So you want a divorce from me? And what do I get in return, My darling wife, Mrs. Bani Walia?" he stressed on the wife part again deliberately as he scrutinized her, "that is what you call yourself, isn't it?"
She had the grace to look ashamed. "No…I go by the name of Sara Warner"
"Hmmm, so how did you get that exalted name, my dear?" he looked interestedly at her.
"Sara is the short name for Saraswati, my middle name! And Warner from the first two letters of my last name." her explanation was short.
"You mean from my last name?" he asked innocently.
"Whatever!" she lost interest in the conversation.
"I am in a hurry to go back to New York, I have all the papers ready, all I need is your John Hancock (signature), and I will get out of your way, I don't need your money, I mean alimony" she elaborated.
He looked disinterested and went into the house, leaving her staring at him.
She followed him angrily. She was surprised to see the whole house renovated inside, it didn't look anything like the shabby exterior appearance.
"Jai! I want the divorce now!"
"As I said, my wife, what do I get in return?"
"Nothing, you get nothing, OK! I won't ask you for any money, any property and I will leave you to do whatever you like with your life. I have to leave to New York tomorrow, do it fast, JW" she raised her voice.
He sat in the chair, making a drama at looking the papers in his hand. "Honey, I'm not stupid or deaf. I better have my lawyer take a look at these. I'm just a simple country boy. There's all kinds of big words in here I can't even pronounce. Hell, you might be taking me to the cleaners for all I know."
"The only thing that needs to go the cleaners is your dirty old jeans and your dirty old mind! Who is your lawyer?" She put her hands in the front in a defensive manner, "Don't tell me, it's Tarun, the guy who failed the barrister exam four times?" She jeered.
"You always did have a chip on your shoulder, princess! I need some time to go over the papers. Why don't you go and visit your parents and come back in the morning?" he looked deep into her eyes.
She blinked the tears back at the quietness in his voice and the somberness in his face. She nodded abruptly and turned to go.
"Jai, are you doing OK? I mean…I hope you are happy!" She didn't know what made her ask the question but waited to hear his answer.
"And if I say, I wasn't happy? What will you do, Bani? Will you kiss me and make me all better?" his voice sounded bitter.
"I want to say I am sorry that you had such a bad wife!" she smothered a sob and ran fast as if the devil was on her heels.
He stared at the slight figure running away toward the private beach and sighed.
++++++++
She walked on the beach for several hours. Her memories taking her swiftly back to the happy days. Just before the senior farewell night, he asked her to come to the beach with him, and she went along, with palpable excitement, he was right, she was completely bowled over him and in his words had the hots for him. They had walked hand in hand, and he didn't touch her once inappropriately. Then it started raining, a thunder storm that ripped the palm trees from the earth and made the ocean howl. The lightening and the thunder made her feel scared. Old Bessie was whimpering too. Jai had run to his pickup truck and picked up some metal poles. Between the two of them, they had buried them deep in the sand amidst the rain.
He explained to her the metal is called fulgurite and when buried in the sand it formed into colored glass when the lightening struck. He talked to her passionately about what he wanted to do in his life. He wanted to be hotelier and restaurateur. His dream was to build restaurants and hotels on the beach and also sell the colored stemware in the hotel shops. She listened to him with awe, his dreamy eyes making it endearing. Then he took her into the cavern near the ocean, she initiated the first kiss when the lightening struck close by. She knew that she had seduced him that night, making him lose all restraint and control. They had made love, first time for her and she had told him that he will be the last person she will ever kiss. She felt that she was born to be with him, to be his eternal soul mate.
They collected the glass after the storm passed and he blew the glass and shaped it lovingly in the beach bonfire they lit, turning it into crystal stemware. He explained to her how the heat from the lightening made the lead turn into interesting shapes and colors.
She was awed by his talent and impressed but was apprehensive that he wanted to make that into a living. She didn't discourage him, but she didn't encourage him either.
Her parents Jigyasa and Aditya Dixit were into theater, both of them small time actors who participated in the shows the Goanese travel industry put together. Jigyasa Dixit was the fire cracker and Aditya was her eternally henpecked husband. They raised their three daughters with pride, spoiling them with their love and affection if not with money. Bani grew up in poverty, wearing second hand clothes and in uncertainty and vowed that she would make something of herself.
When she and JW went to Jigyasa and Adi for their approval, Jigyasa was adamant that the marriage shouldn't happen. She gave all kinds of reasons, that Bani is too young and JW is a wastrel and a bum. But nothing would make Bani back down. Finally Adi convinced his wife that JW will tame the shrew that was Bani and they should let the youngsters live their own life.
For almost a year, the marriage was idyllic and she kept his house while he went and did odd jobs to earn money. They both couldn't keep their hands off each other, and went up in flames in each other's proximity. The money was tight, and Bani couldn't pursue the things she wanted to do in the small fishing town. Soon they started fighting bitterly over his lack of ambition and the lack of progress in their finances. Both said some very cruel things to each other, and made up with passionate lovemaking after each fight. But even the lovemaking didn't help after a few months.
Then Bani was late with her period and worried that she was pregnant. She waited for JW to arrive and fell asleep on the dining table. Jai came home, drunk to the gills, along with Tarun, his stupid lawyer friend on a brand new motorbike. She blew up at him, calling him irresponsible and immature and that they needed money for day to day things, not for a bike that wouldn't carry a child. She didn't tell him that she could be pregnant, because he was in no state to hear it. When Jai slumped on her completely inebriated, she pushed him off of her and left to Mumbai the same day with her bags. She stayed with friends and applied to the design school in New York and earned scholarships to put her through to the school. Then her period arrived and she cried bitterly for what could have been. He tried calling her in vain, she refused to take his calls, he tried to make her mother call her, but she wouldn't take Jigyasa's calls after the first few. She cut everyone off from her life, her little sisters who always looked up to her, her papa who treated her like a princess. She went into a depression for a while. Despite of everything, she wanted his baby, she would have returned to him – but when it turned out that she was never pregnant, something died in her. She blamed Jai for everything and vowed not to look back. He in turn, didn't even defend himself. He didn't come after her and it irked her more that he didn't.
She remembered asking him why he wanted to marry her, and he had responded with "So I can kiss you anytime I want!" She called him an overgrown boy then, and he smiled at her sweetly and said, "Yes, this boy will always love you, no matter what!"
Her stomach growled protestingly. She didn't have anything to eat since breakfast and it was close to dinner time. She walked slowly in the direction of the Dixit cottage.
Her father was sitting on the lounging chair swatting the flies with his newspaper. She observed him for a little while before saying anything. He had put on weight, his hair was gray and he tied it in a ponytail. She wondered absently what it is that made all the men in this town grow their hair, Pushkar, JW and her dad. She thanked god that at least Jai didn't wear a ponytail. Just then Aditya yelled loudly for the whole neighborhood to hear.
"Jiggles, did you hear that Princess is here?" his reading glasses looked ridiculous on his nose.
"She is your princess Adity, you spoiled her rotten. She never even called and she arrived this morning and hasn't shown up yet! Here we are, waiting for the last seven years, eagerly waiting for her to come, and she doesn't even deign to come down and say, 'Hello mamma, hello pappa, I am here! How are you? How is the family?' and we are constantly wondering how she is doing in a new country, what she is eating, whether someone is taking care of her." Jigyasa grumbled back loudly from inside.
Bani smiled, some things never changed. She stepped onto the porch.
"Hello, Mamma, Hello Papa! I am here. How are you? How is the family? I am doing well in the new country, I am eating good and nutritious food, and yes, I have friends who are taking care of me."
Adity dropped the newspaper unceremoniously on the ground and pushed back his lounge chair to get up. He stood up peering at her through the glasses for a whole minute before gathering her in a bear hug.
Bani sniffled, she missed him. He was the sweetest man on the earth.
"Papa, you are choking me!" she said after a while and he let her go but kept his hands on her shoulders to examine her carefully. Just then she heard a rustle at the door step and looked at her mother in a long flowery dress, covered in an apron with her hair cut short and styled in curls, standing with her mouth agape.
"Mamma!" She left her father and approached Jigyasa wearily. "Mamma, aren't you going to hug me?" she whispered. Her mother looked older but she was still beautiful. Jigyasa told her that she would never show herself without her makeup, not even to her husband. She kept that promise. She was completely made up, with kohl around her eyes, and a deep burgundy lipstick and rouge on her cheeks.
A hard slap hit her on the side of her head. "Ouch" Bani touched her head. "Mamma, that hurt!" but she didn't make a fuss, she knew she deserved it. She grabbed her mother and hugged her, squashing her mother's struggles. Jigyasa stopped her struggles after a while and let her daughter take her into her arms. She sobbed softly and didn't let her go for a long time.
"You remembered your mother and father finally?" Jigyasa hiccupped and turned to wipe her eyes.
"I never forgot you, mamma! I am sorry for going away!" Bani begged her to forgive her.
"You didn't just run away from Jai, you ***tch! You ran out on all of us, why are you here anyway? As you can see, we are doing just fine without you." A tall girl with dark rimmed glasses came to the front aggressively.
"Rano! Some things never change, you are still the same old termagant you always were. I remember trying to rescue you from all the school bullies because you could never take anything lying down." Bani stepped toward Rano.
Instead of hugging, she pinched her ears and started doing sit ups, "OK, tell me when to stop, I am willing to take my punishment from you! One, two, three…" she looked up at her sister, hoping to see a glimmer of smile. Instead she saw anger flashing in those eyes behind the glasses. "You are going to kill me today, aren't you? I haven't even had anything to eat all day!" but she continued her situps. "Four, five, six…"
"I don't give a damn about your sit-ups, you escape artist! You should be doing that in front of Jiju…He is the one who suffered the most!" Rano turned away from Bani.
Bani stood up. "One more person he charmed!" her tone was bitter.
Rano looked back. "Go back to where you came from, we learned to live without you…we don't need you anymore!" She used the harshest voice possible. Her ears always turned red when she was angry.
Tears stung Bani's eyelids, her sister was in the meanest form…was it the same tweener that she left at thirteen, she used to be a sweet little girl who tagged along with Bani and Jai all over the town. Bani suspected the girl had a massive crush on JW. It seemed like the girl never got over it. For some reason, Bani felt jealous of her sister and remembered Pia saying that she works as an accountant with Jai.
"Mother, I am going out…I need to get out of the present company" Rano grabbed her purse and went out without looking back.
Bani sighed. "Every one hates me here, don't they?" she asked vacantly.
"No, princess, they don't hate you, we are just a tiny bit hurt and angry, but we will get over it. You will stay here, won't you?" Adity sounded gruff but hopeful.
Bani hesitated and avoided the watchful eyes of Jigyasa. She didn't want to tell them that she was going back day after tomorrow, right after the divorce.
"Your father asked a question!" Jigyasa put her hands on the waist and challenged her daughter.
Bani thought quickly, may be she can take a vacation, it would be difficult, but she can tell her assistant Rashi and her husband Ranveer to handle the boutique while she was away.
"Yes, mamma, I can stay for a bit." Bani mumbled. "I am really hungry, is any one going to feed me?" she changed the subject.
Jigyasa was too sharp and she knew Bani was hiding something, but let it go for the time being. "I have vegetable moily and chicken xacuti and vegetable pulao!"
"Oh, my favorites, I missed your cooking, mamma!" Bani licked her lips, she started drooling in her mouth.
"Chalo then, before your dad starts drinking again!" Jigyasa set the dishes on the table and brought out the plates.
"I hear you are drinking too much, pops!" Bani poured the water into jugs and peered at her father who bristled at Jigyasa's accusation.
"Any one who is married to your mother for thirty years would have started drinking a long time ago, anyways, I only drink two shots of whiskey. A man needs that after fifty, you know!"
"Oh, pops!" she kissed him on the top of his head impulsively. "She is not that bad…she still looks great, I bet you, she can still win the Mrs. Goa contest easily." She threw a glance at her mother and smiled as Jigyasa looked pleased with her daughter's comment.
"You always know how to make people happy, princess!" Adity gave his thumbs up as he whispered into his daughter's ear.
"mmmm, this is great, mamma! You have to give me the recipe…you know what I missed the most in New York, it's your cooking and pappa's jokes that no one laughs at."
The evening went by as Bani regaled them with anecdotes from New York.
When the night came, sleep was hard to come for Bani. She missed her home, her family, her sisters and most of all, the silent man who had the knack of getting under your skin like stubborn eczema that had no intention of going way. She lay awake as Rano slipped in late at night and snuggled under the blanket.
Few minutes ticked by and Rano leaned over and kissed her on the forehead softly. "Welcome back, Di, I missed you very much" she mumbled. The tears slipped as Bani stifled the sobs and pretended she was asleep. "I miss you too, Rano!" she said to herself over and over again.
Hope you like it...excuse any mistakes, I wrote this in 45 minutes....mmm, also it has a slight profanity...that goes with the hill billy environment...
Part 3
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She walked through the palm trees and passed the small pond on her way to the love shack as he called it. It was indeed the most romantic place on the earth, the tall trees hiding the small house from neighbors completely. The log cabin look outside gave it a quaint charm; she knew from first hand experience, the inside was charming too. Two old cars stood outside, almost in a beat up condition, she recognized one of them as her own. Good old Minnie…gave her service loyally – Jai had always said that the car had the same temperament as her boss, stubborn to the boot and never giving up. His pickup truck still looked beat up as ever. She wondered why he didn't sell her car as scrap? By the looks of the house, he needed the money.
She spotted Lassie on the porch, her ears perking up as she approached the stairs. She stood up and sniffed in her direction but made no attempt to come and meet her. Bani's heart dropped, the mutt was hers but always showed more loyalty to that no good husband of hers. She climbed the stairs and sat on her haunches next to the dog, and noticed the haze on the old dog's eyes. Bessie was 14 years old, in dog's years, that's a hundred. The dog whimpered slightly as Bani rubbed her ears and licked her hand with enthusiasm. Bani's heart melted, the poor thing lost its eye sight. The dog drooled some more on Bani's expensive shoes. She was too engrossed with the dog to hear the front door open.
"Can I help you?" the deep voice sent the hair rising on her nape. It was obvious he didn't recognize her with her new hairstyle and sunglasses. For some reason, it gave her the courage she needed.
"Well, for starters, you get your stubborn ass down here and give me a divorce!" she stood up and put her hands on her waist to look at him.
The dark eyes squinted at her, recognizing her instantly. He leaned against the doorjamb after a minute and drawled in his sexiest voice.
"You are shitting me, right?"
"No, I am bloody well, not shitting you! And I hate that expression" she mimicked him. "I want a divorce, Jai Walia!"
"I am not giving you divorce if you act like snotty bitch with your nose up in the air, right now, I would like nothing better than to piss you off" Jai walked toward her, towering over her.
She leaned back to stare at him. "I am divorcing you, that's that! I found some one else, Jai, he is handsome, he is loaded and he is a perfect gentleman!"
"You mean, he didn't sleep with you on his first date?" He smirked.
"Not everyone is highly se*ed like you are, JW!" Bani flung at him.
"You mean to say that he hasn't slept with you at all?" his eyes rounded with wonder. She thought she saw a glimmer of satisfaction in those dark brown eyes.
"Well, not every one seduces young girls, on their first night out!" she kicked herself for falling into his trap into defending herself.
"Bani, it was our third night out and I didn't seduce you, you seduced me, didn't you tell Pushy that you have the hots for me?" he tucked his thumbs in his back pockets and challenged her.
"F…..off, you rotten b****rd" Bani took a step forward to push him.
"You know what your problem is princess? You have a temper that needs to be subdued by some one!" he deliberately wiped off all expression from his face.
"You try it, Jai Walia…I will kick your a**e all the way to the beach and back." Her aggression amused him.
"Oh, I did it a few times before, my darling wife! And I had a lot of fun doing so!" he needled her.
"Don't call me that!" she looked irritated.
"So you want a divorce from me? And what do I get in return, My darling wife, Mrs. Bani Walia?" he stressed on the wife part again deliberately as he scrutinized her, "that is what you call yourself, isn't it?"
She had the grace to look ashamed. "No…I go by the name of Sara Warner"
"Hmmm, so how did you get that exalted name, my dear?" he looked interestedly at her.
"Sara is the short name for Saraswati, my middle name! And Warner from the first two letters of my last name." her explanation was short.
"You mean from my last name?" he asked innocently.
"Whatever!" she lost interest in the conversation.
"I am in a hurry to go back to New York, I have all the papers ready, all I need is your John Hancock (signature), and I will get out of your way, I don't need your money, I mean alimony" she elaborated.
He looked disinterested and went into the house, leaving her staring at him.
She followed him angrily. She was surprised to see the whole house renovated inside, it didn't look anything like the shabby exterior appearance.
"Jai! I want the divorce now!"
"As I said, my wife, what do I get in return?"
"Nothing, you get nothing, OK! I won't ask you for any money, any property and I will leave you to do whatever you like with your life. I have to leave to New York tomorrow, do it fast, JW" she raised her voice.
He sat in the chair, making a drama at looking the papers in his hand. "Honey, I'm not stupid or deaf. I better have my lawyer take a look at these. I'm just a simple country boy. There's all kinds of big words in here I can't even pronounce. Hell, you might be taking me to the cleaners for all I know."
"The only thing that needs to go the cleaners is your dirty old jeans and your dirty old mind! Who is your lawyer?" She put her hands in the front in a defensive manner, "Don't tell me, it's Tarun, the guy who failed the barrister exam four times?" She jeered.
"You always did have a chip on your shoulder, princess! I need some time to go over the papers. Why don't you go and visit your parents and come back in the morning?" he looked deep into her eyes.
She blinked the tears back at the quietness in his voice and the somberness in his face. She nodded abruptly and turned to go.
"Jai, are you doing OK? I mean…I hope you are happy!" She didn't know what made her ask the question but waited to hear his answer.
"And if I say, I wasn't happy? What will you do, Bani? Will you kiss me and make me all better?" his voice sounded bitter.
"I want to say I am sorry that you had such a bad wife!" she smothered a sob and ran fast as if the devil was on her heels.
He stared at the slight figure running away toward the private beach and sighed.
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She walked on the beach for several hours. Her memories taking her swiftly back to the happy days. Just before the senior farewell night, he asked her to come to the beach with him, and she went along, with palpable excitement, he was right, she was completely bowled over him and in his words had the hots for him. They had walked hand in hand, and he didn't touch her once inappropriately. Then it started raining, a thunder storm that ripped the palm trees from the earth and made the ocean howl. The lightening and the thunder made her feel scared. Old Bessie was whimpering too. Jai had run to his pickup truck and picked up some metal poles. Between the two of them, they had buried them deep in the sand amidst the rain.
He explained to her the metal is called fulgurite and when buried in the sand it formed into colored glass when the lightening struck. He talked to her passionately about what he wanted to do in his life. He wanted to be hotelier and restaurateur. His dream was to build restaurants and hotels on the beach and also sell the colored stemware in the hotel shops. She listened to him with awe, his dreamy eyes making it endearing. Then he took her into the cavern near the ocean, she initiated the first kiss when the lightening struck close by. She knew that she had seduced him that night, making him lose all restraint and control. They had made love, first time for her and she had told him that he will be the last person she will ever kiss. She felt that she was born to be with him, to be his eternal soul mate.
They collected the glass after the storm passed and he blew the glass and shaped it lovingly in the beach bonfire they lit, turning it into crystal stemware. He explained to her how the heat from the lightening made the lead turn into interesting shapes and colors.
She was awed by his talent and impressed but was apprehensive that he wanted to make that into a living. She didn't discourage him, but she didn't encourage him either.
Her parents Jigyasa and Aditya Dixit were into theater, both of them small time actors who participated in the shows the Goanese travel industry put together. Jigyasa Dixit was the fire cracker and Aditya was her eternally henpecked husband. They raised their three daughters with pride, spoiling them with their love and affection if not with money. Bani grew up in poverty, wearing second hand clothes and in uncertainty and vowed that she would make something of herself.
When she and JW went to Jigyasa and Adi for their approval, Jigyasa was adamant that the marriage shouldn't happen. She gave all kinds of reasons, that Bani is too young and JW is a wastrel and a bum. But nothing would make Bani back down. Finally Adi convinced his wife that JW will tame the shrew that was Bani and they should let the youngsters live their own life.
For almost a year, the marriage was idyllic and she kept his house while he went and did odd jobs to earn money. They both couldn't keep their hands off each other, and went up in flames in each other's proximity. The money was tight, and Bani couldn't pursue the things she wanted to do in the small fishing town. Soon they started fighting bitterly over his lack of ambition and the lack of progress in their finances. Both said some very cruel things to each other, and made up with passionate lovemaking after each fight. But even the lovemaking didn't help after a few months.
Then Bani was late with her period and worried that she was pregnant. She waited for JW to arrive and fell asleep on the dining table. Jai came home, drunk to the gills, along with Tarun, his stupid lawyer friend on a brand new motorbike. She blew up at him, calling him irresponsible and immature and that they needed money for day to day things, not for a bike that wouldn't carry a child. She didn't tell him that she could be pregnant, because he was in no state to hear it. When Jai slumped on her completely inebriated, she pushed him off of her and left to Mumbai the same day with her bags. She stayed with friends and applied to the design school in New York and earned scholarships to put her through to the school. Then her period arrived and she cried bitterly for what could have been. He tried calling her in vain, she refused to take his calls, he tried to make her mother call her, but she wouldn't take Jigyasa's calls after the first few. She cut everyone off from her life, her little sisters who always looked up to her, her papa who treated her like a princess. She went into a depression for a while. Despite of everything, she wanted his baby, she would have returned to him – but when it turned out that she was never pregnant, something died in her. She blamed Jai for everything and vowed not to look back. He in turn, didn't even defend himself. He didn't come after her and it irked her more that he didn't.
She remembered asking him why he wanted to marry her, and he had responded with "So I can kiss you anytime I want!" She called him an overgrown boy then, and he smiled at her sweetly and said, "Yes, this boy will always love you, no matter what!"
Her stomach growled protestingly. She didn't have anything to eat since breakfast and it was close to dinner time. She walked slowly in the direction of the Dixit cottage.
Her father was sitting on the lounging chair swatting the flies with his newspaper. She observed him for a little while before saying anything. He had put on weight, his hair was gray and he tied it in a ponytail. She wondered absently what it is that made all the men in this town grow their hair, Pushkar, JW and her dad. She thanked god that at least Jai didn't wear a ponytail. Just then Aditya yelled loudly for the whole neighborhood to hear.
"Jiggles, did you hear that Princess is here?" his reading glasses looked ridiculous on his nose.
"She is your princess Adity, you spoiled her rotten. She never even called and she arrived this morning and hasn't shown up yet! Here we are, waiting for the last seven years, eagerly waiting for her to come, and she doesn't even deign to come down and say, 'Hello mamma, hello pappa, I am here! How are you? How is the family?' and we are constantly wondering how she is doing in a new country, what she is eating, whether someone is taking care of her." Jigyasa grumbled back loudly from inside.
Bani smiled, some things never changed. She stepped onto the porch.
"Hello, Mamma, Hello Papa! I am here. How are you? How is the family? I am doing well in the new country, I am eating good and nutritious food, and yes, I have friends who are taking care of me."
Adity dropped the newspaper unceremoniously on the ground and pushed back his lounge chair to get up. He stood up peering at her through the glasses for a whole minute before gathering her in a bear hug.
Bani sniffled, she missed him. He was the sweetest man on the earth.
"Papa, you are choking me!" she said after a while and he let her go but kept his hands on her shoulders to examine her carefully. Just then she heard a rustle at the door step and looked at her mother in a long flowery dress, covered in an apron with her hair cut short and styled in curls, standing with her mouth agape.
"Mamma!" She left her father and approached Jigyasa wearily. "Mamma, aren't you going to hug me?" she whispered. Her mother looked older but she was still beautiful. Jigyasa told her that she would never show herself without her makeup, not even to her husband. She kept that promise. She was completely made up, with kohl around her eyes, and a deep burgundy lipstick and rouge on her cheeks.
A hard slap hit her on the side of her head. "Ouch" Bani touched her head. "Mamma, that hurt!" but she didn't make a fuss, she knew she deserved it. She grabbed her mother and hugged her, squashing her mother's struggles. Jigyasa stopped her struggles after a while and let her daughter take her into her arms. She sobbed softly and didn't let her go for a long time.
"You remembered your mother and father finally?" Jigyasa hiccupped and turned to wipe her eyes.
"I never forgot you, mamma! I am sorry for going away!" Bani begged her to forgive her.
"You didn't just run away from Jai, you ***tch! You ran out on all of us, why are you here anyway? As you can see, we are doing just fine without you." A tall girl with dark rimmed glasses came to the front aggressively.
"Rano! Some things never change, you are still the same old termagant you always were. I remember trying to rescue you from all the school bullies because you could never take anything lying down." Bani stepped toward Rano.
Instead of hugging, she pinched her ears and started doing sit ups, "OK, tell me when to stop, I am willing to take my punishment from you! One, two, three…" she looked up at her sister, hoping to see a glimmer of smile. Instead she saw anger flashing in those eyes behind the glasses. "You are going to kill me today, aren't you? I haven't even had anything to eat all day!" but she continued her situps. "Four, five, six…"
"I don't give a damn about your sit-ups, you escape artist! You should be doing that in front of Jiju…He is the one who suffered the most!" Rano turned away from Bani.
Bani stood up. "One more person he charmed!" her tone was bitter.
Rano looked back. "Go back to where you came from, we learned to live without you…we don't need you anymore!" She used the harshest voice possible. Her ears always turned red when she was angry.
Tears stung Bani's eyelids, her sister was in the meanest form…was it the same tweener that she left at thirteen, she used to be a sweet little girl who tagged along with Bani and Jai all over the town. Bani suspected the girl had a massive crush on JW. It seemed like the girl never got over it. For some reason, Bani felt jealous of her sister and remembered Pia saying that she works as an accountant with Jai.
"Mother, I am going out…I need to get out of the present company" Rano grabbed her purse and went out without looking back.
Bani sighed. "Every one hates me here, don't they?" she asked vacantly.
"No, princess, they don't hate you, we are just a tiny bit hurt and angry, but we will get over it. You will stay here, won't you?" Adity sounded gruff but hopeful.
Bani hesitated and avoided the watchful eyes of Jigyasa. She didn't want to tell them that she was going back day after tomorrow, right after the divorce.
"Your father asked a question!" Jigyasa put her hands on the waist and challenged her daughter.
Bani thought quickly, may be she can take a vacation, it would be difficult, but she can tell her assistant Rashi and her husband Ranveer to handle the boutique while she was away.
"Yes, mamma, I can stay for a bit." Bani mumbled. "I am really hungry, is any one going to feed me?" she changed the subject.
Jigyasa was too sharp and she knew Bani was hiding something, but let it go for the time being. "I have vegetable moily and chicken xacuti and vegetable pulao!"
"Oh, my favorites, I missed your cooking, mamma!" Bani licked her lips, she started drooling in her mouth.
"Chalo then, before your dad starts drinking again!" Jigyasa set the dishes on the table and brought out the plates.
"I hear you are drinking too much, pops!" Bani poured the water into jugs and peered at her father who bristled at Jigyasa's accusation.
"Any one who is married to your mother for thirty years would have started drinking a long time ago, anyways, I only drink two shots of whiskey. A man needs that after fifty, you know!"
"Oh, pops!" she kissed him on the top of his head impulsively. "She is not that bad…she still looks great, I bet you, she can still win the Mrs. Goa contest easily." She threw a glance at her mother and smiled as Jigyasa looked pleased with her daughter's comment.
"You always know how to make people happy, princess!" Adity gave his thumbs up as he whispered into his daughter's ear.
"mmmm, this is great, mamma! You have to give me the recipe…you know what I missed the most in New York, it's your cooking and pappa's jokes that no one laughs at."
The evening went by as Bani regaled them with anecdotes from New York.
When the night came, sleep was hard to come for Bani. She missed her home, her family, her sisters and most of all, the silent man who had the knack of getting under your skin like stubborn eczema that had no intention of going way. She lay awake as Rano slipped in late at night and snuggled under the blanket.
Few minutes ticked by and Rano leaned over and kissed her on the forehead softly. "Welcome back, Di, I missed you very much" she mumbled. The tears slipped as Bani stifled the sobs and pretended she was asleep. "I miss you too, Rano!" she said to herself over and over again.
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