Parinayanantaram

Dinner to remember (Part 3)

"Everything was going wonderfully ... until ........."

She sighed and closed her eyes. A tear drop ran down her left cheek ...

{What happened to Roopa?}

After a sigh, she broke the suspense.

"Until she got married!"

{Here she goes again, blaming "Marriage" for every misfortune.

Don't to jump conclusions so soon. Just wait and listen to what she has to say.}

"She was in the 3rd year of her course when she got married. It was an arranged marriage. Initially, everything seemed rosy to her after marriage. She used to call me and talk about all the little cute ways in which her husband expressed his love to her. He seemed like a genuine man. A few months after her marriage, she got pregnant unexpectedly. Her calls became less frequent and her voice sounded weaker with every call."

"I still remember our last conversation ... her voice was barely audible. She told me that she was anxious about the delivery which was due a few weeks. I asked her to have faith and hung up the call. If only I had known that it was the last time I could hear her voice ..... I got a call few days later from her parents informing that Roopa didi passed away after giving birth to a baby girl. They said it was due to Postpartum complications."

She started sobbing uncontrollably. I hesitantly moved closer to her and placed my arm round her shoulder.

"She ... was ... so ... close ... to ... becoming ... a ... Doctor ... but ... her ... dreams ... were ... shattered ... she ... died ... during ... the ... final ... year ... of ... her ... course ..."

She was blurting out words between her sobs. I hugged her while she cried into my shirt ... I don't know how long we sat there like that. But by the time she calmed down, it was very dark.

Let's go to our suite. It's getting cold. I have ordered dinner to be delivered directly to the room.

She looked at me questioningly.

"I realised we never went on a honeymoon and started imagining romantic moments when you asked me to find a quiet place to talk. So I booked a suite ...
I thought getting out of the routine would bring us closer ... afterall you confessed of your love to me ... "
I bit my tongue.

{ You crazy boy!

I know ... loose tongue ... but she makes me lose my mind ...

In both positive and negative ways... }

(I was prepared for her daggers, whether glares or words ... but surprisingly she got up and held my hand ... I am now sure that she is softening towards me.)

{Congratulations my boy!}

As we walked towards the reception to gather the room keys, she whispered through clenched teeth "I didn't confess my love to you."

"But my ego would believe that you did." I  winked.

Once we both were seated comfortably on the cozy bed in our suite, she continued ...

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I would like to apologise for delayed updates. Also, I don't have time to edit my work ... so kindly ignore the errors.

But the good news is that I am about to wrap up this book. Just 2 more chapters.

Thanks for being such a great support in this sweet little journey.