Mixed Masala

Chapter 17

Meera threw herself into her work in the weeks to come, only going out the occasional Friday nights when Kavitha was not in Penang. Suresh didn't call her and she resisted the temptation to call him.

"What do you think of Karthik?" Jayashree asked one Saturday afternoon when Meera dropped by to spend some time with her nephew.

Meera watched as her sister carefully changed her baby's napkin for the eighth time in less than two hours.

""Hmm ..." she said, stroking the little boy's curly hair. "Who's Karthik?"

Jayashree gave her younger sister a sidelong glance. "You're looking at him," she said.

"What?" Meera asked, not paying much attention to anything other than the beautiful baby who was giving her a toothless smile at that very moment. "I thought you were going to call him Prakash."

"We were but then Ravi changed his mind," Jayashree said, rolling her eyes. "He suddenly remembered this school bully he used to know whose name was Prakash." She sighed, and then added, "Karthik was our other choice anyway. I just hope my dear, demented husband doesn't get another bad flashback ..." Jayashree broke off and touched the younger girl lightly on her arm. "Is everything okay? You seem a little distracted."

Meera smiled. "I'm fine."

But Jayashree wasn't convinced. She gently picked up her baby and placed the boy in his cot, then turned the overhead mobile on, slowly backed away and then joined Meera on the bed as she sat folding some clean napkins.

"Now tell me," she insisted. "What happened?"

Meera smiled, but her eyes betrayed the sadness she felt. "It's nothing," she said and then realised that her sister would not stop pestering her until she told her the truth. "Well, actually it's about me and Suresh ..." She stopped, not knowing exactly what to say next.

"Yes?" her sister urged her on.

Meera sighed. "Well, I guess we're not friends anymore."

"What? ... Why? What happened?" Jayashree asked, looking at her sister closely.

Meera shrugged. "He wanted more and I didn't. End of story. Now, can we please talk about something else?"

"In a minute," her sister said firmly. "First, I want to know something." Jayashree looked the other girl in the eye as she asked, "Is this what you want?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Jayashree stared at her sister for a moment longer, then said, "So tell me why you look so miserable then."

Meera averted her eyes. "Please drop it. I'm just sad because I feel like I've lost a good friend. That's all."

Jayashree was quiet for several moments. When she finally spoke, her voice was gentle. "Look, I'm not going to lie to you, Meera. Ravi and I were hoping all this while that you and Suresh would end up getting married one day ... No, let me finish!" she said holding up her hand as Meera started to say something.

Meera sighed and started fingering the tiny baby clothes that were scattered all over the bed waiting to be folded.

"The fact is, Suresh has been in love with you for some time now. Everybody could see that ... everybody that is except for you and Suresh. Of course, you knew from the beginning that he liked you but you no doubt brushed it off as some kind of mild infatuation .... As for Suresh," Jayashree paused and sighed. "What can I say? Men are slow."

A smile played at her lips as she continued, "It's not often that you meet someone who's on the same wavelength as you, who shares your likes and dislikes ... who worships the ground you walk on and asks for nothing but your friendship in return ..."