Part 2
"Goodnight Payal," Aarti whispered as she kissed Payal's forehead. She tip-toed her way out of the children's room so as not to wake them up.
As she was walking towards hers and Yash's bedroom, it dawned on her that it has been one month since she had joined the Scindia's family. She has grown attached to Palak and Payal in such a short span of time and could not imagine her life without them. She felt guilty that she could not find the same attachment with her biological son, Ansh. How was it possible that they were virtually strangers to her 1 month ago and she had carried Ansh in her womb for 9 months and had been with him since his birth yet she felt closer to them? She did not want to be their mother initially. She had fought hard against this Punar Vivah. But how could she forget that the Dubeys always won.
She smiled thinking of Palak, her smart-mouth 7 year old daughter, who was proud to show her off to her classmates. She found it odd that Palak was proud of her for simply being her Mother. No one had ever been proud of her. Payal was her quiet and shy baby. She was very gentle and passive that Ansh was always complaining that it was boring to play with Payal. And Aarti was still amazed at how Ansh, Palak and Payal had bonded instantaneously when they met during the wedding day.
She saw that Yash was seated on the sofa as she stepped into their bedroom. He looked up and their gaze met. They smiled awkwardly at each other. She locked their bedroom door and walked towards the bed.
" Thank you Aartiji for putting the kids to sleep," Yash broke the silence.
Aarti did not know what to reply ' it was her duty as their mother. She continued walking towards the bed.
" Thank you for taking such good care of Payal and Palak. Sometimes I feel you pay more attention to them than Ansh. But I know it is because you want to get to know them better. So thank you for being so thoughtful. I will try to do my part for Ansh," Yash had continued.
Aarti sat on the bed facing the sofa. Why was Yash so chatty today? She remembered Vidhi babhi had told her that Yash was a man of few words the morning after their wedding when Yash had left for the office without even saying goodbye to her. She was told that he became even more withdrawn after Arprita had left. So why was he suddenly making conversation? She was used to the silence between them.
She smiled weakly at him and gave him a slight nod to acknowledge his thanks.
"Goodnight," she whispered and lied on the bed. She turned to her right, facing away from the sofa.
Yash had told her on their wedding night that she could have the bed and he would sleep on the sofa. That was how their sleeping arrangement had been ever since. Though she would never dare to think of it as her bed as she knew her days in the Scindia mansion were numbered. She would miss Palak and Payal the most when it was time for her to leave.
As she lying on the bed, she remembered how her heart was racing when he stepped into the room on their wedding night. She did not know how he was going to be like. She had feared the worst. She had only seen him when they had to take their wedding vows in the temple on their wedding day. He was not smiling and looked very stern. His eyes were filled with uncertainty. He did not even acknowledge her. Yet, she thought he was attractive. He could be her dream guy - the dark and silent type! She and her best friend, Mansi, used to discuss at length the characteristics of their dream guys when they were in college. She missed those days.
She was shocked at her thoughts'It was so long ago that she had harbor any hopes for the future and thought of her college days. What was happening to her? She willed herself to fall asleep before her thoughts wandered further.
Edited by akui1984 - 12 years ago
