PART SEVENTEEN - CAFFE LATTE
I woke up just a minute before the alarm rang. Tying back my hair, I called Avni, "Hey Avni, I'm starting the internship today so I'll be back at around 6 to pick up Riaan!"
"No problem Sanyu, and good luck for your first day!"
"Thank you! Oh and tell Ankit there's a direct bus route to my work, so I won't need a ride."
"Sure will, but don't hesitate to call him okay? Especially if you start working late hours! You know we get worried!" I smiled at her concern. Ankit and Avni were the two pillars in my life, along with Riaan. "Don't worry Bhabhi! I will,"" I smiled. "Okay then, I'll put the phone down. I have to leave in an hour!"
"Don't forget to eat something Sanyu, and take care!"
"Bye!!"
--
Grabbing a bagel and a small coffee-to-go from a nearby cafe, I headed off to work... My first day at the Shekhawat Corporation...
I stepped inside the glass doors and promised myself to make the most out of this. It wasn't an easy path, and I was sure it was only going to get harder, but what mattered the most was his faith in me. It reminded me of the Sanyukta I once used to be; the girl whose determination was enough to propel her towards her success. Walking confidently towards the receptionist, I vowed to bring her back.
"Hello Ma'am, how may I help you?"
"It's my first day here actually. I'm starting my internship under Mr. Solanki from today!" I beamed. I couldn't believe I was going to be working under the COO of this company.
"Oh okay, welcome to the RSS Corporation Ma'am," she sweetly reciprocated my excitement. "Here is your ID and your security clearance card. You will begin your training in 30 minutes in Room 6550 on the 6th floor."
"Thank you!"
"My pleasure! Good luck on your first day Mrs. Sanyukta Mittal!"
I froze and retraced my path; "What is the procedure for changing my name in the database?"
Her confusion was evident, "Well considering you are new, you could just go to the administration on the 5th floor right now. They will do that for you!"
"Thank you," I said as I walked away and took the elevator to the 5th floor.
--
It took me 20 minutes to get my new ID and change my name in the company database, after which, I headed to the 6th floor for my training.
--
--
"Randhir, do you have a moment?" Vishal asked. "Yea, come on in. What's going on?"
"Actually I was wondering if you are sure you want me to allocate these responsibilities to her. It's her first day of her first internship, are you sure she can handle it?"
I turned around before he could see the smile on my face. "If she can't prove her worth, then what is the reason for having her work for us?"
"As you say I guess," he left, leaving a smiling someone behind...
You have no idea how capable she is Vishal.
--
--
"Hi Mrs. Mittal!"
"I don't mean to interrupt you Sir, but it's actually Ms. Agarwal."
He looked at me oddly, "I just read your file this morning though. Was there a mista... Ohh, I just received the email. My apologies Ms. Agarwal."
"It's okay," I quickly added in.
"So firstly, congratulations on being selected for this position!" he said, as he shook my hand. "We are one of India's finest engineering firms, and I hope you take the maximum advantage of this opportunity!"
"Yes of course Sir! I am grateful for having received this honour of working with such a reputed and well-established corporation. I can assure you I will do everything I can to play my part to help take this company to even greater heights!"
He smiled as he handed me a file, "These are just some basic policies and guidelines all employees have to follow. Go through them, and there is also some paper-work at the end. Read everything carefully and then submit them to the administration. This will take you a couple of hours easily, so report to my office at 1pm sharp. We are under a heavy work-load and need to get started immediately."
"Sure Sir!"
I left from the office, smiling to myself. I still couldn't believe that this was happening to be honest; I had almost given up had it not been for Ankit. Had he not been there, I wouldn't have been here. And I shuddered at the thought, because that meant that Riaan wouldn't have been here either.
--
"But I don't want to go back to Sameer, why won't you guys understand?"
A hand slapped me so hard, I fell back. "Are you out of your mind? How shameless can you get still? Anju! Explain something to your daughter, I'm tired of reasoning with this child of yours."
Tears stung my eyes as my cheeks burned from the slap. I began crying as my mom grabbed my shoulder harshly. "You will go to Sameer's house, and that is it! You are carrying his child Sanyu! You can't be so foolish now! You're a married woman now; you have responsibilities and duties towards him.
I pushed her away... I'd had enough.
"HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT HIM AFTER EVERYTHING HE DID TO ME?" I screamed.
Dad came charging at me, his hand in the air yet once again. But this time, I held his hand. "Don't you dare," I growled. "You can't make my decisions for me!"
"Sanyu, how dare you speak to your father like that? Have you forgotten everything that he's done for you?"
I laughed in desperation; "Have you guys forgotten how much I've also done for you? I gave up my whole future because I cared about you more than my dreams! I gave up Randhir because you thought Sameer was right for me. Sameer is an abusive man; you've SEEN him slap me, yet you STILL want me to go back to him?"
"You made a mistake, and instead of accepting it, you were arguing back. Anyone would get mad!"
"Why did you have to argue back?"
"What century do you guys live in?" I questioned them with genuine confusion. "You guys can't possibly believe that he has the right to hit me!?"
I walked to my room, tears clouding my vision. This was one time I needed someone to talk to, but I had no one. I was lonely. All alone. I cried throughout the night as I heard my parents screaming downstairs about how "shameless" and "uncultured" I had become.
Avni just happened to call at that moment, "Hey Sanyu, I need a quick favour. Do you still have th," but I couldn't hold myself back, and cried over the phone.
"Sanyu, kya hua? Why are you crying? ANKIT! Come quick, Sanyu is crying!"
"They... they want me to go back to him bhabhi. How can they do that to me?"
"Ssh, stop crying Sanyu," Ankit said. "What happened?"
"Mom and dad want me to go back to Sameer. After everything that happened, they still want me to go back to him."
"Okay give me some time okay, I'm going to come there and talk to them. Don't cry, I promise everything will be alright!"
--
I heard the doorbell ring and ran downstairs. It had to be Ankit.
Mom opened the door, "Ankit! What are you doing here? Avni? What's going on?"
I ran to Ankit and hugged him hard, as Avni patted my back.
"So she complained to you too? Now you make her understand! Put some sense into this girl," he said as he pushed his hand on my temple. Ankit pulled me back, "What is wrong with the two of you?"
"You have no idea Ankit. She is pregnant! WITH his child! She has to go back!"
"What logic is that?"
"Mom," Avni jumped in, "Don't do this to Sanyu! She deserves someone much better than Sameer!"
"Who will marry a divorcee, let alone one with an illegitimate child?"
This brought on even more tears as I felt the words sting every piece of me. And I guess this had initiated the final battle because she said the words I never thought I would ever hear, "You either go back or go somewhere else Sanyu. You can't stay here," she said with a straight face.
To say I was shocked would be an under-statement. I ran to her and grabbed her by the arms, "You're just angry mom! You don't mean that! Right? You don't mean it right?"
I ran to my dad, "Dad please, tell me she doesn't mean it," but all I returned in response was icy silence. It was as if I had lost awareness of my surroundings as I tried to make sense of this all, registering what actually just happened.
The only reason I snapped out of it because I felt a pair of hands leading me away from the hall. Avni was coming down with a suitcase in her hand that Ankit grabbed from her.
"Come with us Sanyu," she said.
"Clearly they're not going to even try and understand, even though the truth is ever-so evident. Don't worry about her from now on, she has me!" he said to mom and dad.
"So you'll take care of her child too? For how long?" dad asked him. But Ankit shook his head and walked off. He looked at me and said, "That isn't even a question!"
He placed a kiss on my forehead as we headed over to his home.
--
Those days had been miserable for me. I was in a dilemma regarding my decision for keeping the baby or not. I knew that if I wanted, I could've had an abortion done. But even though the idea of me carrying Sameer's child repulsed me, it was true that this was in no way my baby's fault. Avni too told me to think it carefully, knowing that it was in my hands to decide the fate of this baby.
But in the end, what really convinced me to keep the baby was not some self-actualization or anything of that sort. I wish it was, but that's not the truth. It was my past with Randhir which flashed in front of my eyes at that moment which helped me decide.
--
He clasped his hands with mine as we walked on the beach after our dinner date at a nearby restaurant. I leaned more into him as I saw a family of four, laughing and playing together in the sand. I kept walking, but Randhir had stopped. Following his gaze, I noticed that he, too, was observing the same family.
"You know, I have never been to the beach with my parents like that," he whispered. "It was like I had no family to begin with..."
I had never heard him speak about his childhood before; it was obvious that these memories - or lack thereof - haunted him, but he had requested me to stay away from the topic. I didn't want to ever bring it up with him if it meant that I would hurt him, so I had obliged. But after hearing him say that, it reminded me of just how much of a broken soul he had once been.
I pulled him closer to him and hugged him hard from the side. We stood there for a couple of moments before he kissed my hair. Letting me go, he said, "But you know what, I promise you I'm going to be a better dad than my dad was!"
He turned around and walked slowly, "I'll be a better father than he ever was." I took a few quick steps to catch up with him, wrapping my arm around his in the process. I smiled as I nuzzled closer to him, "I didn't know you thought about all that already!"
Turning his head to face me, he took my lips into his. "I dream everyday of starting a family with you Sanyu. I know this is it."
I felt tears clouding my vision as a silly smile appeared on my face. "You know, I always thought it would be awkward the first time we talk about this. But I love how natural this feels!" I remarked.
"It would be awkward if I remind you exactly how we will do that though," he smirked. I slapped him with yet another silly smile, "Shut up!"
We spent that night sitting under the stars with our feet in the sand thinking about how our future together was going to play out. It was then that we had decided who would get to pick names for our children.
--
Maybe Riaan was my way of imagining what a future with Randhir could have been like. I may hate Sameer with all my heart, but I can't deny that he gave me Riaan and for that, I will be eternally grateful.
I kissed Riaan's picture on my phone before I began reading the files. I was doing this for my past, my present, and for my unknown future.
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