EPISODE 23
Despite having taken that two-hour lunch, Deshmukh Saree Emporium had a remarkably strong day in sales. Tallying up figures, Pallavi exclaimed. “We sold more in these past four hours than we sold these past four days.”
Krishna laughed, “I know. I actually called Amma to see if there was a festival that I had forgotten about—because it seemed that busy.”
“Maybe our season of despair is ending,” Pallavi said, extending her arm for a fist-bump.
“About time,” Krishna said.
But as the saying goes: Beware of premature fist-bumps and high-fives.
As Pallavi neared Deshmukh Niwas, she recalled that Sulochana would been home hours ago with plenty of time to make her narrative perfect.
But Pallavi was not overly concerned.
She had discussed the matter with Krishna over lunch—and they had come up with a plan. Pallavi would tell Baba that her coffee with Raghav Rao was to discuss expansion plans for DSE. This was not entirely untrue. Baba would assume she meant the Sagar Lake space—and he would repeat his words from yesterday—that he was no longer interested in that ‘man’s measly mall’—and Pallavi would say mea culpa and that would be that.
So it was with a confident smile that Pallavi entered the house.
But she saw that every member of the family was present in the main hall. Had they gathered to witness her shaming? Or was it just that hour of the day when members of a joint family found their way into the communal centre?
It was the former.
Baba was livid. Aayi was anxious. Nikhil was concerned. Milind Kaka was puzzled—and Sulochana Kaku was smug. Mansi was absent. She was dining with the Chettys this evening.
When Nikhil saw Pallavi, he approached her, and whispered, “Deny everything.” And then stepped away.
“I never expected this of you!” Baba came towards her.
Aayi was right behind him—saying, “At least let her come into the house. Sit down. Have something to eat. She’s been on her feet all day. Then we can discuss everything calmly—”
“Discuss?” Baba turned on Aayi, his eyes round as saucers. “What is there left to discuss, Sharda? It’s all very clear.”
“Dada, please—” Milind Kaka tried to calm him. “Don’t get so agitated. It’s not good for your heart—!”
But Baba was one of those men—once he believed he had been wronged, he was determined to suffer for it. Could he manufacture a heart attack in this moment, he would have done it because it would have added merit to his case.
“My heart? By heart has been broken by the one person in this family whom I held in the highest esteem,” Baba cried.
“I’m guessing that’s not me,” Nikhil muttered.
Pallavi said, “Is this about my meeting Raghav Rao?”
“Pallavi!” came a warning call from Aayi—followed by a quick negative shake of her head. Aayi wanted her to remain silent. Nikhil told her to deny everything—but how could that help?
“Yes, I met him—but Kaku—” and here Pallavi looked pointedly at Sulochana, “you may have misunderstood the reasons for our meeting.”
Baba jumped on this. “What are your reasons for seeing that man? What are you accusing us of misunderstanding?”
Pallavi said, “I did not meet him for personal reasons—it was to discuss the expansion of our shop.” Certainly not the complete truth—but who could blame our Heroine for taking liberties with the facts?
Baba said, “This is how you go about discussing the expansion of my shop?”
He demanded Nikhil’s phone.
Nikhil protested.
But Sulochana had her phone handy and offered it to Baba. Even pressing play to save him the exertion.
And then Baba held it up as though he was displaying a crucial piece of evidence in a criminal trial. Exhibit A.
It was the casino video—again.
Sulochana said, “Do you think because I didn’t speak up yesterday that I didn’t recognize you? Sitting in a bar in that shameful manner? Drinking. Flirting. God knows what else—”
Aayi shut her down. “—Enough!” she exclaimed. “I will not have you badger my daughter in this ugly manner.” Reaching out to take Pallavi’s hand, she said, “Come with me.”
Pallavi was grateful to be led away. She had mentally prepared a solid defense for the coffee meeting—not at all expecting the casino meeting to rear its ugly head. She was quite dumbstruck.
As they departed, Aayi turned and said to Baba, “When you have calmed down, come and find us. And the rest of you—you can carry on with your work. Mansi is getting married in ten days, in case you have forgotten.”
***
You do not need me to narrate the tone and tenor of the conversation that followed in Pallavi’s room. Baba entered, claimed he was calm and ready to listen—but spoke for an hour, set down his edict, and went to bed.
His edict: “You are never-ever to see Raghav Rao again. All plans for expanding Deshmukh Saree Emporium are cancelled permanently. My shop on Nampally Road has served this family well for thirty-five years and will continue to do so until my death. After that, I cannot stop you.”
Aayi tried to comfort Pallavi with the usual motherly consolations. Things would look different in the morning. She would speak to Baba in a few days. She even suggested that once Baba knew about Mandhar, his outlook would change.
Pallavi did not doubt Aayi’s sincerity but she doubted the facts. What she had learnt this evening was that Baba considered DSE his shop. In the past year, his generous claims that it was her shop had been eradicated by one unfortunate video clip. Her desire to make DSE a national brand had withered in an hour. She had no right to dictate the future of the shop. It was never truly hers.
She lay down on the bed—and looking up at the ceiling she wondered how many such evenings had Mandhar experienced. How many times had he presented his dreams to Baba only to be set back?
Her phone had beeped a couple of times during Baba’s speech. She fished it out of her purse to check her messages.
The first was from Krishna wishing her luck. The second was from Kirti promising to come by the next morning to discuss her sketches.
Kirti!
She had to still work out how to convince Kirti how DSE had gone within three days from claiming poverty to offering her a fulsome salary. And—after this evening—should she even be thinking of expanding Baba’s original line without consulting him?
It was his shop.
But Pallavi did not want to let Raghav down. This scheme was not a frivolous matter—it was about providing a woman with better healthcare—and for that Pallavi was prepared to risk Baba’s wrath.
However, to continue to seek Raghav’s help to expand a business that was not hers to expand—that part of the arrangement had to be shut down.
She sent Raghav a brief text retracting from their arrangement—but stressing that their plan regarding his sister would be unaffected. She would speak to Kirti in the morning about her new position with the generous salary.
Once this text was sent, she grabbed a towel from the armoire and went for a long hot shower.
***
Half an hour later, she tiptoed into the kitchen dressed in old track bottoms and a tiny t-shirt from her college days. The material was so worn that it clung to her breasts revealing more than it covered.
With a sliced apple, she stepped out into the back and padded down to her favourite spot. The swing near the bottom of the garden. It made a creaking sound as she sat.
The family called this ‘Pallavi’s Parlour’ because if she was not found in the house, she could be found here.
Her mind recalled a recent memory—on just such a full moon night she had encountered Mansi and Rahul enjoying an intimate moment here. Because the swing was not visible from the house, she had not realized that they were there until she was almost upon them. Fortunately they had not seen nor heard her and she had retreated without interrupting the young lovers.
The recollection left her aching with awareness of her loneliness. Would she ever again experience a lover’s kiss?
Dismissing her wistfulness, she turned her attention to what her reality was.
While showering she had decided that though Aayi wanted to wait until after Mansi’s wedding to reveal Mandhar’s truth—there was no reason for her to wait to recover her inheritance. She would immediately hire a solicitor.
And then what—?
Considering future possibilities took over her thoughts. She leaned back and gave the swing some movement—and suddenly an arm flashed out of the moonlit night—she gasped—sat up—and saw that it was Raghav Rao towering over her.
Natural fear parted her lips and she would have cried out in alarm, but his palm covered her mouth. Then uncovered it.
He commanded, “Make room.”
Almost in a dream-state, she shuffled over so he could have space to sit.
“What are you doing here?”
“I received your text. I wanted to know what had changed.”
“But how did you know where to find me?” she asked.
“Bindi Aunty’s daughter sent the guest list with addresses—”
“—The list didn’t state I would be in the back garden at this hour,” Pallavi pointed out.
He indicated the house. “Your brother-in-law let me in.”
“Did anyone else see you?” she queried.
He shrugged.
Oh, of course, he would shrug. He was a man. Independent. Self-sufficient. He did what he wanted. Without a care for what her family would think—or what they would do to her if they were found together.
“So,” his gaze skimmed over her casually, “what changed since coffee?”
Self-conscious about the peaks of her bosom showing under the worn t-shirt, she crossed her arms over her chest.
He must have thought she was cold, because he removed the linen jacket he was wearing and draped it over her shoulders.
The heat of his body; the scent of that warm skin enveloped her—and just like that—in a flash—a yearning tide of longing throbbed at her centre.
He was watching her closely, waiting for her to speak—but she had forgotten the question.
“Sorry?” she asked, her teeth catching her bottom lip.
His eyes fell on her mouth. And then returned to her eyes.
“This morning you were talking global domination—and this evening you retreat. What happened?” he said.
She smiled at his apt description. She saw no reason to lie.
“Do you know about this viral video from the casino that evening?” she asked.
He gave a slow nod, as though he could guess the rest. “So you have been directed to keep away from me.”
“Yes.”
He did not speak immediately, but after a moment he asked, “The woman who stole my ring in one disguise and entered my home in another disguise—does she follow directives laid down by others?”
Pallavi tilted her head, and said, “I’ll break rules and take risks when there is something to gain from it. But Baba does not want to expand DSE. He is happy as things are.”
“But you’re not happy as things are.”
It was her turn to shrug. “This morning I spoke as if it was my shop. This evening I was reminded that it is not.”
He came to his feet. It signalled the end of their conversation.
Before he headed back towards the house, she slid off the swing, and said, “Mr Rao, would you mind going out through the back gate instead?”
She showed him the way.
At the gate, he stopped and turned to face her. “What would Baji Rao say?”
His referencing Baji Rao made her smile. “About what?” she asked.
“Your thwarted desires. You know you want more, yet your circumstances constrain you. What would Baji Rao advise?” he asked.
His nearness made it difficult for her to think intelligently. She said, “I’ll ask him.”
She wondered whether he had not heard her because he seemed to be waiting for something, and then he asked, “May I just do this?” And without waiting for her consent, he pulled her close and inhaled deeply. He released her.
“Did you?—did you just smell my hair?!” she asked.
“Yes. I did.”
And then he was gone.
Pallavi was left in the dark wondering what had just happened—and what did it mean. It wasn’t until she entered her bedroom that she realized his jacket was still draped over her shoulders.
She buried her face into it.
Edited by JalebiJane - 3 years ago
comment:
p_commentcount