Page 35 of That Same Old Love

Srishti joined them. “Papa, mummy asked me to tell you that they are going to start dancing in fifteen minutes.”

Sidhu nodded and put his arm around his daughter’s shoulders and kissed her affectionately on top her head.

“Wow Srishti, you look so grown up and pretty cool in your ghagra. I haven’t seen you from the past one month. How was your summer trip from school?” asked Mahi.

Srishti smiled. “It was fun. I had a great time. I wish we could have stayed longer.”

Mahi smiled and was about to ask her more, when Srishti’s cousins Abhijeet and Abhinav came towards them. Srishti asked them to give her five more minutes until she joined them on the dance floor.

“They seem nice. Are they behaving well with you these days or are they still teasing you at school?” Mahi asked Srishti.

“They have changed a lot in the past few months. After we moved into our new home, I think they felt very bad. Even at school when some other boy was teasing me, they beat him up, saying that no one should ever tease their sister—”

“What other boy was teasing you? And why didn’t you mention it to me or your mummy?” Sidhu demanded with a frown

Srishti rolled her eyes. “Papa… a lot of people tease each other at school all the time. I’m fine. And if something upsets me, I have my music to soothe me. Even Mahi aunty uses it as therapy sometimes,” she said, winking at Mahi conspiratorially.

“What music therapy?” asked Sidhu.

“Well… when you feel a little low and don’t want to talk to anyone about it, you can listen to some good music and get back some of your groove,” said Srishti, grinning.

“Hmm…is that why you keep listening to some songs on repeat for several hours and sometimes even several days?” asked Sidhu.

Both Mahi and Srishti giggled.

Mahi was happy that Srishti had a good and healthy relationship with her cousins.

Soon they went to the dance floor where everyone was gathered.

The DJ had started playing a lot of upbeat songs.

The huge makeshift dance floor was filled up pretty quickly with children and couples of all ages.

Mahi danced along with her friends and they did some crazy steps that they had created during their college days.

After an hour, the music slowed down and the DJ asked all the couples to get on the dance floor while playing some slow romantic songs.

“Ladies, this is your chance to hold your husband close in the public, and gentlemen, hug your wife tightly using this occasion as an excuse,” the DJ announced loudly making the crowd emit loud cheers.

Mahi took that as a cue to take a short water break and get back when the music picked up again. But Samrat waylaid her.

She stared at his hand in horror and fascination as he held it out to her.

“I’m not holding a grenade in my hands, Mahi,” he told her with an amused smile.

“Yeah, but this song is not the dance-dance kind. It’s way too slow to dance apart and it’s only for real couples,” she said.

“And?” he prompted.

“Well, I don’t know how to dance slowly.”

“Neither do I. It’s not a ball dance or a performance. We just move slowly together. And we are a real couple,” he said and pulled her closer.

They held each other and slowly began to sway to the music that was a slow romantic ballad. For once, she didn’t have a smart ass comment. She was feeling a little emotional and had been trying to ignore the conversation she had with Samrat’s father early that evening.

Samrat’s parents had just exchanged heavy garlands in a ceremony that was similar to getting married. Samrat’s mother had blushed like a newlywed bride when everyone hooted saying that she and her husband just got married again and they should take off on the long honeymoon sponsored by their son.

“So Mahi. When are you and my son getting married? I’m not getting any younger. I’m already sixty now. I am hoping to have a few grandchildren by the time I turn sixty five or seventy,” Samrat’s father had asked her smiling.

Samrat’s mother was looking at her quietly, with a small smile on her face.

She had smiled back at both of them. “You are hardly old, uncle. If only Samrat was half as active or looked half as dashing as you, I would have married him a long time ago.”

“In my day and age, things were different. Women were very determined. Samrat’s mother literally tied me up, until I agreed to marry her—” Samrat’s father broke off when his wife nudged him hard.

They had all laughed. Samrat had told her about his parents love story. Apparently Samrat’s mother and father were childhood sweethearts. But when Samrat’s father’s family didn’t agree to their match, Samrat’s mother kidnapped him and held him hostage until he agreed to marry her.

Samrat’s father was disinherited by his family, but he had always told his wife and children that he didn’t ever regret the choice he made.

She rested her cheek on Samrat’s chest as they swayed to the music.

She had been feeling slightly guilty since Samrat’s father mentioned grandchildren.

She kept thinking that maybe if she hadn’t been in Samrat’s life, he would have found someone more suitable to marry, to live a happy and a complete life, while also providing his parents with grandchildren to pamper.

During the past eleven months since they had been together, she had similar thoughts on some days.

But then she had been selfish, wanting Samrat for herself, even if she couldn’t give him all the things he needed.

And when she mentioned that to him, he brushed it off, asking her not to worry, saying that he was happy with how things were progressing.

“By the way, did I tell you that you look pretty sexy in this red sari?” he asked huskily.

“Several times, during the last few hours. And we already have a dirty date later this night, where you have a free pass to do as you’ll with me, while I’m still in my sari and jewelry,” she whispered, looking up at him with a smile.

He held her closer. “Just checking to see if it is still on, because you might claim to be tired from socializing and dancing tonight.”

“Nope. And I don’t want you to change either, when you come to my place later this night.”

“Deal.”

Soon someone came looking for Samrat and he had to leave the dance floor to perform his host duty.

After a while, Mahi waved goodbye to the last of her friends and went to find Samrat. He was talking to Ananya and her friends who were with their families. He was interacting with a little boy.

As she went closer, she could hear their conversation.

“Did you have a great time Varun?” Samrat was asking the toddler.

“Yes, I did. My mummy even let me stay up very late because I am a big boy now.”

“Varun is the best behaving boy. His teachers are always telling us that he is the smartest child in the class too. He is also the bravest boy,” gushed an older woman who was probably his grandmother.

“Ma please. Varun is quite normal for his age,” Preethi intervened, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Yes grandma is right. I am brave. I fell down when I rode my cycle and got hurt on my head, but I didn’t cry much. I just cried for a second,” said Varun.

Samrat laughed and tousled Varun’s hair.

“That is brave of you, Varun,” he said and gave him a high five.

Varun’s grandmother was beaming with pride and happiness. “You are so good with children Samrat, you should have one soon. Someone like Varun,” she said with a smile.

“I definitely will aunty. I’m just waiting for my prospective wife to agree to marry me first,” he replied.

Everyone laughed, except Mahi. She had a small uncomfortable smile when some of them from the group looked towards her.

It has been close to one and half years since her son passed away. And when she moved to India last year, she had promised herself to remember only their happy times together. But even then, it was still really difficult to see other healthy and happy toddlers who were around Aryan’s age.

Seeing Varun, and listening to the talk about how brave he was, triggered some of her most painful memories.

It was one of the last emergency hospital visits and the doctors had told Mahi that her son wouldn’t make it through more than a couple of days.

She had broken down completely, but she tried to pull it together in front of Aryan.

She tried her best to keep a happy expression on her face, but her tears wouldn’t stop.

“Mommy, please don’t cry. You know it makes me feel sad. These pokey needles don’t hurt me at all. See… I don’t have any tears in my eyes,” he told her with a weak smile from the hospital bed.

During most of his short life, he had been in and out of the hospital emergency rooms. And each time they placed his tiny body on the hospital bed to poke and prod him, he was quite brave. He had gotten so used to the poking and prodding that he didn’t even bother to flinch or complain anymore.

“I’m not crying, baby. Mommy just has some dust in her eyes. You are the bravest boy in this whole wide world and I’m very proud of you,” she smiled at him through her tears.

Mahi felt her old demons, grief and anger trying to rise within her, to take over her, and then send her back into that dark abyss, where there was no hope or purpose to her life.

Shuddering slightly, she excused herself and went to Samrat’s parents to let them know she was leaving. She had come in her own car since Samrat had come early to help Ananya and others with the arrangements.

She saw that Samrat was still talking to some people and seeing the guests off. Not wanting to make him feel obligated, she left quietly without letting him know.