Part X
Note:Sorry if this part is boring. Hope to make the next part better.
Present
After Milind and Prachi finished their dance, the rest of the guests joined in. Ishan asked Sahana's friend, the shy and reticent Swati, to dance with him. After some coaxing she agreed. Sahana was pleased to see the two of them dance as she knew it would help keep her friend's mind off her family problems at least for some time. Swati was a bright, intelligent, pretty and sober girl. She was the class topper and aced anything she took up. The last six-months had, however, been traumatic for her. Her parent's divorce had scarred her and made her withdraw into a shell. Ishan with his gregarious personality was just the right person to get her out of that shell, Sahana thought. While it was too early to tell, she hoped that the two will hit it off and Swati will come home as her bhabhi some day.
She herself sought the company of her grandmom, Prem Latha, whom she was very fond of. She wanted her to give her the recipe for making rich chocolate cake for her brother's birthday which was a month away. She could have asked her Mama but she would have insisted in baking it herself. Her Mama felt that her daughter, at twenty years of age, was still too young to enter the kitchen. Sahana suspected that the real reason was that her mom was very possessive about her kitchen. So she planned to invade her mom's kitchen in the wee hours of the D-day and bake the cake herself. Prem Latha was amused to hear her request but went about giving her the recipe which she carefully noted down in a note book she carried in her hand bag.
At the end of the dance, Ishan had requested his parents to share the secret of their successful marriage. Milind and Prachi looked at each other and smiled. Milind said that if it had not been for his wife's patience their marriage would have disintegrated within days. She smiled hearing that - yes, her mother's advice to be patient had stood her in good stead but many a times, especially during the initial months of their marriage, her patience was tested. She thought back on one of the many instances when it was.
Past (Prachi's flashback)
It was the third day after their wedding and Prachi had still not figured out her husband. He seemed to be considerate and at the same time stand-offish. She ascribed his brusque behaviour on their wedding night to his tiredness as he himself claimed. His coldness for most part of the second day could be her doing. If she had not made that thoughtless remark on his beard, which he seemed to be very touchy about, he may have been cordial enough with her, she thought. Her perception of his being a decent man strengthened when despite all that stamping he was subjected to during their dance, he had not lashed out at her in anger. Instead he had assured her that he was aware she did not do it on purpose. He even apologised for sleeping through her song. That night she went to sleep with a big load of guilt and uncertainty off her chest.
The next day had started off on a much brighter note. After breakfast her husband had asked her to sit by his side and asked her a lot of personal questions - about her hobbies, the books she liked to read, the music she liked to hear etc. She had told him whatever he wanted to know but the more she revealed about herself, the more he seemed to be displeased with her. She did not understand the reason why. He had asked her about several things, nothing of which she knew about. Finally in the midst of their conversation, he abruptly got up and said he had some urgent work to attend and did not return till that evening. She was at a loss as to what to do. She wondered what it was she had done wrong this time but as long as her husband does not share his feelings with her, she could not address whatever problem that he seemed to have.
She remembered waiting for him till midnight. She had practically dozed off on the sofa in the hall when she heard the key being turned on the front door. She quickly got up to open the door for him. He stood unsteadily at the entrance with blood shot eyes. As she stepped back, he staggered in. His breath reeked of alcohol. Her eyes widened in shock when she realised he was drunk. He ignored her presence and stumbled his way up to their room as she silently followed him. Reaching their bed he slumped on it and passed out. She removed his shoes and loosened his clothes, all the time holding her hand to her nose as the smell of the alcohol made her feel nauseous.
As she lay on the bed next to him, several questions ran through her mind. Where was he the whole day and why was he drunk? Could it be that he is unhappy with their marriage? If he was, it could explain a lot of things. But then if he was really unhappy with this marriage why did he get married to her in the first place? It could not be for money because he seemed to have loads of it himself, all of it earned solely by him. It could not be for position because he was not keen to merge his company with her father's. In fact her father told her that he seemed more enthusiastic about the marriage proposal than the merger proposal. If he was so keen to marry her then why was he shunning her now? Did she not measure up to his expectation? She had no clue what was in his mind but she resolved to find out when he wakes up the next morning.
Edited by Opti - 16 years ago
Fan Fictions
