Benign Flame: Saga of Love

Chapter 20 - Blueprint in the Offing

Unmindful of the sentimental ways of its passengers, as the Minar Express kept its westward course, reclining in a first class coupe, Raja Rao reminisced over that incomplete encounter with Roopa.

'Had I not withdrawn from her what would she have said at our parting?' he began to speculate, 'Could she have said 'yes'? Well, she might not have been so forthright, but surely she would've said something to break the ice. But then, haven't we already conveyed our mutual craving in revealing ways? What remained was just affixing the 'I Love You' stamp to the cover of our mutual attraction. Maybe we would've done that if only we were slower by a step or two, but still, isn't it clear to both of us that we love each other? No denying that and my life may not be worth living without possessing Roopa, in spite of having Sandhya.'

Then turning his attention to Sandhya, he found her lost in her own thoughts.

'Immersed in her own emotions, she failed to see my flirtations with her friend, so it seems,' he thought to his relief. 'In the euphoria of her excitement, our unmistakable attraction seems to have appealed to her as an extension of her own affection for both of us. What a happy nature it is, a blessed soul, really.'

"Are you upset?" he said at length.

"You know how I miss her," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Maybe, you needn't for long," he said taking her hand.

"I hope so," she said looking at him as though for a reassurance.

"You may begin the countdown," he said pressing her hand.

"Why not reduce the count to five?" she said kissing his hand.

"Maybe with Roopa's impetus," he said smilingly.

"That's lovely put," she said.

"By the way, is Sathyam her relative of sorts before their marriage?" he said.

"No, but why that question?" she said, even though she understood his intent.

"Frankly speaking, she deserves a better match than that. So I felt she could've been married off to him to keep her within the family. It's a pity that many tend to slight a bright match for an ungainly family alliance," he said ruefully.

"Generally I don't blah-blah others' affairs but as I feel you're as much my friend as husband, I think you should know about her affairs as she is one of us," she said moved by the moment.

"You can trust me as a friend more than as a husband for as a friend, you would find me frank in discussion, but as husband, I might be selective in disclosing. I believe thoughtless openness hurts more than it helps relationships," he said with an eye on a probable future scenario.

"I appreciate that," she said, turning thoughtful herself.

"It's not frankness alone that brings a couple closer but its mutual respect that gives rise to their togetherness," he said fondling her hand.

"With Roopa and me, the feelings of friendship fuse with the emotions of affection," she said, as her face brightened.

"I suppose, that's possible only in friendship between women. Though I am happy for you, I am worried about her," he said gravely.

"Why it is so?" she said, puzzled.

"It's apparent that theirs is an intellectual mismatch, and given her faculties, she could be a mightily bored housewife by now," he began assessing Roopa's marital condition. "So to say, she could be on the thin edge of married ice, a fall from which would be hurtful, though life itself could be laborious. Sooner or later, it's possible that her life may lead her into a liaison for it's the first resort of a distraught woman."