Life was lonely now that it was just the two of them again, with Manish appearing to be busy, either at work or with his friends. He got back from work and invariably went out, every evening. “Leave my dinner on the table. I’ll help myself,” said Manish, pulling on his socks. He had changed out of his work clothes into jeans and a t-shirt, obviously planning to go pub hopping.
“Can’t you stay home with us today?” asked Saloni, her eyes bleak.
“And do what? Watch TV? Forget it Saloni. I’ll be bored to death,” he said, tying the laces of his sneakers.
“I’m sure Mitesh will love your company.”
Manish turned to give her a sarcastic smile. “Do you really expect me to hold a conversation with a seven-month-old? Don’t be stupid, Saloni. That’s a mother’s job. Bye.” He left, without waiting to hear her reply.
A sudden memory triggered off in her head—of Aarav nine years ago and of the same man at Ruma’s wedding. Missed opportunities! Saloni’s lips drooped. No! She won’t think about Aarav Chopra.
Saloni went to the sink to splash cold water on her face, also holding her wrists under the tap. She needed to cool down and not throw something. While she wanted to smash every single piece of crockery in the house, she didn’t want to upset her little son.
If Manish wanted to spend all his free time with his friends, why the hell had he got married in the first place? She knew the answer of course. House helps cost a lot of money in the USA. Cooks, even more. It was cheaper—no, smart business tactics, actually—to get married to a stupid woman from India who would do the cooking and cleaning for free, after bringing a hefty dowry to her NRI husband. And the man continued to lead a luxurious life. Imagine, the wife also kept his bed warm, available whenever he wanted to have sex.
This needed to stop, now. Saloni straightened her shoulders. It was time she took her life in her own hands. She took out her phone and called Pritesh, a close friend of Manish’s. Of all of Manish’s friends, Pritesh was the only one who chose to speak to Saloni, beyond saying ‘hi’. She made a plan with Pritesh to have a get together at her home on the coming Saturday.
“That’d be awesome, Saloni. I have been wondering about you and that little son of yours. You both must be quite lonely all by yourselves at home. A party at your apartment is a great idea. I’ll get the drinks. Let me see if anyone’s ready to pitch with a few other items so that you don’t have to cook for the whole lot of us.”
Pritesh’s enthusiasm warmed Saloni’s heart. “Shall I make chicken biryani and raita? It would be great if you could organise some snacks.”
“Definitely! Let’s have a ball. Do you have dance music? Or I can get some on a pen drive.”
“I have all the music you want. No worries,” said Saloni, a smile in her voice. She was desperate to meet people and couldn’t wait for Saturday. “Alright then, Pritesh. Thanks. I’ll see you on Saturday.”
If Pritesh thought it strange that it was Saloni planning a party and not Manish, he didn’t say anything about it.
The party on Saturday was a super hit, by anyone’s standards. There were thirty people in all and everyone appeared to have a great time, dancing, drinking and snacking on pizza slices and samosas. Each one of them complimented Saloni’s choice of music and the chicken biryani that she had prepared. Manish’s friends even chatted with Mitesh who was at his happiest since they had got back from Delhi.
It was 2 am when Saloni shut the door on the last guest and turned towards her silent husband with a wide smile on her face. “Wasn’t that just lovely?!”
Manish walked towards her and stood in front of her, his stance threatening. “That’s the last time you are organising a party behind my back. Do you hear me?” His voice was a feral growl.
Saloni blanched with shock. “Manish, I didn’t plan anything behind your back. It was a surprise for you. I thought...”
“I hate surprises. And I don’t give a damn about your reasons. Never do it to me again, do you hear?” His hands were clenched into fists, his face red with temper.
“But...”
“Shut up and listen to me Saloni. No inviting anyone into my house without my permission. And that should be clear to even the biggest idiot on earth.” He did an about turn and went into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him, not caring that the sleeping infant woke up with a jerk and began wailing loudly.
But what did it matter to him? thought Saloni bitterly. Manish had moved into a separate bedroom when Mitesh had been barely a month old. He didn’t want his sleep disturbed. She rocked Mitesh back to sleep, feeding him from his bottle.
So it was his—Manish’s—house. Saloni was beyond furious. She felt violent and needed to do something about it before she burst a blood vessel. Mindful of the baby sleeping in his cot, Saloni deliberately opened her wardrobe and brought out her wedding sari. The silk sari in red and brocade seemed to mock her. Taking out a pair of scissors, Saloni snipped the sari along the edge at various points before tearing it to shreds with her bare hands, throwing the strips on the floor and stamping on them. Phew! She was finally calm, at least calmer than what she had been an hour ago. She would talk to Manish in the morning, appealing to his sense of logic, if he had one, that is. She needed to get busy and interact with more people if she needed to keep her sanity. But it looked as if she could do nothing without his permission.
Saloni took deep breaths. Anger wasn’t the answer. She would have that talk tomorrow, she thought decidedly before she went to bed.
Manish had already left the house when Saloni woke up at eight in the morning.
7
Mumbai
It was seven in the evening when Akshay Malhotra, Shyam Malhotra’s cousin and Saloni’s chachu, sat down to an early dinner with his family. His father, Raj Malhotra, sat at the head of the table flanked by his grandchildren, seven-year-old Akshara on his left and four-year-old Suryansh on his right. Akshay’s mother, Tanuja, sat next to Akshara while Akshay took the chair beside Suryansh. His wife, Sunita, helped the cook bring all the dishes to the table before she settled in the chair next to Akshay’s.
“Okay, my grandkids and I have a plan,” said Raj with a mischievous grin on his face as he took a piece of roti and dipped it into the chicken gravy before popping it into his mouth.
Akshara giggled, staring adoringly at her grandfather, even as she held her grandmother’s hand tightly, seething with excitement.
Tanuja laughed when Suryansh gurgled too, giving his parents a corner-eyed glance before turning to wink at his grandfather.
“What?” asked Akshay, placing the spoon back on his plate, “What are you guys cooking up? Mom, do you know? Sunita?” He turned to both women in turn, dragging out the suspense as the kids seemed so thrilled about it.
Tanuja continued to grin, shaking her head while Sunita shrugged, saying, “I don’t know. What’s the plan Dad?”
Raj grinned at the kids in turn and asked, “Should I tell them?”
“Yes please,” chorused Akshara and Suryansh.
“Akshay, Sunita, I’ve booked tickets and a hotel for your stay at London for four days...”
“What?” Akshay gave his father a startled look, though amused. “You’re sending just the two of us...”
Tanuja nodded. “You see, we’re letting you both go by yourselves for some time, only because the four of us are going on a special kiddies’ holiday after your trip so that you don’t insist on going with us.” Her eyes glinted with mischief.
“Yes,” said Suryansh. “Mummy and Daddy can’t go with us to...we aren’t telling them now, are we Daadu?” He turned to ask his grandfather.
“Of course we aren’t,” said Raj, shaking his head, “That’s our secret. So, you guys are leaving tomorrow.”
Sunita laughed, getting up to hug Raj. “Thank you Dad! You’re the best.” She walked to Tanuja and gave her a hug too. “Mom, are you sure you can manage?” she asked her in a whisper.
“Of course we can, princess.” T
anuja hugged her daughter-in-law right back. “It’s been a long time since Akshay and you had a holiday by yourselves.”
Sunita was truly touched by her parents-in-law’s gesture as she sat next to Akshay, holding his hand, too choked to do justice to her meal. She was totally excited to spend some private time with her handsome husband who she adored like crazy. She excused herself immediately after the meal to pack their bags. They were flying by British Airways the next afternoon, directly to Heathrow airport. Sunita took barely half an hour to complete her packing and rushed back downstairs where Suryansh and Akshara were taking turns reading a fairy tale out loud, to Tanuja and Raj. This was a daily post-dinner ritual that neither the grandparents nor the grandkids wanted to miss. With a smile on her face, Sunita went to sit with Akshay who was still working on his laptop.
“All set?” he asked her softly, his dark brown eyes gazing into her grey-green ones in adoration.
Sunita nodded, her eyes glowing in excitement. “Am I being very selfish wanting to take off with only you?” She expressed the fleeting moment of guilt to her husband of almost nine years.
“Nope. I’m sure we’ll return rejuvenated to become even better parents to our kids, don’t you think?”
“I suppose. Anyway, I think the four of them,” she pointed towards the quartet huddled around the centre table, “are absolutely fine with it.”
“Exactly. Do you need to complete anything urgent?” Akshay asked his interior designer wife. “I’m just dashing off a few mails and plan to leave my laptop back at home. I might even use a separate SIM on my phone so that only family can reach us,” said Akshay.
“I don’t have anything urgent lined up. Mom knows that and that’s probably the reason why they decided to surprise us right at this moment. I’ll let you get on with your work then. I’m off to soak in the bathtub and get myself all ready for our break,” said Sunita, getting up from the chair next to him.
“Hey!” Akshay turned from his laptop to look up at his gorgeous wife, “Do you want to wait till the kids get to sleep? I can join you.” He closed his left eye in a slow wink, a grin splitting his attractive features.
Sunita gave him an answering grin even as her cheeks bloomed fierily, despite all these years of being married to Akshay. “It’s a date.”
The next four days were pure bliss as they walked around London during the day, checking out the many sights, while making long leisurely love through the nights.
“Akshay.” Sunita turned her head sideways to give him better access as he nibbled her earlobe. They were leaving the next evening to go back home.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered, his tongue tracing the outline of her ear, arousing her yet again.
She turned to kiss the corner of his mouth, her tongue reaching to trace over the seam of his lips. And the ritual began yet again as they made love, reaching out to the zenith once more.
Akshay sat up with a jerk when his phone rang loudly. He lifted it to notice with surprise that it was his niece Saloni from Chicago.
“Hey Saloni! How have you been?” asked Akshay, turning to look at his wife to see if she realised who was on the phone. Sunita nodded her head in understanding, her hand holding Akshay’s between both of hers.
“Not good Akshay chachu.” Saloni’s voice was gruff, disturbing him badly along with her words.
“What happened beta?” The “beta” slipped out automatically as he realised that Saloni needed a lot of reassurance. She was barely a decade younger than him.
“I want to get back to Delhi along with Mitesh. I need to buy tickets. Can you help me?”
OMG! What must have happened for Saloni to take this sudden decision? She had just got back to Chicago a couple of months ago.
“Do you want to talk about it?” suggested Akshay cautiously, putting the call on speaker mode so that Sunita could also hear. “Sunita’s with me, Saloni. And my phone’s on speaker now.”
“Okay, though I don’t want to talk about it right now. Sorry about that Sunita.” Sunita was barely a couple of years older than Saloni and preferred to be addressed by only her name without the tag of ‘chachi’. “It’s just that I want to catch the first flight out. I can’t live with Manish any more. He has no respect for me as a human being, let alone a woman. He doesn’t give a damn about our son either. I hate it out here. I’m sorry to trouble you...”
“What’s this, Saloni? Family’s no trouble. But...”
“I can’t afford to buy our flight tickets. Can you help me?” It was obvious that Saloni was desperate while she tried to keep her voice as neutral as possible.
“Of course I can help you Saloni. But will you be able to travel alone with Mitesh?” Akshay was getting worried now. The toddler was going to be eight months, a difficult age to be cooped up in a long flight. And he had travelled both ways a little less than a couple of months ago.
Sunita had already logged into her phone to check out flights from Chicago to London. “There’s a flight from Chicago at 7.20 pm today local time. It will reach London at 9.05 tomorrow morning,” she said.
Akshay gave his wife a thumbs-up before addressing Saloni. “Sunita and I are in London. You come over with Mitesh and we’ll travel together to India. Is that fine?”
“Chachu!” Saloni’s voice broke. They could hear her sniffling as she paused, obviously trying to get her voice back in control. “Thank you. Sunita, you too. I’m leaving right now, before Manish gets back home.”
“But Saloni, what if he gets worried? I hope you’re going to leave him a message.” That was Sunita.
“Of course I plan to do that. Bye guys. I’ll see you in the morning. Akshay chachu, please don’t bother to come to the airport. Just send me the tickets and your hotel address on WhatsApp. I’m travelling light, with only a backpack.”
“Okay dear. You take care and have a safe flight,” said Akshay before disconnecting. Sunita had already booked the tickets for one adult and an infant and messaged Saloni. “Damn the guy. I always thought Manish was cold-blooded and too full of Chicago,” muttered Akshay. “But Rati bhabhi was so insistent on getting them married. Tch! Poor Saloni. A more level-headed girl I’m yet to see. And she did so well in her studies too. It was so unfair to uproot her from Delhi and move her to the USA where she can’t do anything but twiddle her thumbs.”
Sunita hugged her husband close, not saying anything. It was rare for Akshay to be so upset about something.
Saloni left home ten minutes later, Mitesh in his collapsible pram and a backpack on her shoulders with one change of clothes for herself, a few sets of clothes, disposable nappies and eight bottles of feed for her son. She checked that she had some cash and their passports in her bag before leaving Manish’s apartment’s keys on the hall table, weighing down the brief note that she had left for him. She got into the cab that she had called for and left without turning to look back at the apartment block that held some of the unhappiest moments of her life over the past two-plus years.
As she was leaving, Saloni promised herself that she wasn’t coming back here ever, come hell or high water. Her mother could throw all the tantrums she wanted. From now on, she would answer to no one and be her own boss.
8
Aarav did his best to concentrate on the meeting he had called with all his heads of departments. But it was difficult as he kept looking at the picture that Saloni’s husband had sent on his WhatsApp that morning. While the man had chopped Saloni out of picture when he’d posted it on Twitter, he had sent the original picture to Aarav. Saloni was standing next to him, her hand on his arm while Aarav held little Mitesh in the crook of his arm. It was a darling picture and made Aarav emotional every time he looked at it. Why Manish had chosen to send the unedited version after all this long was anyone’s guess.
Aarav looked up from his phone when there was a lull. “I’m sorry. Charmaine, you were saying...?”
His accounts department head looked at her boss, wondering if something was wrong. Aarav usua
lly showed a lot of enthusiasm and kept meetings going, so much so that his staff looked forward to getting together with him as often as they could as they felt energised every time they were done with one. “Aren’t you keeping well Aarav?” Charmaine asked him outright.
Aarav shook his head, looking rather sheepish. “I’m sorry, just a bit distracted.” He raised his hands in front of him in a gesture of defence. “No excuse. Carry on guys. So, what do you think? Should we take up this mega wedding project? As you all know, we have been into corporate events as well as movie and TV awards. If we take this on, we’ll be deviating from our regular line. But,” he paused for effect, “It’s a whole new challenge with lots of learning for all of us. This is a destination wedding with a no-holds-barred budget.” He paused for effect before saying, “Now shoot!”
Dharmesh, the head of HR, said, “I vote for it. This could be huge, especially considering who the clients are.” The clients were an old family from a royal line from Mysore. They still lived in a palace on the outskirts of the city and owned five hundred acres of flourishing land.
Vinaya, from the art department, said, “I’m totally excited, my head already buzzing with ideas. What if we have the wedding on a cruise ship—with the whole works? It could be over four days or even seven.”
Aarav laughed, showing a thumbs-up before turning to Charmaine who said, a huge grin on her face, “I’m all for it. You did say the budget is unlimited, right?”
The other three department heads were also in, though Ganesh from marketing had some questions. “Recently, our clients have given us carte blanche on their projects. Since this is a family thing, they might have a lot of conditions. Shouldn’t we find out what they are before committing ourselves? At no point can we fail to deliver.”
“That’s a valid point Ganesh,” said Aarav, making a note on a scribble pad. “I’m having a preliminary meeting with them, at their palace...” He paused when the others “ooh”ed and “aah”ed, before continuing, “Next week. The wedding date is some six months from now. Let me find out all their requirements. Hiten, we’ll be travelling on Tuesday and probably stay back till Thursday evening. Ask Deepak to keep himself free during that time till the end of the week. We’ll leave for Mysore at 8 am on Tuesday. Let’s keep the return date open. It’ll depend on how the meetings go.” Deepak Sinhal was the pilot who flew the private 20-seater jet that Aarav owned.
Flaming Sun Collection 3: Perfect Twins Find Anya (Box Set with 3 novellas) Page 26