First Wife, First Love.

18. Balancing Relations.

After she leaves I ask, "Did Mom's heart didn't melt at her state?"

"I don't know. I left her alone. I didn't wanted to push Purvi for something when she just got divorced." Dadu says.

"What about Dadi? What problem does she have with Mayra?" I ask.

"I love Meera a lot but the only thing I don't like is the way she behaves with Mayra. Do you know your Dadi is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer? But when she knew that Mayra was the result of her son's affair with an exotic foreign dancer, she hated her and left dancing. It is a stupid reason. Every now and then I see her looking at her ghungroo and then her face twists as if she remembers something and locks those memories away. When Mayra used to dance, she avoided her at all cost as if looking at her would remind her of something." Dadu says lost in thought.

I take his wrinkled hand in mine and squeeze it then say, "We have to do something, Dadu. We have to make them realise what they are doing is wrong. Mayra is part of this family and they have to accept her before it gets too late. Every person has patience but some day that patience would wear off and in its place bitterness would come. And I don't want a girl like Mayra to turn into something like that."

"You are right. Mayra may not show it but she gets hurt. No one wants to live alone in a house full of people. No one wants to eat alone. No one wants to hide their success from their family. If Mayra was into business I bet she would have surpassed even Vedant. She is that hardworking and focused." Dadu says.

"So, what should we do?" I ask.

"We have to convince Vedant to accept her fully." Dadu says.

"Vedant?" I ask.

"Yes. Vedant often talks how he doesn't like how Mayra is being treated but he never takes initiative himself. He doesn't know that if he would take a step everything could start to get better. But he fears for his Mom and he has valid reasons for it. Vedant has suffered too at a very young age just like Mayra had. You would understand it better. To see your mother breaking down in front of you at that age leaves some scars and fears in you." Dadu says and squeezes my hand and I nod.

"You are right." I say.

"But Vedant is stubborn. The only person who could show him how to accept Mayra is you. And for that you have to know his side of the story." Dadu says.

"So I should ask him?" I ask.

"No. Vedant would never want you to know his weakness. He would never want to be vulnerable in front of you unless he trusts you more than anything. So for now the only thing you need to do is build your relationship with him. I don't want your relationship with him to suffer. You have to take your time to know each other and trust each other and that is okay. Till then we can give enough love to Mayra so she can wait and hope for more." Dadu says and I nod.

I think about Dadu's advice as I make dal for lunch. What he said really made me think a lot. I have to build my relationship with Vedant and also with others. If I have my husband in my corner maybe this battle would get easier even if only a bit. But it would make a huge difference. Because somewhere I also think that Vedant and Mom are holding each other back from accepting Mayra because of each other.

I have to think of a way to build my relationship with Vedant but how. We have been cordial to each other today and it has become quite... quiet. Maybe the reason would be my shyness around him which had made him a little conscious of me.

"What are you looking at?" Someone whispers near my ear and I turn around to see Vedant.

"Vedant! You are home." I say.

"Yes." He says with a smile.

"What are you doing in the kitchen?" I ask, confused.

"Nothing. Just came to see you." He says and looks a bit nervous.

"Okay." I say and wait for him to say more.

"Would you like to go out with me after lunch?" He asks.

"Sure." I say.

"Really?" He asks and I look at him.

"Yes." I say.

"Okay. Then I will go wash up. Is lunch ready?" He asks.

"Yes. It is ready." I say and he nods then leaves.

Maybe he wants to move forward with me and doesn't know how to do it just like me. I like Vedant and I want him to know that. And I also want to know if he likes me too. We have to do something to move forward in this relationship.

We have lunch together then I get ready in a green churidar dress. He first takes me to his company to introduce me to others and shows his cabin too. He asked for some suggestions about what should be renovated or changed. We talk for hours and it feels good. Then he takes me to Veer Da Dhaba for dinner.

"You remember?" I ask.

"Yes. I promised I would take you here one day. And also I want to have kaali dal which Parth has been talking about." He says.

"Sure. But I want to try paneer curry and samosas." I say and walk with him but my heel gets stuck and I almost fall.

But Vedant's arm comes around my waist and he says, "Are you okay?"

"Yes. It's just that my heel got stuck." I say.

"That's okay. I will hold you while we walk towards Dhaba. Is that okay with you?" He asks and I look up and our eyes meet.

"That would be nice." I say and he nods with a smile.

"Good. Let's go." He says but his words seem to mean more than that.

I will tell Vedant. I will tell him that I like him and I want to put efforts to move forward rather than be stuck in one place. Because moving forward is not only necessary for us but others too.