Hasta-prāpya-stabaka-namito bāla-Mandāra-vṛkṣaḥ

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Pallavi, malā poçāyalā khūpa uśīra zhālā, paṇa tū malā māpha karaśīla nā?" I was delayed a lot, but you'll forgive me, won't you? Mandar asked as he stepped into Deshmukh Saree Emporium.

Seeing Pallavi's unsmiling face, Mandar felt a pang for what he hadn't asked to be forgiven. He thought, Pallavi was faithful to me. In that video, she chose to be my widow rather than Raghav's wife. I couldn't defend her then, but she resisted Raghav until he asked for a chance in my name. And how have I behaved since I remembered that I'm married? I wanted to make love with Farhad last night, while Pallavi was waiting for me to come home. How could I be so heartless?

"Mandar Dādā, Nikhil said you would be talking to Raghav for a few minutes." Krishna's face was worried. "He didn't try to fight with you, did he?"

Mandar shook his head. "No. We just talked, but Raghav had a panic attack, so I stayed with him until he felt better and his bodyguard Madan came back. Krishna, Pallavi, when Nikhil and I got home, there were reporters waiting, and they showed us the video. Did they trouble you a lot?"

Pallavi vaguely understood what Mandar was saying, but she did not respond to the question. She was thinking, how would she explain to Mandar what the video really meant?

"The reporters asked a lot of questions, but they waited outside the shop, Mandar Dādā, because we asked them not to come in," Krishna answered. "Dīdī told them that Raghav won't hurt her anymore, and that you're back home. Then Raghav arrived, and convinced the reporters to leave."

"Mandar, tumacyāśī malā kāhī mahattvāçe bolāyaçe āhe," I have something important to say to you, Pallavi blurted out.

Mandar could tell from Pallavi's expression that she wanted to speak in private. He almost suggested a walk around the block, but realized that they couldn't talk freely outdoors today. As soon as Raghav had left, passersby had begun to approach the shop. Some of them were looking in, obviously curious about Pallavi.

"Āpaṇa ātalyā kholīta zāūna bolūyā." Let's go into the inner room to talk, Mandar suggested, and led the way. He reached for Pallavi's hand, and she took it gratefully. After the intense conversation Pallavi had just had with Raghav, both of them avoiding any physical contact, touching Mandar felt normal. It was a quiet comfort to her uncertain nerves.

As soon as the storeroom door was closed behind her, Pallavi's tears overflowed. The shock of the reporters' outcry had passed ... her fury at Raghav had already erupted twice and left her chest aching ... a petrifying anticipation of notoriety - as soon as anyone would realize her inadvertent crime - had kept her face numb in front of the curious onlookers and facing the innocent concern of Krishna and Nikhil, but no more ... it gave way now to despair. What a mess her life had become! Knowing that she had done nothing to deserve this punishment, knowing that she couldn't have averted it, her mind was nevertheless searching for some logic, some agency on her own part. The past two-and-a-half years had been a merciless battle for her, and now she felt ambushed with a mortal blow.

Mandar took Pallavi in his arms and let her cry against his chest, stroking her hair. It was the first time he had ever done that. When news of Devayani's death had reached them, they hadn't been married yet; feeling shy even to hold hands, with all of Mandar's family and guests hovering over them, they had not ventured to embrace; and Siddhesh Dādā had been there to offer hugs to his grieving sister. Pallavi felt soft in Mandar's arms; her shapely body didn't invite a tight embrace in the way that Farhad's lean torso had been his buoy last night. Mandar held Pallavi tenderly and, closing his eyes, found his lips pressing against the top of her head.