Chapter 16 Uma was doing a demonstration for Charu about theier new designs when Abi stormed in. She had seen Durai and her lover together the previous day. She did not know that Uma was Priya's sister-in-law. She was peeved….Amma enakku munnadi…anth policekaran avanoda kathaliyoda joliya poran. Enakku appadiye avana kollanum pola irukku…Madam naan apram varen….uma felt a bit uncomfortable and started to leave.
No Uma, please sit down..Abi, this is Uma. She is our lead graphics designer. She is very talented and an exceptional worker. Her husband was in the army and he has given his life for this country. ..Abi shook hands with Uma. Somehow Abi liked Uma..she didn't know why. Charu continued, I see both of you in the same light….in the sense, both of you have been married and lost your lives …but now you have to accomplish in your life and you have to get good life partners to take care of you. Believe me, I know the pain of living alone…I am just glad that I got my daughter back. She combed Abirami's hair with her fingers. Ok Abi, now I have something very important to say……I just spoke with a very good friend of mine. I met this family in Malaysia in my initial struggling days. His name is Sundaresan and he has two kids. They are based out of Coimbatore, first daughter is in USA and Kathir their son takes care of all their business in coimbatre and Singapore. The mention of Coimbatore and kathir's name brought a shock to uma;s face. Infact Uma was his recommendation…she worked for him in Coimbatore….right Uma. Uma hiding back her tension nodded her head. Now abi understood why her mom was talking about this person in front of Uma. Abi, he is coming back from Singapore in a couple of days, I will arrange a meeting between you two….if you like him, then we will arrange the marriage, his parents already saw your photograph and they are ok with this. Here is his photo. Charu sat down to pull up his snashot on her computer. As the smiling face of Kathir filled the screen, Uma was not in control of herself….the world was slipping under her feet. But she had to control herself….she did and it was not easy for her. On the other hand, abhi looked at the photo and smiled, she liked him though he was not as smart as Durrai or Madan. But she liked his profile, his business and she sensed an aura of richness in him. Charu with a hesitation….oru china issue Abhi…..Kathir unna vida oru vayasu chinnavan….aana avanga appa amma atha pathi kavala padala. It disturbed Abhi a bit, but she managed to convince herself.
Uma, nee iavara near paarthirukke….aal eppadi. What could she say, they were asking her about the man she love with. It was like pulling every vein out of her body. He is a gentleman, I donno what more to say, Uma said with a smile she managed to put on her face. Sarima, naan meet panren, aana intha vishayam avarukku theriyuma? No abhi, Kathirukku ithu oru surprise…Uma took leave and left the room. After she left, Charu pulled abirami and advised her not to be haughty or arrogant since kathir was a simple guy. Uma was back in her seat now with redness in her eyes….kadavule…yenakku mattum yen ivlo sothanai! She opened up her bag and took the small jewellery box. She opened to see small pendant with letters KU inscribed on it, Kathir always wore a chain on his neck and she got this pendant as a symbol of their unity…she had planned to give it to him on a special day. She wiped her tears and put the box into the bag.
Kathir was arriving from Singapore today. Three women were waitng in the airport, Charu, Abirami and Uma. Abirami had compelled uma to come with her since she knew kathir before. Kathir was tensed, he had heard from his friend that Uma;s family left for Chennai and Uma had taken kathirs recommendation and taken a job at charu aunty's company. But was she ready to accept his love?he was confident and he knew she had already softened in their last meeting and now she would be ready. As kathir came to the escalator ..he could see the visitors downstairs and spotted Uma, he was almost jumping in joy…when his mobile rang. It was his Dad, Hey kathir are u ok, Charu aunty and her daughter are waiting to receive you. You remember I told you about Abirami….its a surprise...we have spoken to charu about getting abirami married to you….naan apram pesaren. , he did not give any opportunity to talk. Now kathir was shocked and confused….when he looked down again he saw chaaru aunty and another woman with her. SO what was Uma doing here…..does she know about what dad said…Kathir was even more confused. All his excitement vanished! As he was descending down the escalator…he looked down at Uma who was avoiding his eyes…but kathir continued looking only at her….Uma unable to control seeing him, gave up and lifted her head just to meet his eyes……!
Edited by madumithas - 18 years ago