Part 2
He woke early the next morning after a fitful night's sleep. He had begun to wake at the crack of dawn, which was not hard given that his thoughts and demons barely afforded him any sleep. He showered, dressed and left the room before she woke. Each day began with his strength and resolve, and ended with an overwhelming sense of guilt and remorse. He hated what he was doing to her. He had decided that instead of cutting her down with nasty remarks he will just try to avoid her altogether. Like he did everyday, he tried to busy himself with his work and tried not to think of her, of what he was doing to her. And like everyday, he failed. Again he assured himself that this was the lesser of two evils - hurting her now was better than adding to the pain she would undoubtedly feel when she found out his reason for being in her life. He knew this was the right thing to do. He knew this, but with each passing day it grew harder for him to continue in this path.
***
After another tiring day, he walked toward their room weary from the war raging inside him, and dreaded finding her inside. Bracing himself for another episode of deliberately ignoring her and her eyes, he stepped inside. The room was empty. The breath he didn't know he held released raggedly. Closing his eyes with relief he walked toward the bed and sat down heavily, resting his elbows on his thighs and rubbing his forehead to ease some of the strain he was feeling. He was glad she wasn't here. She was probably at work. He glanced at the clock beside the bed. Ten past eight. She should have been home by now, he thought with a frown creasing his brow again. Maybe she had gone out somewhere with Roshni. Or maybe…a twinge of regret pierced him as he realized that maybe she had gotten the message he had been trying to send. He didn't want to be around her. And now she didn't care to be around him. Unable to sit in the empty room any longer, he stood up and walked down the stairs. He was going to…he didn't know where he was going or what he wanted to do. He wasn't looking for her, he assured himself as his eyes wandered toward the living area.
***
Roshni trudged in with the heavy sack, wondering what the heck she was doing and why she was doing it! Knitting her brows together with the effort she reminded herself that this was all for Damini Di. She muttered, "Di better be really grateful for making me bring in this sack of potatoes from the car! Was it really necessary to send the cook home and attempt to surprise Jeej with aloo parathas! And that too on the same day I decided to get a French manicure!" She shuddered wondering what Goldie would think if she saw her right about now, when suddenly she realized there was something big blocking her way. She looked up exasperatedly and stopped, her eyes widening with shock. Suddenly she wanted to run for cover.
"Err…Jeej…aap yahan…kya kar rahen ho?"
Oh-My-God, she thought as her throat went dry. With eyes widening rapidly, she forced herself to think of what to tell Jeej if he asked her about Di.
Prithvi's eyes narrowed at Roshni. He wondered why the youngest Gujral always looked like she was cooking up something. But he let it go with a shake of his head and looked heavenward, reminding himself of his decision to not try and decipher what goes on in the mind of the great Roshni Gujral! He was afraid of finding pink teddies floating about in there.
Instead he asked her, "Roshni…tumne Damini ko kahin dekha hain?"
She glanced shiftily at the sack and Prithvi followed her gaze, absently wondering what she was carrying. Catching him look at the sack she quickly exclaimed, "Jeej!" She flashed a wide smile when his head came up, and with a mischievous twinkle she exclaimed "Aap Di ko…miss kar rahe ho, right?"
Prithvi, taken aback by the question, looked away thinking if what she said was true. "Ahhh…nahin woh…"
"It's okay Jeej!" she interrupted. "Aap mujhe bata sakte hain. Waise bhi, apni wife ko miss karna toh...is a good thing, right!" Still smiling, she propped her hand on her hip. He smiled a small uncomfortable smile, and looked away. His gaze suddenly fell on the open sack by Roshni's feet. Potatoes???
"Roshni, tum yeh…aloo? He said incredulously.
With eyes widening in horror she gathered the forgotten sack closed. "Oh…woh, actually mamma ko chahiye the...toh isiliye. Main…main chalti hoon. Byee Jeej!" she called out behind her back, walking quickly away before he could ask her anything else. Eyes widening again she looked heavenward hoping Jeej didn't suspect anything. If he found out, Di will surely kill her! God, what had she gotten herself in the middle of! "Yeh Jeej bhi na, kisi undercover spy say kam nahi hain!" she muttered crossly. This is what she got for risking her freshly manicured nails!
Prithvi's head went up as he watched her hurrying away. Roshni and potatoes… something was definitely wrong with this picture. And it was not like Roshni to let go of an opportunity to tease him with Damini. Something was off for sure he thought, his eyes narrowing again. But what?
He sat himself on the sofa, casually flipping through the pages of a magazine and waited. After a few minutes, Roshni returned and went up the stairs. He put the magazine down and walked toward the kitchen, not knowing what to expect.
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