SS: A Bitter Interlude

He hated ties; ties made him feel like a prick, a stiff upper lipped, brown skinned prick that still followed the English ways even after they left the country sixty odd years ago. He felt the newly hand tailored Armani suit was ill fitting on his body; he had lost a few pounds recently. He adjusted his tie for the nth time in the elevator mirror, he hated that color tie in particular – it reminded him of the last time he wore a similar tie, it was at his wedding reception. She had picked it for him, he had told her that he didn't wear ties, and she had smiled, a sweet, gentle smile with a suggestion of a request. And he had succumbed to the smile like hot melted butter, helpless like putty.


Right now, he felt grouchy, wanted to shout at some one, not just shout, but shred some one to pieces. He didn't really need any reason. He will make up the reason if he had to. May be at the janitor, who messed up the papers on his desk, may be at his Admin who forgot to brew fresh coffee, if not them, he will yell at the first man or woman who encountered him on his way to his office. He was aware of his reputation at work, a cruel son of a b***h, who had no life other than work. They whispered behind his back that he cared neither for his family nor for his friends. What family? What friends? Where were they? The good for nothings who used the space in the Walia mansion did not count as family; there were just his dependents, people who are slaves to the wealth and material objects he provided them.

She had betrayed him, with a man who was not even fully functional. The only quality he possessed was youth. No! May be he is wrong about that, Daksh also had wealth. He had both things that Jai had not possessed at the time. His mouth twisted bitterly. He remembered all the women who threw themselves at him, lied to him with saccharin sweetness, that he was in his prime, he was hot and he was happening when he was wealthy. What did she see in the wimpy boy who lost his marbles? Was it her nurturing trait that wanted to make the man wholesome again and get accolades? Why did she lie to her husband, disregard his wishes and kept seeing a nobody?

Why did she have to leave her adorable kids with the chauffeur and go to nurse the Randheria heir? They were his kids; he raised them single handedly while she was being manipulated by Aparajit Dev into taking revenge on him. He had been their mother, their father, and their everything. He was the one who got up in the night to cajole them back to sleep after a colicky night. He was the one who warmed up the formula and juggled them single handedly, mastering on feeding both of them at the same time. He had dropped them at school and picked them up religiously, put the tweety bandages when they scraped their knees, attended all their school functions, without missing even one. Now, they are gone, gone forever from his life, leaving it empty and meaningless.

He regretted the fact that he had let her hold the lifeless Krishna in her arms, wrapped in a white sheet. His daughter had loved the vivid primary colors, making him wait patiently every day while she made a big drama of picking clothes for school. On the other hand Atharva did not care what he wore, as long as his father packed a peanut butter jelly sandwich for him every day of the week. He was told by Dadi once, that Atharv had a sunny disposition that's not seen in many kids, and he had proudly told her that Atharva took after his mother.

He hated Aparajit, he hated Pia, he hated Daksh, but most of all, he hated Bani, his erstwhile wife that he chucked out of his life. Heck, he even hated his life and finally himself for wondering about her and still thinking about her.

To damnation with the Canadian delegation and to damnation with his tie. He loosened the tie and wrenched it out of his neck, threw it carelessly on the floor, took immense satisfaction while stepping on it.

The first person he encountered was Nachiketh, as he opened his mouth to give him a vitriolic spew; he noticed the fear in Nachiketh's eyes. Was it the same guy who used to tease him fearlessly when Bani was around, both of them silently exchanging smiles, as they made comments about his sweet tooth? About his weight gain? Did he put that look of fear in his younger brother's eyes? He flinched inwardly and walked without saying anything. On his way, he saw several bent heads and averted eyes; he realized it gave him sadistic pleasure to make them feel this way. It achieved the purpose of avoiding company; no one wanted to be near him, quaking in their boots, just like he wanted them to be.

Now he entered his office, barking at his administrative assistant – telling her to let him know when the Canadian delegation arrives and fetch him some coffee.

He sat in his tufted burgundy leather chair, and played absently with the paperweight in his hands. As he threw it up in the air, he realized it was the same paperweight that had been given to him by Bani on his birthday, before she married him. He had given her a meager job and gave her a roof on her head. She had shyly offered it as a present on his birthday, saying that she didn't have much money and this is all she could afford. He had put it on his desk, smiling as he noticed her eyes light up.

After he booted her out, he had told his assistant to remove all the traces of Bani from his room. He especially didn't want the old portrait of her, a very expensive rendering of a famous artist and the photographs of his children, smiling happily at their parents. He didn't want to feel weak looking at their smiles. But what was the paperweight doing on his desk again? He was furious. He threw the object at the window with full force, the windowpane shattering into smithereens. The offending object fell on the floor, just spinning slowly, as if it was laughing at his inability to throw it out. He wanted to badly go the cemetery where Atharva and Krishna were laid, to put his head on the headstone and weep his heart out. He opened the drawer to look at a crushed red colored rose that was given by Krishna on his birthday, and a torn paper clipping in Atharva's handwriting with 'happy birthday' scrawled in colored crayons. It was obvious that it was ripped out from the notebook hastily. Those were the only memories he couldn't get rid of.

After a discrete knock on the door, a scared looking assistant came in, inquiring if he was OK – she had fresh brewed coffee and hot cinnamon rolls in a tray. He lost his appetite…they were Atharva's favorite. The admin meekly told him that the guests he was expecting arrived.

+++++++++++++++++

The stormy sky was brewing trouble. The dark clouds were moving frantically, he wondered if his little children were riding on them. There were pale pink carnations and baby blue velvet fox dragons on Krishna and Atharva's graves. Jai looked taken aback. Those were the kids' favorite flowers. It was a joke in the family how every one liked a different flower, his favorite were white tube lilies, Bani's were champagne roses and Krishna said she liked baby pink carnations because it was her dad's favorite color on mom. And Atharva piped in saying blue was his favorite because that was his mom's favorite color on his dad. Jai didn't correct him, knowing full well, that Bani's favorite color on him was black.

Who put those flowers on the graves? He stared at them in shock.

"Hey you! You better wait up!" the chirpy voice called a tall man who had his back turned to Jai. He looked familiar to Jai.

"Mama always said that Bhaiyya loved blue and Di loved pink. What do you like?" She clutched the hand that extended toward her.

"Ummm, I don't know Ganga, I like sunshine yellow orchids that grow in Mt. Abu, they are rare and beautiful – they remind me of my wife." The man turned slightly with a smile, his profile visible now to Jai.

Jai blanched. It was Daksh – Daksh and Bani had a child, her name was Ganga – he felt his heart squeeze with pain. It was almost like he was having a minor heart attack. How could she do this to him? How could she marry him, without even taking a divorce from him? His eyes blazed with fire. He reeled like he received a mighty slap on his cheek.

"Why didn't mummy come with us? She is always talking about them, sometimes, I think she loves them more than she loves me!" Ganga sounded sad.

"Your mamma loves you a lot, honey! I can promise you that! There are only two people on earth that mean the world to her, and you are one of them." Daksh replied. "Your mother will come back in the morning, she is performing a pooja for Atharv and Krishna today at the temple."

Jai turned around silently. He needed to get away from them before he made a fool of himself. He placed the candies he bought for Krishna and Atharv on their graves. With a last look at the man and the little girl, he left. Bani had no right to perform the pooja for the kids, she had no right to be happy, to have a family while he had none, while he suffered every single minute for the last five years.

So she was married. Why was he surprised? Wasn't it the reason for which he threw her out? He had looked for Daksh Randheria everywhere in the last five years, if only to take revenge on him. But he was told that Daksh broke off all contact with his family and disappeared off the face of the earth.


He took a long drive at night, unable to still his restive mind. His sleek Jaguar ate miles on the long and windy road silently. Memories flashed of how he fell headlong in love with Bani, how he was smitten with every thing she did, how he trusted her with all his heart, how he stopped looking at other women ever since she came into his life. Sadness finally gave way to anger and rage. The need for vendetta hit him with full force.

Finally he broke into a wicked grin, she may have escaped scot-free before, but the just rewards awaited her. He hatched a plan to take his revenge on her. His hands clutched the wheel with all his might until his knuckles showed whitely. It gave him a sadistic pleasure imagining Bani's agony as she lost everything she loved.

++++++++++++++

He leaned carelessly against the lone birch watching her as she swept the graves of the fallen leaves with tender loving care and placed the fresh flowers on them. He couldn't see her face, but her hunched shoulders and downward bent head spoke volumes. The soft wind blew her hair to cover her profile, and she made no effort to tuck it in. Why did he feel a deep urge to pull her into his arms and give into the grief? Was it his imagination, or were her shoulders shaking violently because she was weeping.

"Some times, I think she loves them more than she loves me!"

The words spoken by the little girl came unbidden into his thoughts.

Did she really? She may have made a secret rendezvous with her lover but she probably didn't mean to bring danger to her kids. She couldn't have been such a con artist, because every one believed that she was a devoted mother. He shrugged the thoughts with a barely controlled violence; she didn't deserve his forgiveness or pity.

"What did you pray to the God Bani? That he forgives you for leaving your kids alone when you went to meet your lover? Or that he forgives you for meeting another man on Karva chauth when you were supposed to be praying for the well being of your husband?" His voice broke into the silence, dripping with sarcasm.

There was an absolute silence, except for an occasional flutter on the ground from a fallen leaf, all sounds froze. She turned slowly in the direction of his drawling voice.
The black sari she wore enhanced her paleness and frailty. She looked like a lost waif, her eyes seemed impossibly large in her oval face. She stared at him, as if he was an alien.

"Mr. Wwwalia!" the stammer in her voice was the only thing that gave away her nervousness.

"Yes, Bani, tumhari Mr. Walia is in front of you" his mouth twisted cynically. He brushed an imaginary speck of dust from his black shirt.

She looked at him greedily, taking in the overgrown length of his hair that curled slightly at the nape, the black cotton shirt folded back at the wrists, showing the dark sprinkling of hair, the low hung dark trousers that rested loosely on his hips and the shoes shone darkly, matching his trousers. He looked leaner than she remembered. Dark lashes curled at the end of his hooded eyelids, lashes that should have been on a girl. Just like the ones on his son, Atharva. She jerked back to reality. His earlier words seeped into her senses and she flinched belatedly. Her eyes stung with tears. She blinked them away rapidly and turned her back to him, facing the graves once again.

"They would have been eleven last month!" she ignored his earlier words as if he never spoke. It was his turn to flinch.

"Looks like you have been busy, it took you this long to come and visit your children." His accusation hung heavily between them.

"One day, you will regret all the things you said to me, Mr. Walia! That day will be too late!" she averted her head from him.

"I will regret them when hell freezes over" his nostrils flared.

"It might just do that, Mr. Walia!" With a last look at her beloved children she started walking. She hoped that their bed under the moist earth that was drenched in the rain last night was comfortable.

He followed her, keeping with her pace easily. "You replaced them with another child pretty soon, she must be five? Atharva and Krishna's grave were still fresh, when you married him and had his child in your womb, didn't you? Were you pregnant before or after they died, Bani?" the bitter words slipped past his clenched teeth.

She stopped in mid stride. "Before. Mr. Walia, before they died." She looked like the old Bani, with fire in her eyes, her gaze direct and flinty.

"Why, Bani? Was I that bad in bed? that you had to take in another lover?" he grabbed her hand, twisted it behind her and brought her close, flush against him.

He was hurting her terribly, but she suppressed the cry that rose to her throat, biting her lip hard. She tasted blood on her tongue. He noted the heaving breasts; they seemed fuller than he remembered. He let her go in disgust. She took a step back, trying to get away form him. He was ashamed at the direction his thoughts were going. His face masked quickly behind a stony exterior.

"I have a proposition for you, Bani!" he smiled, his eyes like flints, devoid of any softness. She waited patiently for him to finish.

"Since I am not dead and I did not divorce you legally, I find the fact that you have married extremely interesting. Bigamy in India is illegal and I have found from reliable sources that it is a punishable crime." He paused, searching her face carefully. To his frustration, she looked surprised at first and then aloof. "I can send you to the prison if I choose, but I am thinking that can come later. First, I want you to suffer a little." His laugh was raucous, even to his own ears. "I would like you to leave your husband or lover and have an affair with me. You will spend thirty days of glorious pleasure in my bed, just enough to have a baby with me. You see, Bani, I need a child legally born, of course, to carry my name without hassling myself with another marriage!" She lost whatever color was on her face.

She interrupted him swiftly. "It is not possible, Mr. Walia, you see, I don't think I can have anymore babies, there were complications during Ganga's birth, the doctors said there was a very remote chance of me having another child." It was rendered without emotion.

He sneered at her, "I guess God considers you not worthy of being a mother anymore, Bani! You daughter claims that you don't love her much!" She looked shaken to the core at his words; he knew how to twist the dagger into an open wound.

He took pleasure in her hurt, "I will take my chances Bani; you might just have to stay until you get pregnant, don't you?" he watched with immense satisfaction at her terror stricken face. His lips thinned in an ill-concealed sneer.

"You were always blind, Mr. Walia, you were blind back then and you are blind now!" she flung the words at him, her body started shaking like a leaf with the anger building with a vortex.

"Yes, Bani, I was blind back then, I was blind in my love for you, blind to your adultery, blind to everything you did behind my back. But I am no longer the gullible person I once was, you made me what I am today, a rock; without emotions, without tenderness." He reached her in one single stride and caught her by her upper arms, bruising them with barely leashed violence.

She stared at him, wanting to smooth away the bitterness, embrace him and wipe his hurt; wash away the pain in a storm of tears.

"I too have a proposition for you, Mr. Walia!" her brown eyes clashed with his ebony ones. "If you want me to spend the month with me, I would like you to spend one evening with me, with my daughter and Maasi, at my house." She delivered softly.
His eyebrow went up. She started walking again, without looking back at him.

They reached her car, a small, modest looking one. She opened the door and paused before sitting in the driver's seat. He reached quickly to the side and held the door open, leaning so that his face was on par with hers.

"Mrs. Randheria!" He made a sweeping bow, mocking her.

She closed her eyes, as if to shut his image out.

"It is my daughter's birthday tomorrow, I would like you to come to a small party I am throwing for her. There is no need to get a present!" Bani reached out to push his hand away and close the car door. Before he had time to respond, she pushed a card in his hands and drove away.

He stared at the card with a puzzled expression. There was a floral logo with "Ganga Floral Designs" written artistically on it. It had an address and a phone number on it.
He played with the card with a thoughtful expression, bending it and flicking it. She did it again, threw him off, doing the unexpected. But he would turn the table on her, take Daksh to the cleaners, send her to prison and make her suffer by separating her child from her.

He walked slowly to his Jaguar, absently taking in the chauffeur opening the door, he slid into the backseat, still holding her card and staring at it. He smiled, a self satisfied smile that spread slowly until it became an evil grin.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He took care in his clothing; wearing a black cashmere turtleneck and a tailored dark trousers; donning his designer Italian leather shoes. He needed a scarf to finish his attire, a cream colored lamb's wool scarf that materialized in his wardrobe very soon after his second Dubai trip with Bani.

He remembered that night in Dubai almost twelve years ago, like it was yesterday! It was probably the night they conceived their children. He had wooed her, with a song, a ring and an unforgettable night with candlelights, champagne, rose petals and sweet passion that lasted forever. She had protested when he poured her a glass of champagne, finally sipping a little and wrinkling her nose as the bubbles tickled her. His passions ran so high that night, he undressed her with shaking hands, accidentally spilling the champagne on her body and licking it pleasurably, circling her navel, sucking on the curve of her waist, nipping the underside of her b***t, taking the n***le into the warm cavern of her mouth and suckling it until she lost total control. He had ravished her, greedily satisfying his urges; avarice, tenderness mingling with a tiny bit of violence. The sweet savagery of the night were visible the next morning, swollen rosy lips, tiny bruises on private areas where his mouth captured her flesh roughly, scratches on his back, where her nails scoured until he screamed in delight, a broken champagne flute next to the bed, rumpled sheets, tousled hair…He felt giddy and steadied himself against the closet, dropping down to the floor and nestling his head to his knees.

Oh God! How hated her!! She will pay for every single second of the last five years, for the five years he had stayed faithful to her when she was with Aparajit Dev, a total sum of ten years.

The car stopped in front of a seventeen story building in Andheri, a very middle class neighborhood, he noted with satisfaction. Young Daksh didn't really mollycoddle his wife, did he? Her apartment was the sixth floor. He wrinkled his nose with distaste at the smell in the basement. To his consternation, the elevator was out of service. He took a deep breath and started climbing six floors on foot. By the time, he reached the apartment, he was breathing hard.

The door opened before he even touched the doorbell. He panted slightly while the little girl stared at him anxiously.

"You are not the balloon guy!" she peered behind him looking disappointed.

"No! I am not." He agreed solemnly. The girl looked tall for her age, she wasn't very girly like Krishna, and he didn't understand why she wore the hair so short. She was not that pretty either, like Krishna, but there was a keen intelligence in her sharp eyes. She talked like an adult, almost too mature; he continued assessing the girl in front of him clinically.

"My mom says, staring is not polite" she looked annoyed.

"And your mom happens to be right, this once" he looked over her head to see if Bani was inside. He could see balloons, and a cake in the shape of a house with a picket fence in the front. Five candles stood in the icing. He gripped the doorframe tightly, this was probably not a good idea, and he didn't want to be here.

"She is always right! My mom is the best mom in the whole world." She smiled, that was probably the most attractive part of her, he decided.

She looked curiously at him, noting the gift box in his hands. She licked her lips with nervous excitement, "Is that for me? Are you my mom's guest?"

He smiled at the eagerness in her voice, it reminded me of Atharva and Krishna. For once, he didn't feel the hollow emptiness when he thought of them. He dropped it into the girl's hands carelessly and watched as she opened it with enthusiasm.

It revealed a music box, with a dancer on the top, he had asked Rano to pick something for him. He smiled as she wounded it and listened to the music, exclaiming and squealing in delight.

"Is your mom there?" he tried to keep himself aloof and intruded into the little girl's pleasure.

She shook her head, "She went downstairs to get some milk for the cake".

"Leaving you all alone, what kind of a mother is she?" his anger raised a few notches.

"A mother, who raised her daughter single handedly when her father abandoned her, a woman who broke in half, when her husband called her a vaishya, when he didn't give a chance to explain what she was doing that night" a calm voice answered him.

He looked up at the old woman standing in the doorway between the foyer and the dining room. She had aged, the gray in her hair was not dyed anymore - there were wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes. She looked haggard and leaned heavily on her crutches.

"Maasi!" Jai shivered as if he was caught in a storm.

"Jai Walia, the blood of my sister! Ek lautha Vaaras of Walia khandaan!" Maasi laughed, her laughter was slightly hysterical.

"You are ill!" he stepped in, unable to control the concern in her voice.

She nodded. "I guess I am! Otherwise, she wouldn't have called you home!" the reference to the missing woman didn't go unnoticed.

"What's wrong with you?" fear clamped his chest.

Ignoring him, she turned to the Ganga, gesturing her to come forward, "Aao, beta! I have got a present for you!"

Ganga ran to her grandmother, "Maasi, see what he got for me!! It's the bestest present I have got so far. Did you get me the art book I wanted?" her eyes shone with eagerness.

"I have got something better than that, beta!" she smiled tenderly at the child, smoothing the hair that fell on her forehead. Jai remembered how she used to do the same with him. She handed a square looking object, wrapped in gift paper to Ganga, who tore through it with enthusiasm. Her eyes fell on the photograph, framed in antique gold, he could see the picture of him in a black sherwani with Bani, in a green sari with an orange border, the one he gifted to her on the day she told him; she was pregnant with Atharva and Krishna.

"Maasi, but this picture is of him with mommy?" Ganga looked baffled, "why is he in the picture with mommy, Maasi?" She asked again.

"Ask your father that question, munni" Maasi touched the child's cheek with affection.

"But I don't have a daddy" tears welled in the child's eyes. His stomach clenched with pain – Daksh did not marry Bani? What kind of a father does that to a child?

Jai stared helplessly at both of them. What in damnation was going on?

"Yes, you do, darling, he is in this room…I heard you asking the falling star, you wanted to meet your father, here he is..." Maasi turned the child gently to face her dad.

"Stop it, Maasi, you should know better than raising a child's hopes" Jai's muffled voice pleaded with Maasi.

"Jai, I was told that I have a few months to live, I know I cursed you twice before, but this time, I will withdraw my curse…accept your daughter and your wife! She is pure, she did what she had to five years ago, to save your wealth, your fortunes. She was misguided but she was never an adulterer. She never even looked at anyone ever since she got married to you, you will always be her first love and last." Maasi's uninterrupted talk causing her to wheeze.

"Maasi, I know you love her more than you love me, for you, I will take her back, I will take her child! Maasi, please come back to me, let me take care of you!" Jai sobbed brokenly. He was weak man; he just couldn't see his aunt suffering like this.

She held her chest tightly, collapsing in the chair in front of her. Jai rushed to her side, holding her, massaging her back. When the bout of coughing subsided, he sat next to her, his head on her lap. "Maasi, Please ayiye mere saath! Your place is with me." The tears rolled from his cheek and seeped on to her cotton sari.

She smoothed his hair, like she used to when he was a kid.

"Munna, I am telling you the truth. Bani never had an affair with Daksh. She was used as a pawn by Daksh's father to treat his madness. The photograph you saw was Anamika's, Bani's twin sister. Jigyasa lied to you; she always lied to you about Bani. She never cared about causing heartache to her brother!" Maasi smiled wanly as he looked up and stared at her face.

"Bani was pregnant with your child when you threw her out. Ganga is your child. Bani started this business by selling the jewelry that was on her body. She refused to take help from Daksh. We survived on our own, she called you for me, she couldn't let me die without seeing you!" she rubbed the wetness from her eyes.

"Munni, idhar aa beta, tumhare papa ko nahi miloge?" Maasi beckoned the scared child to come closer.

Ganga walked hesitantly toward her grandmother, not knowing how to react to this news.
Jai touched her cheek wondrously, now he could see her resemblances to Atharva, a little bit to Rano and a little bit to himself. The confident manner with which she opened the door disappeared behind a diffidence that seemed alien to her nature. She slinked further behind her grandmother as he ogled at her.

"I am your father!" he wanted to shout at the top of his lungs, but refrained.

"Are we going to go and live with him?" Ganga whispered loudly in Maasi's ears. The tears welled up in her innocent eyes, and without a word he reached for her, hugging her and comforting her, her slight body encompassed safely and securely in his arms.

"If you want to!" A quiet voice answered her question. "You and Maasi can go with your father. I will come and visit you!" Jai turned to see Bani, she was a vision in a lavender sari, and her hair was blowing in the breeze. He ached with a need to hold her in his arms and weep like a baby. He wanted to bawl his eyes and grovel in front of her, but he stopped at the frozen look on her face.

"Mamma, I can't sleep without you, you know that! You have to come and live with us" Ganga widened her eyes, as if she was scolding Bani. She ran to her mother hugging her tightly.

"Nahin, Ganga! I can't do that, see Sita Mayya never went back to Rama after he sent her away – you see he didn't trust her enough. He didn't love her enough to stay by her side no matter what people said about her."

Her voice held no emotion, but it broke him into tiny pieces. "I have to live independently, on my own – the only thing that is left for me is my self-preservation. My pride won't let me go back!" Pushing Ganga toward Jai, she walked stiffly and disappeared into the bedroom next to the hall.

Jai looked at the confused child in front of him, hugging her again impulsively as large tears rolled on to her smooth cheeks. Then as quickly, he dropped his arms and stood up.

"Maasi, your place is with Bani, so is Ganga's. I will come and visit you both – I don't deserve to be forgiven. I am a bad man, Maasi. But before I go, I would like to say something. I am not the only one who was deceitful, who was untrustworthy. She didn't trust me enough, to tell me the whole story, she should have. I would have given up all my wealth; I would still have been rich. You see, Maasi, she was my everything. She still is…" He walked out of the apartment; out of her life...The harvest he reaped was bitter.

"Maasi, but I want them both, you promised I will get what I want on my birthday, sab khatam ho gaya" Ganga started crying.

"Agar sukhanth nahi hoga, tho uss ko madhyantar kehte hai, beta!"

This story is not complete yet. If it doesn't end well, then it is only an interval.

++++++++++++++++

Three months later,

Bani kept her promise to Maasi; she let Jai see Ganga everyday, he picked her up from school and took her to the park. Saturday was Ganga's sleep over at the Walia mansion.
Ganga thawed the wintry ice from his heart. He looked forward to spending time with her every single day. When he dropped her off, she insisted that he come upstairs to have coffee while she had a snack. He declined softly, knowing full well that Bani would be uncomfortable around him. Then Ganga scraped her knee running in the park. He offered to carry her upstairs and she agreed with alacrity.

When Bani opened the door, she was concerned to see Ganga in Jai's arms. She invited him in reluctantly, as Ganga fussed over her knee, Bani offered coffee to Jai and like an experienced mother she cleaned the wound and put antiseptic on it. When Ganga complained about ache in her ankle, Bani noticed that it was swollen slightly. Jai and Bani together fussed over Ganga and iced her ankle. For the next one week, Jai carried Ganga upstairs to the apartment and stayed over for the coffee. He sat at the dining table and watched Bani give a snack to Ganga, help her with her breakfast and then do her floral designs.

He knew she felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny, but it was as if he couldn't help himself. Her sarees and salwar kurtas reminded him of the old Bani, the hardworking Bani, the straightforward Bani, the Simple Bani, and the nurturing Bani, who he fell in love with.

Ganga watched her dad stare at her mother with barely concealed pleasure. It was Friday and no school tomorrow.

"Pappa, hum picture dekh ne jayenge? Magar ek condition…I want mamma to come with us!" Ganga looked at her father mischievously. She stared at Maasi's garlanded picture and winked at her. The plan is underway to construct a bridge, lay a trap, and mend two broken hearts.

Two sets of eyes met over her head.

"Nahin, I am going to stay home, you guys go!" Bani immediately refused.

It was like a tap opened; the tears fell fast and furious from Ganga's cheek, When that didn't work, her chin set obdurately, she threw a tantrum, refusing the food and locking herself in the room.

Bani looked helplessly at Jai. He was of no help; he just stared at her as if it was her fault for refusing to go the movies with him. In the end, she succumbed.

Ganga refused to sit in the middle saying that she needs to sit in the corner seat because she needs to get candy and popcorn during the interval. Bani sat uncomfortably next to Jai, trying hard to not touch him in any way or manner. When their fingers touched while helping themselves to the popcorn, both of them withdrew their hands hastily. Bani shrank into her chair like a scalded cat. Jai apologized, his voice somber.

Ganga noted their exchanges with a smile. Her plan was working like a charm. From that day forward she made a point that they went to the movies like a family on Friday. They amicably argued over which movies to see, Bani always opting for romances, while Jai leaned toward thrillers. Ganga wanted to watch animated movies, so they settled that each week, one would get to pick the movie.

They rarely went to the Walia mansion, finding the apartment cozy and comfortable. They played cards and board games, with Ganga cheating some times with Jai and sometimes with Bani. They had mock quarrels over who cheated and laughed heartily afterward. It was in one of those moments, Jai impulsively put his arm over both Ganga and Bani and hugged them. They both moved away self-consciously when they realized it.

Jai had to go overseas on a business trip and both Bani and Ganga missed him dreadfully. When Jai came back, he came straight to Ganga's school from the airport, picking her up and brought her to the apartment. When Bani came back to with his coffee, he had fallen asleep on the couch, one arm flung over his eyes, his shoes discarded in a haphazard fashion. Ganga went to the neighbor's house to play with her friend and called a little while later, saying she was going to sleep over. Bani watched her husband sprawled over on the couch with all the love in her eyes. Without volition, she sat next to him, smoothing over the lock of hair that fell on to his forehead. He removed the arm on his eyes, and smiled drowsily.

"I am so tired Bani! I haven't slept in ages." He mumbled thickly. She covered him with a throw after putting his legs on the sofa. Just when she was about to leave, his hand snaked to pull her on top of him. Before she escaped, he folded her in arms, setting her head on his chest and went back to sleep immediately. She lay there, without moving a muscle. His solid heartbeat under her cheek eventually lulled her to sleep. He woke up with a sore arm, when he tried to get up, he couldn't move. He could see the top of her head and he stopped moving. He felt the softness of her cheek on his rough Egyptian cotton shirt and the rhythm of his breathing changed, becoming constricted. The fresh Jessamine smell of shampoo on her hair assaulted his senses. His body was reacting like it never did for the last five and a half years.

His discomfort transferred to her and she moved, lifting up her head and staring disoriented into his eyes. He didn't know whether he lifted his head or she bent her head, the end result was that their lips locked, hers soft, his warm…they explored the texture, the shape as if it was their first kiss. His lips opened warmly over hers; angling her head, tunneling his fingers through the thick, black hair. Her hands clutched his shirt as if her life depended on him.

He brushed his lips over and over against hers, gentle first, hardening and lengthening the kiss later until their lungs were almost bursting with lack of air. They were frantic to rip their clothes from each other, Jai scrambled from the sofa, with her in his lap, pulling over her kurta over her head, revealing her upper body to his hungry gaze. His eyes bore through the flimsy covering, and he slowly bent to touch his mouth to her stomach, his open mouth dragging on the curve of her waist, circling her navel, nipping her lower stomach until she screamed in delight. His arms reached up and unhooked her bra, spilling her perfectly rounded b***sts to his passion filled eyes. He touched them with awe, kissing each of them reverently, circling the dusky nubs with his thumb pads. She squirmed restlessly, her fingers slipping under his shirt, in her carelessness, ripping the buttons in a frantic effort to feel his naked flesh under her fingers. When he shrugged off his shirt and their torsos met, flesh against flesh they sighed involuntarily. She didn't care about his belt buckle digging into her stomach, but as if he was aware, he pushed her away to unbuckle the belt and pulled it away with impatience. Even that was not enough for them, he pushed her from his lap, getting up from the sofa and carrying her in the direction of the bedroom. He placed her gently on the bed, looking around and admiring the simplicity. She looked utterly beautiful, ethereal, her translucent skin glowing in the soft light.

"Are you sure about this Bani?" his question threw her off. She blinked her tears rapidly, and tried to get up from the bed.

"Bani, I love you, with all my heart, with every ounce of my being, but I hurt you terribly. I distrusted you, I made you sad, I left you all alone to raise our child and most of all I tried to take revenge on you. But I can't live one more night away from you. You see, I want to lie down next to you, wake up to feel your warm breath on me, to feel the your soft hair brush against my cheek, to kiss you senseless with passion." A single tear slipped down his cheek and fell on her chest, traveling down.

"I have never claimed to be Ram, I may have sent you away like he did sita mayi, but I don't have his qualities. If you want me to shout at the top of lungs, that I wronged you, I will…I will grovel in front of you, please don't send me away, Bani…mujhe aur bardasht nahi hogi!" he knelt on the floor next to the bed, his face contorted in agony.

"Shhhhh!" she scrambled from the bed to kneel in front of him. She pushed him back so he sat down against the bed, and flicked the tears away from his cheeks. Then she leaned and kissed him softly, first on his forehead, then on his right cheek, then on his left cheek. He remembered the first night when he had done that, his lips quivered as he closed his eyes, his breath coming in spurts. She kissed his eyelids, one eye at a time and then she finally reached his lips, kissing them softly, tracing his mouth her tongue and left it to nuzzle his neck, and licked the hardened nubs on his chest. He stiffened, clutching her head against him and holding tightly.

"If you are not Ram, then I am not Sita either, right? May be you can convince me to forget my vow." She whispered in his ear.

"Hhhhow?" He stammered.

"The Jai Walia I used to know would never have asked that question." She smiled at him, her eyes shining like stars.

"But I am not the old Jai Walia, he was a jacka*s, he couldn't take care of his wife, he let pride rule his head, he listened to his conniving sister, he was deceived by his own relatives. I don't want to be that Jai Walia anymore" He looked like his identity was lost.

"Mr Walia, You are not the old Jai Walia, I am not the old Bani Walia. Lot of things happened in the last five years. We have grown, learnt some hard lessons." She remembered the children they lost. Then remembered the child they have now.

"It's time to write a happy ending to this novel, Mr. Walia." She pulled him by his hand and pushed him on to the bed.

"Where is Ganga?" He remembered belatedly.

"She thought her parents needed privacy, and went for a sleepover with a friend" she smiled mischievously.

He pretended to be scared, "She left me all alone with you?"

"Prepare to be ravished, Mr. Walia" She pushed him back on to the bed, joining him as his arm pulled her atop of him.

"Gladly, Mrs. Walia!"

In the morning, when Ganga came into the house with her key, she crept to her mother's room and noting her parents fast asleep under the blankets, she crept out again, giving a thumbs up sign to Maasi's picture on the wall.

+++++++++ END ++++++++++++