‘There, look!’
There was Vaishnavi, dressed in eastern wear, modelling for an advert for her grandmother’s shop.
‘The old Vaishnavi would never have done this. The one who arrived in Rally a few months ago barely spoke to me. But now, she jumped at the chance to model for the shop.’
‘That’s amazing. I’m so glad it’s all working out,’ Kaavi said, smiling broadly.
‘Kaavi, thank you. Now, let me show you the outfit. Come.’
‘Thank you,’ Kaavi replied.
Bashi held out a coral cotton Punjabi suit. The pants were simple, and the kurta-style top was understated, but something about it was unique. The white embroidery was delicate and intricate. If you looked closely, you could see peacocks woven into the design.
‘Wow, this is beautiful,’ Kaavi said, her eyes lighting up.
‘You know, Kaavi, that outfit arrived the very day your husband and his sister came by,’ Bashi said. ‘I told him it would look beautiful on his wife. He agreed.’
Kaavi blushed, but beneath it her heart tightened as she thought of Neel. She took the outfit from Bashi and slipped quickly into the fitting room.
eel was pretending to watch an action movie when his friend Ryan arrived. He talked about sport, work, even the weather, but Neel knew why he was really there. Kaavi. It was sitting between them like a third person.
So when Ryan tried to launch yet another weather update, Neel muted the TV and shifted his position slightly to face his friend. ‘Say what you want to say, man.’
‘I can’t believe you ignored all my calls when you were in Rally,’ Ryan said.
‘It’s because I knew what you were going to say. You were going to say “you’re a fool for sticking around with Kaavi”. You were going to say I should’ve just handed her the divorce papers and walked.’
‘No, I don’t think you’re an idiot for standing by Kaavi when her father died. That’s you, Neel. It’s who you are. You stand by people. You support them. You always put others first.’
Neel let out a dry laugh. ‘Yeah, I guess I’m supposed to feel good about that, right?’
Ryan looked at him, unsure. ‘I don’t know what to say to you,Neel.’
Neel didn’t respond.
Ryan sat back, eyes fixed on him. ‘But you slept with her, right? Didn’t you?’
Silence.
‘Okay,’ Ryan said, nodding slowly. ‘So the spark’s still there. You still love her. She still hasn’t signed the divorce papers.’ He leaned forward. ‘What are you doing here, man?’
‘I’m leaving the ball in her court,’ Neel said.
‘Okay, I get that. Actually, no, I don’t get that, but obviously you do. However, here’s what I really don’t understand. What if she does nothing? What if she never sends the divorce papers? What then? You’re going to wait around forever? Keep putting your life on hold like you’ve been doing for the last two years?’
‘Nope. From what I’ve seen this past month, I know Kaavi will send those divorce papers.’
‘What makes you so sure?’ Ryan asked.
‘Her cousin will talk some sense into her,’ Neel said. He paused and looked at the TV. ‘Kaavi knows I love her, but I don’t know if she loves me.’
‘So you think she’ll choose the divorce over you?’
Neel didn’t respond.
Kaavi was on packaging duty. The others had made it clear that she wasn’t allowed near a single ingredient. Her job was simple: fold the beautifully decorated boxes that would hold the sweetmeats for Shona and Sen to hand out to family and friends for Diwali.
Sam and Anni didn’t observe Diwali themselves, but they always celebrated with Shona and Sen – even before they were married. So they were there too, helping where they could.
