FF (Shiv-Gauri): The Oldest Story... -pg. 140, 142 - Page 5

Chapter 4:  The Beginning of…

There was of course dancing and festivities after dinner, although she didn't know how this could all be, how people were so easily pretending that just this morning she hadn't been jilted at the mandap, so to speak...  Maybe they were doing it for her sake or maybe it was just to make the best of the situation, but she still wanted to climb on the rooftops and yell out, "I married the wrong man, people!  The WRONG MAN!"  But alas, that would likely make her look like an ungrateful bitch, or better yet, get her sent to an insane asylum.  So, she held her tongue and waited for a time when it would alright for the bride to finally retire from the ceremonies.  And for that she needed the groom's cooperation, but he seemed intent on tearing up the dance-floor as more and more of his friends who heard of the last-minute wedding kept arriving.   At this rate, the sun would have to rise and set again before she saw her bed.  Not her bed, she reminded herself, someone else's bed…  maybe staying here until the sun rose and set again would not be a bad idea. 

Her friends were more mild-mannered and temperate than Shiv and his friends and they were now slowly leaving as it was close to midnight, coming to her to wish her the classic yet contrived all-the-best-for-a-happily-married-life in a somewhat awkward manner.  She didn't know what to say to them, how to respond, whether to be the sappy jilted bride, or the mildly joyful bride, or what she really felt, the exhausted and numb woman who just wanted to retreat to some island somewhere where there were no other humans other than herself.  As she watched the last of her friends leave, she fantasized of such blessed alone-ness and didn't notice when her father and Shiv's parents came towards her until Mrs. Kapoor called her name and said, "Beti, you must be tired.  We just wanted to make sure that everything was ready before we took you home." 

She looked at her father suddenly and without any indication that she was going to do so, the tears just started to flow...  To say that she was embarrassed was an understatement, because her father's eyes welled up as well and he took her in an impulsive hug. 

"I am sorry, Baba…" she said, feeling like her heart was breaking.  She couldn't leave him, she couldn't leave her home...  She didn't know why women were forced to do that anyways.  Why couldn't they divide their time between both homes?  Who would take care of her father now?  He was going to be so lonely…   Thinking of that made the tears flow more copiously and suddenly she pulled herself away from him and quickly said, "Give me a few minutes, please" before rushing out of the wedding hall.  She didn't know where she was going as she ran down the hall, the eerie echoes of her anklets the only sound that she could hear.  Why couldn't they put the bathroom where an overwhelmed bride carrying a small ransom worth of jewelry and clothes that weighed three times her body weight could easily find it?  After looking behind every corner, she finally found it and pushed the door open, hoping that it was empty.  But of course not, such fortune would not be on her side this day, because even before she rounded the partition separating an area with a few sofas to get to the sinks and mirror, she heard the sobs from the other side.  Great! She was not the only one with a leaky faucet seeking refuge in the public bathroom tonight.  She quickly dabbed at her cheeks and heard the sniffles stop suddenly from the other side as well.  She walked over to the sinks and found a woman standing by one of them.  She looked up when she saw her and Gauri found herself looking at one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen in her life.  Well, pretty women cried as well, she allowed, and very prettily too, she saw…

"Are you okay?" she asked her now.

"Why did he marry you?"  The woman suddenly asked her without preface.

"Excuse me?"  Gauri said now, taken aback.

The woman appeared chagrined at her outburst and collected herself quickly to say, "I am sorry.  I shouldn't have asked that."

Gauri didn't know what to say immediately, but after a few minutes passed, she said, "I take it you know Shiv."

The woman's eyes welled up with tears again and it was some time before she nodded.

"Were you two…. Um… involved?"  Gauri asked, at a loss for what else to say.

Once again, it was a few moments before the woman responded, this time saying hesitantly, "I don't know.  In hindsight, I take it that we were not.  It's hard to tell with him.  He showers attention on all women that it's not always clear who stands where in his life."

Yea, Gauri could see that… that sounded exactly like Shiv.

"Have you been in love with him a long time?" the woman asked now.  She must have been one of the late-comers if she didn't know the whole story!

"Oh, Lord no!" Gauri said quickly and when the woman looked at her in surprise, she added, "I mean, I don't think you are aware of what happened today.  But… um… there is really no other way to say it, I guess.  My real fiance never showed."

This appeared to really shock the woman and seeing her expression, Gauri said, "So… Shiv sort of stepped in, so to speak… at his father's request.  God, okay, I know that really sounds weird.  His family and my family have known each other since before we were born, so it's not like he is a stranger or anything… far from it, in fact."  She didn't think the woman needed to know that it was a long, practically ancient, relationship based on mutual feelings of homicide, but that was neither here nor there.  And so she continued, "But, yes, I know, it's bizarre that someone like Shiv just agreed to it when his father asked him."

"Yes, it is…" the woman said before she added, "He must really be in love with you…"

"Ha! Love!  I don't think Shiv would know what that emotion is if it's a 9mm bullet shot between his eyes at close-range!" Gauri exclaimed in sarcasm before she could catch herself and the woman's eyes widened.

"I mean that in the least offensive way…" Gauri said now, wishing that thinking of him didn't make her blood boil enough to say the most outrageous things!  She wondered how many more of these women were out there, crying their eyes out because Shiv had been too careless in his overflow of attention to them. 

"What's your name?" she asked the woman now.

"Neela." She replied.

"Neela, I don't know what to tell you.  The circumstances of my marriage to Shiv are a bit… unusual… to say the least.  But it's the truth when I say that Shiv and I are not in love with each other.  Far from it, in fact.  Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if he continued on as before, enjoying his bachelorhood for all that he has a ring on his finger.  So, I would clarify with him the status of your relationship.  I mean, I don't know what you are comfortable with and what you are not.  So…"

"Do you mean to say that I should still pursue a relationship with a now-married man?"  Neela appeared to be genuinely offended now.

"I am saying no such thing.  I am saying that I don't really know Shiv's personal affairs.  They really have nothing to do with me, despite the change in our situation.  I don't know you either.  So… I leave the rest up to you."  And with that she walked out of the restroom, not wanting to continue such a strange conversation.   And she also realized that this was likely just a sign of complications yet to come…  Oh, how she wished for a private island… preferably in a universe where she had never heard of Shiv!

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Consider me sufficiently sucked in to this story.  😆  Good Heavens woman!  Where do you come up with this fabulous stuff?  I'd love to be in your brain for just one day...