Last Man She'd Love

by Summerita Rhayne

  His gaze veered away from Guy’s.

  ‘Meet Lyna,’ Guy said.

  After a silent struggle within himself, in which he continued to look downwards, he burst out. ‘Three years. No message or call. What was that?’

  ‘Lyna, this is Vinay. Excuse his rudeness.’ Guy’s voice had gone curt. Lyna looked quickly from one to the other. She noticed Hina wearing a displeased look.

  The boy’s eyes flashed. ‘Yes, you have your own reasons. That’s the explanation for everything. From dealing with Mummy to me...’ He stopped, glancing at his mother who looked rather coldly at him. He continued as though beyond caring, ‘You...you dare to show up now. Why? What’s changed? Have you grown tired of waltzing in the town, that you decided to give a look in to your rural relatives?’

  Guy’s jaw tightened. Lyna saw a brief flicker of something that made something twist in her stomach, but it was gone before she could really name it. Guy smiled derisively and said, ‘Looks like you have few grains of sense, Vinay. Strive to cultivate more,’ and went out, preceding Lyna.

  ‘Let me show you the gardens. They are really beautiful.’ His mouth curled.

  He strode rapidly. She was forced to run to keep up.

  He had crossed the porch and gone along the path into the flower bordered walkway. She followed. Savika had dropped behind when they came from Grandpa’s room, murmuring about lunch and his mother didn’t come out of the house.

  They stood, Guy ahead of her, his back to her. She saw his chest move as he took on deep breaths. Around them purple azaleas, colorful zinnia and dahlias flashed in their flowers beds, providing a brilliant splash in the sunshine.

  ‘I have become a poor host, haven’t I?’

  She could detect strain in the smile. It worried her. She sensed strong emotion at work and couldn’t understand why. Or maybe she could. Three years, the boy had said.

  ‘Guy, what’s up? Your brother. He seems really upset. Did you...?’ He made an instinctive dismissive gesture and she stopped.

  They were all behaving as though they hadn’t seen him since long and had a quarrel with him.

  He hadn’t told her. But then she knew it was hard to share the unpalatable secrets of one’s family.

  She said, ‘Families can be very trying. By all means, let’s admire the gardens. Oh, what a beautiful magnolia tree and here’s frangipani, my favorite!’

  Guy took hold of her arm. ‘I didn’t know Vinay would react like that. I have no right to pull you in into this situation.’

  ‘No intention either. I don’t mind. But it’s a surprise. I’m an unwilling onlooker.’

  He stayed quiet. ‘I didn’t expect that from Vinay. He’s been impetuous natured from childhood. But attacking me like that was out of question. He should have understood. Savika too. Why I –’ He cut himself off.

  Almost in the same breath, he said, ‘Thanks for not asking questions. Come inside, I’ll ask Savika to settle you in.’

  She stared after him. How had she got herself in this? Because she was curious. And now stymied because she had to contain the questions.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  She had been shown her room. Like a peasant taken into a dazzling casino, she stared around. The artistic décor, the authentic period setting lured her into its mesmerizing fold. The neat bed with its simple cream bedspread provided a counterfoil to the richness of drapes, the walls with deep blue and green inlay work and the ornate furniture and fittings. From the teak armoire to the dresser with curved legs and the hanging chandelier with laser lights (optional, she was told), it drew the eye and elicited gasps. She walked into the bathroom in an explorative mood, instantly captivated by the oval mirror inset in a peacock’s tail, presiding over the twin cream washbasins. The bathroom was larger than in most hotels rooms. The bath was crafted as another peacock, its turned neck becoming the tap. She gasped. The green and blue bottom contrasted with outer cream tiles. Thick towels were placed on glass shelves. A scented candle burned in a deep sconce. Every surface gleamed as though freshly constructed and untouched. She’d love to do a shoot here. A modern princess, she thought, her mind singing away onto a story. Maybe caught in the middle of tradition and modernity...

  She and Savika had tea downstairs in what she termed the morning room, another tastefully decorated chamber with a delightfully carved rosewood desk, comfortable sofas and settees covered in damask and velvet.

  Savika laughed as Lyna gazed around the room and apologized for her lack of attention.

  ‘This is a bit overwhelming.’

  ‘We’ll take some getting used to. Don’t mind.’ She leaned forward and confided, ‘Grandpa, we call him Dadu, is a strange mix of precolonial and colonial customs, you’ll realize. You saw his room; wait till you see the way he eats. He wouldn’t rest without the full cutlery range of the knives and forks. At dinner, we’re expected to change as though we’re still living in the nineteenth century. Who bothers to dress formally for dinner at home? At other times, he’s docile, unless you get on his wrong side. So, we don’t mind. Even if we did, we wouldn’t dare to speak up against him because when he’s cross, there’s no cooling him down.’

  The children called out to her to settle some dispute and she went away. Lyna’s attention got caught by the figure hovering in the doorway. ‘Hi Vinay,’ she called. He hesitated, his face a little pale. Lyna’s frank appraisal seemed to make him less formal. He said, ‘I hope you don’t think I’m always bad tempered. I think I made a wrong impression on you.’

  ‘Well, it’s never too late to make amends. Though I’m often as bad tempered or used to be in my teens.’

  He came in, walking with nonchalance of the young. ‘I’m seventeen,’ he said, dismissing her excuse of being in the teens. ‘I won’t be around for lunch,’ he announced with a touch of rebelliousness that made her conclude he was deliberately going to be out of Guy’s presence. ‘But I don’t want you to think I want to be purposely rude. I – I have to pick up notes from a friend. I’m studying for JEE, you know.’

  ‘I didn’t. But all the best for your prep.’ She shook his hand. He grinned, suddenly looking more likeable, the anxious look vanishing from his face. He wore a stubble, the type that was fashionable just then, though it didn’t suit him much. His dark hair, trimmed close to the scalp around the lower part of head and standing like a thatch on top – an exaggeration of the style that was fashionable then – contrasted with a very fair, almost delicate complexion.

  ‘Yeah, well, I have to be going. Do you play tennis?’

  ‘Very little.’

  ‘We’ll play tomorrow morning,’ he said, ignoring her disclaimer. He hesitated and asked almost shyly, ‘Should I call you Bhabhi? Are you formally engaged yet?’

  ‘No, you can call me Lyna.’

  ‘Great,’ he said, visibly relieved. ‘I won’t be here at dinner. A friend of mine is hosting a b’day party at Badlapur. I’ll be back late. So, see you.’

  ‘Sure.’ She smiled. He stayed, smiling at her a moment, then turned and went out.

  Guy came in to escort her to lunch. ‘I think Savika will have told you all the habits of the house. Lunch is usually early, so is dinner. Everyone is expected to change for dinner and it’s understood that no casual clothes should be worn, so it means, ladies don’t show up in short dresses.’

  ‘I’ll wear a churidar so your choice of bride isn’t put into question.’ She cocked her head to one side. ‘Or maybe I should wear a short dress? So, you can later claim that I wasn’t the thing for tradition and your grandpa can heave a sigh of relief afterwards?’

  He chuckled. ‘I never give it much thought and you need not either. I told you just so you’d know if there are any odd looks, what’s causing them. If they haven’t been able to reform me, I doubt they will expect the same from my wife to be.’

  In that, Guy was wrong because one of the first things Hina Singh impressed on her prospective daughter in law was that she couldn’t expect to run as wild as her f
iancé. ‘He’s always been wild and rather careless, but I do hope you’ll not try to act like him.’

  Lyna decided that she couldn’t like this woman. Her way of snapping her eyes at her and straightening her sari pallu, while at the same time putting up her chin in a gesture of disdain, couldn’t be said to be warm and welcoming. She considered telling her neither she nor Guy were wild or careless, thought about what interpretation might be placed on that, and subsided. Moreover, her attention got arrested by the long table which went on almost the width of the area, with a centerpiece made of an engraved bowl filled with rose petals. Their scent hung in the room, being displaced by aromas wafting up from the dishes put on either side of the bowl.

  These ran the course of the table. Rice platter with saffron sprinkled on it, salad piled high, two curries, fish and chicken, two types of dry cooked veggies, more of the rich looking curries, of lentils and cottage cheese, a dish of Manchurian and another of fried rice. A helper bringing in a basket of chapattis.

  Her eyes rounded. Were they going to eat all that?

  She had come to realize that the scale in this house was not what she was used to.

  The elder Pratap Singh soon seated himself at the table. In front of him a shallow dish with the chicken wing was placed, looking bland and unappetizing.

  She gazed at it and made a face. ‘You’ll eat only that?’

  He rumbled a laugh. ‘Yes, Lina...Lana...this is my meal. Boiling reduces calories so the doc tells me. It’s not what I used to eat. Ah! I can tell you tales. A whole chicken was nothing. A basket of rotis...what you fancily call flatbread. In my time, we had pure butter, pure ghee...’

  Across the table, Savika looked amused. ‘Dadu, let go. You’re boring her.’

  He sighed and concentrated on his food, not offended by the interruption.

  Savika turned to Guy. ‘Why didn’t you let us know what time you’d be arriving? I thought you’ll finish your day before setting out. When the gatekeeper called, we were thrown into a flutter.’

  Guy looked up, his face expressionless. ‘I called Mummy.’ At that, speaking looks were cast between her and Guy and she said suddenly, ‘Oh, it’s okay...doesn’t matter. Let’s enjoy dinner...I mean lunch!’

  She was again the inadvertent recipient of a family to-do, Lyna realized. She wished she could disappear. She had no intention of prying but with every exchange, her curiosity was mounting. What was going on? Nobody remarked on Vinay’s absence. She didn’t realize the kids were also not there, until Guy remarked on it. ‘Surely they are old enough to sit at the table now.’

  Again, that moment of silence. Savika looked a mixture of resignation and warning at Guy. But he addressed his grandfather. ‘The kids will join us for meals, sir. Why shouldn’t they?’

  Dadu grunted and said nothing for a moment, simply looking from under his beetling brows. Then in a slow gesture, he wiped his lips with a napkin and put it down. As well have put down his foot.

  ‘In my time, we ate in the nursery or whatever it is that you have now. Kids at the table! Now that’s something new! They will visit me to say goodnight as is proper. And yes, say a poem each as I expect from them. Improves memory.’

  ‘They are not recorders. Why should they recite if they don’t want to?’ Guy objected.

  Lyna got a vision of subdued children reciting lines they had to memorize and getting a stare under from those fierce eyebrows if they missed a word and couldn’t help cheering Guy on silently.

  Hina chose this moment to say, ‘Much fond of them as I am, I can’t help seeing your Dadu is right, Guy. You always go against the rules, but they are meant for discipline.’

  She emphasized ‘discipline’ as though it must be an alien word to him.

  Her support seemed to have the reverse effect than its intended one. ‘All right, Jashith, have it your way. They can come in to dinner tonight. Savika, make sure they are wearing formal clothes and learn a new poem each.’

  ‘No, sir,’ Guy objected again. ‘Kids don’t have to have the same rules. Let’s say they will recite something – it will be what they feel like. And they’ll wear what they usually do.’

  Savika smiled gratefully. ‘It’s a headache for Meena to keep them quiet.’ She looked pleased, but as though afraid that the senior would have a change of mind, she changed the subject. ‘Dadu, why don’t we have a party to celebrate Lyna’s arrival into the family? I, for one, am longing for her to meet Tina and all my other friends. They are curious too. They’re my childhood cronies,’ she said to Lyna. ‘A few are married to businessmen, like I am. When our husbands are off on tours, we all head to our parents’ for the holidays. So, what do you say, Dadu?’

  This was approved by him and the rest of the meal passed in Savika enthusing over the plans.

  ‘I must have a new dress,’ she declared, ‘What would you like to wear, Lyna? Lehanga or something more contemporary?’ she said, referring to the traditional garment of long flared or straight line sequined skirt with bodice type blouse.

  Before Lyna could reply, Hina spoke up, smiling benignly. Her gaze was taking in every detail of Lyna’s dress. She had been ignored before, so she was surprised to find this sudden interest. ‘You must pay attention to traditional values also. Short skirts are not for the countryside.’

  ‘Mummy, don’t be stuffy,’ Savika protested. ‘I wear them all the time. Even Grandpa says anything below the knees is fine for lunch.’

  ‘For you and Guy and of course other family members, it will do. You may do as you please, but Lyna will be the daughter-in-law. People of the countryside will expect model behavior from her. Surely it will not be too much to expect a little change when all the time she will be living in the town.’

  Lyna was immediately conscious of a hush and saw Guy’s face set in harsh lines.

  ‘You are presuming, Hina.’ Dadu said. Even he looked disturbed. His mouth set in a grim line. ‘Why can’t she live here?’

  Lyna had the feeling a kindling had been rashly released by Hina onto an unlit fire.

  ‘But she has her job there, so of course she would prefer to live there,’ Hina said placidly. But Lyna saw her eyes make that snapping movement.

  Lyna was conscious of their gazes turning towards her. She hadn’t expected that, at the very first meal, she would feel as though the peace of the household was weighing on her reply.

  ‘Of course,’ said Guy, coming to her aid or so it seemed, until he said, ‘She doesn’t go for rural life much.’

  Her eyes sparkled. She’d expected him to ask his mother to back off. Not this support of her presumption. So, Guy thought he could speak on her behalf?

  She said deliberately, ‘I don’t know about the job, but if the rest of Nenthi is like what I’ve seen so far, I would happily remain here. I loved the jacaranda trees and the so richly green fields...I could spend all morning roaming the fields and all evening under those flowering boughs.’

  Guy tensed fractionally or was it her imagination?

  Hina seemed to lose some color as well.

  ‘Not really, you are a town girl. What do you know, you’ll be quickly bored,’ said Guy.

  ‘Would you be bored, dear?’ his grandfather asked. After his first attempt, he seemed to have decided ‘Lyna’ was unpronounceable.

  ‘On the contrary, I’m a good horticulturist, Dadu,’ she said chattily. ‘I love trees. Flowery trees, leafy trees and the rest of the trunks.’

  Her gaze met Guy’s. He looked like he would like to throw the salad plate on to her head. Then his expression changed. His mouth twitched. ‘You left out trees which need to be planted in corners of the parking zones.’

  ‘Did I? Where do you keep your car? I must find a corner near it,’ she said with sweetness.

  Savika burst out laughing. Dadu too, even if he were hardly likely to get the reference. Lyna became conscious of their presence and smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

  Later, she found the offender in the garden.

  �
��If I were really your fiancée,’ she told him, ‘I would dump the salad platter on your head. Why didn’t you give me the least idea? Do you think your fiancée would appreciate you forcing your opinion on her, without discussing first with me?’ she ranted, getting her pronouns confused.

  ‘But then if you were, I would have discussed it with you,’ he said, slanting her his half smile.

  It was evening and he was dressed for jogging, a tight tee and shorts delineating taut pectorals and sinewy thigh muscles.

  Her heart thudded and she realized, besides the obvious effect of his attractiveness, she was also feeling relief at his relaxed air. So much like the Guy she knew.

  ‘What?’ He had detected her small smile.

  She shook her head and fell into step with him. They began to walk along one of the straighter paths in the gardens.

  ‘Nothing. I never thought I’d be glad to see your sardonic side, but today I am.’ She smiled impishly.

  He paused. ‘Yes, today was a bit …overwhelming, shall we say? You were superb. Thanks.’

  ‘For what?’

  ‘I don’t know why.’

  ‘Because I love trees?’ she kidded. ‘Are you getting into the spirit of saving the environment?’

  He paused and gave her a long look. ‘When you’re on your high horse, you know what I want to do?’

  ‘What?’

  He stepped closer. All at once she became aware of danger. For all his vulnerability today, he now stood very much in command. Her breath hitched a bit as she realized her relief at finding the normal Guy had been premature.

  ‘Kiss you to make you stop eating my head,’ he said mockingly and let his arms come around her.

  She was in a dilemma. The first time he hadn’t asked her and she had been able to be indignant about it. But she had also experienced the brush of his lips and now knew what to expect. Now she didn’t want to be indignant and how to act as though she was or how to resist him was beyond her at the moment. Because his arms were hard, his body giving off a warmth that drew her. An invisible thread seemed to be pulling her senses and although he gave her all the time in the world to withdraw as his embrace tightened very slowly, she wasn’t doing it. Being mad. Probably.