Damaged and Afraid

Chapter 11

     The next day Rohit and Sanjana drove to Rohit's condo. Rohit and Meenakshi had arranged to have many of Sanjana's larger suitcases moved to Rohit's place in advance to make the move less tiring. Rohit glanced over at Sanjana. She seemed to be acting normally as if what happened last night didn't affect her at all. They hadn't really spoken since last night. Sanjana wondered what her new home would look like. Did he live with many family members? Were there going to be children for her to play with or help care for? How much cleaning and cooking would be expected of her? All of these questions raced through Sanjana's mind as the car approached Rohit's house. Sanjana thought about what her new family life would be like. Rohit's father seemed like he would be an amicable father-in-law, so Sanjana wasn't too worried, but she hadn't gotten to know many of Rohit's other relatives besides exchanging pleasantries at the wedding. She met Rohit's older brother, but he lived somewhere far away with his wife and baby.

     "We're here," Rohit said, interrupting Sanjana's thoughts about her new life.

     They pulled up to a tall skyscraper. Sanjana looked at Rohit in awe...his house was ugly. It looked industrial, not like a home at all.

     "So I live in a condo in this building. Lots of people live in the building. It's a little different from an actual house." Rohit explained, not sure if Sanjana was familiar with the concept of apartments or condominiums.

     They exited the car and entered the condominium building. Sanjana looked around the large lobby as they waited for the elevator. The building had over thirty floors according to the silver buttons in the elevator. Rohit pushed the button to the top floor. Sanjana took a deep breath. She felt nervous as the elevator moved closer the top floor. The doors opened after a few minutes, and Rohit led Sanjana down the hall to the door at the end of the hallway.

     "This is home." Rohit said, opening the door.

     He motioned for her to enter. Sanjana stepped inside. Her breath was taken away. The living room was humongous, with modern style furniture. Though it was more sparsely furnished than their homes in India, Sanjana thought it worked well with the style of the condo. There was a wall of windows overlooking the beautiful city

     "Do you like it?" Rohit smiled as he watched Sanjana's expression.

     Sanjana turned to him and nodded in response. She walked closer to the wall of windows, gaping at the city.

     "I'm never really here, so that explains why it's so presentable," Rohit explained, grinning.

     Rohit led Sanjana throughout the apartment, giving her the grand tour. Once they had been through every part of the apartments, Rohit took Sanjana to the master bedroom.

     "Here is our bedroom," Rohit announced as he opened the doors. The room was larger than Sanjana expected. It had a huge king sized bed right in the center. There was a large walk-in closet and a luxurious en suite bathroom. This was pure luxury.

     Sanjana was perplexed. She wondered if every condo in this building was this luxurious. She had worried about what a condo would be like, but it seemed even better than living in a house. She paused. Where was the rest of Rohit's family?

     "You live alone?" Sanjana asked Rohit.

     "Well I did...and now I don't." Rohit answered.

     Sanjana glanced around the condo again. It was too large for a single man. It was too large for a couple. She felt lonely just living with Meenakshi. Living with Rohit would probably be just as lonely. Sanjana was used to living in a large community, where friends and relatives would freely visit like they lived in the house themselves.