APRIL 20, 2021
EPISODE 18
“Are you expecting him to return today, Didi?” Krishna enquired.
“No?” Pallavi responded. “Why would I be? I mean—why do you ask me that?”
“Because you’ve seemed nervous all morning—and your eyes are constantly at the front of the shop,” Krishna pointed out.
Krishna was not wrong.
Pallavi had accomplished little of value because each time she heard a vehicle stop outside or saw a shadow fall across the entrance, she looked up with a mixture of trepidation and excitement.
“I’m sure a man in his line of work has a long list of people to torment, Krishna. He can’t spend all his days badgering us.” She attempted to make the sentence sound flippant—but she failed because her laugh rang false even to her own ears.
Krishna was steaming out wrinkles from a saree. She paused in her task, looked over her shoulder to meet Pallavi’s eyes, and said, “As long as he holds your secret, he will never stop pestering.”
Pallavi left the desk and drew closer to Krishna, her voice dropping to a whisper, “You don’t mean blackmail, do you?”
“Of course. What else should we call it?”
“But blackmail is do-this or I’ll do-that. What does he expect in return from me?” Pallavi asked.
Krishna spoke, eyes round with meaning. “You know . . . that thing!”
“Sex?” The word was even less than whisper. It was more an exhalation of breath.
Krishna nodded vigourously, blushing.
Had Krishna seen more in their encounter yesterday than she had?
“You believe Raghav Rao will blackmail me and demand sex?” Pallavi spoke the words.
The steamer dropped out of Krishna’s hand. “Mr Rao? No! I was speaking of Mr Jagdish—!”
It took a few moments for Pallavi to rewind this conversation to realize that she and Krishna had been speaking at cross-purposes from the very beginning.
“Yes, I see your meaning.” Pallavi hastily made reparations. “I am concerned about Jagdish—naturally! But we’ve bought ourselves a reprieve of some days before he makes a demand again. I’ll have some money to give him next week at which time I’ll make that secret recording we discussed.”
It was clear from Krishna’s face that she was still wondering how Raghav had entered a conversation ostensibly about Jagdish.
“Let me refill this,” Pallavi offered, and escaped to the back to fill the steamer with water.
There she attempted to gather herself.
Krishna was not wrong. Pallavi was anxious.
But it was about a matter she could not admit to anyone. How would she explain to Krishna that she had wanted to see Raghav? That she found being in his presence exhilarating. That half hour she had spent at Falaknuma Palace in his office, in his company—she had seen a man she could admire. A man who had vision and imagination. A man who affected her physically as no man had ever done.
When she fell on him yesterday, clutching his collar, breathing in his clean, male scent—she had imagined for a brief moment how it would feel to be held by him in an intimate way—
This was madness! For her to have such thoughts was one thing—but to attribute that he would have that same desire was absurd.
She was glad when the long afternoon drew to a close. Krishna had been quiet since their confused conversation. And at times, Pallavi had caught the younger woman casting furtive glances in her direction.
Krishna was naïve but not stupid. Indeed, she was quite the opposite. She was sharp. She made observations about customers which were incredibly astute—how could Pallavi hope that she alone would be exempt from Krishna’s insightfulness?
“Why don’t you leave early today?” Pallavi suggested.
Krishna replied, “Sana and I are going to see a film this evening. She said she would pick me up from here.”
“How nice,” Pallavi said.
“Join us, Didi!” Krishna offered, as she always did.
Pallavi shook her head. “With the wedding so close, there is such a lot to do at home in the evenings.”
Krishna suggested, “Then why don’t you leave early? I’ll lock up.”
It was too tempting an offer to refuse. Pallavi felt she could do with spending some time alone. She hadn’t brought the scooter today, and it would be nice to take a leisurely walk through the park on her way home.
***
However, all refreshment derived from the walk was obliterated the moment she entered Deshmukh Niwas. There was a disturbance in the air. Baba was clearly in a rage. Pallavi lifted an enquiring brow to Aayi, but she avoided eye contact.
Nikhil spotted Pallavi at the door and caught her wrist to draw her further into the main hall.
He said, “Cancel all dreams for a shop at Raghav Rao’s new mall, chicken—watch this!” He removed his phone from his pocket—but Baba snatched it out of his hand.
“Baba?!” Pallavi gasped at this action.
Baba announced, “You are not to pursue the premises at the Sagar Lake mall—do you hear me? That is final. That lewd man takes advantage of young women at his casino. We will have nothing to do with him.”
Aayi entered the fray and said to her husband, “Pallavi has always been opposed to moving the shop to a new location. It was you pressuring her.”
Baba balked at this suggestion. “Pressuring?!”
“Pressing, then,” Aayi adjusted the word for her husband’s sensitive pride.
During this exchange, Nikhil plucked his phone out of Baba’s hand.
“Will someone please explain what is going on?” Pallavi begged. “I feel as though I’ve missed the first half of this film.”
Aayi said, “It’s nothing.” But from Aayi’s demeanour, Pallavi knew there was something. A very significant something.
Baba instructed Nikhil, “Show her then.” And then warned Pallavi, “Prepare yourself for something obscene.”
Pallavi was in no state to prepare herself for anything.
Nikhil angled the phone towards her and pressed play.
It was, of course, that one-minute-eighteen-second video which all the world—except Pallavi—had been discussing for the past forty-eight hours.
When it completed, Baba said, “There. We want nothing to do with that man—nor his measly mall.”
Nikhil asked, “But why, Baba? You always knew he was a gangster—what has really changed? Evidence that he is not a perfect gentleman? Gangsters are acceptable? Womanizers are not?”
Baba did not enjoy being called a hypocrite.
He commanded Nikhil go and attend to his college work. “Exams are approaching! Do you want to fail again?” he added cruelly.
Nikhil shook his head and left.
Pallavi’s heart was beating wildly in her chest.
What was clear from all this is that the family had not recognized she was the young woman on the screen. The video had fortunately captured them from the back, so except for some brief moments of her profile, she was not identifiable. She mentally thanked Bappaji for the grainy quality of the video and congratulated herself for the foresight of disguise.
Even if someone noticed a resemblance, they would never associate her with that manner of dress. They had never seen her dressed in anything like that outfit. She had purchased that dress and those heels especially for her honeymoon. For Mandhar’s private pleasure.
Once Nikhil left the room, Aayi told Pallavi, “Go and wash up. I’ll warm up your dinner.”
But no sooner had Pallavi entered her bedroom, Aayi followed her there. She stepped within; shut the doors which were never ever shut—and then taking Pallavi’s hand, she forced her to sit on the edge of the bed.
Pallavi saw Aayi was livid.
“Of all the things I could imagine—this I never expected of you—” the sentence was cut off because Aayi burst into tears.
Aayi knew!
Taking Pallavi’s hand Aayi put it on her head, and cried, “Swear on my life that you are not consorting with Raghav Rao!”
Pallavi couldn’t speak.
“Swear!” Aayi demanded.
“No—” Pallavi said, pulling her hand away. “I’ve told you before, Aayi—I hate this habit of swearing on people’s lives. Ask me a question and I’ll tell you the truth.”
“Then answer me—are you and that man lovers?”
“No!”
Aayi released her breath, lifting her saree pallu to wipe her eyes.
But Pallavi knew she was not free yet. Leaving it at that was deliberate obfuscation. So she took in a ragged breath, begged powerful help from Bappaji, and said, “But, yes, that is me in the video with Mr Rao.”
Then something happened which Pallavi didn’t quite believe even after it happened.
Aayi lifted her hand and gave Pallavi a hard slap across the face.
Edited by JalebiJane - 4 years ago
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