Tu Dua Hai

Chapter 31

Finally, 3 days after Disha had arrived at their home, Darshan and Gauri decided that it was time for a serious conversation. At dinner time, Disha served herself a plate and was about to go back to her room when Gauri stopped her.
“Disha, why don’t you eat with us? You have been to UK so long, your brother misses you. Even I want to get to know my sister-in-law.” Disha froze in her tracks. She looked at them anxiously, her mind trying to find some excuse, but Darshan stopped her before she could speak.
“Yes Dishu, it’s been so long I haven’t had a proper conversation with you. Come on now, I miss you. Come sit here.” Having left no option, Disha sat beside Darshan, but she remained silent as Darshan tried to talk to her in different ways.
He was losing patience as Disha refused to speak, but Gauri motioned him to remain silent and he stopped talking. Gauri waited until the dinner was finished and then she motioned Darshan to start talking. She went to kitchen under pretext of putting the plates in dishwasher, so as to give then some privacy in case Disha was uncomfortable around her. After all, she was a newcomer, while Darshan and Disha were siblings. She stayed in kitchen for some time, tidying and cleaning up when she heard Darshan shouting. She sighed, she should have warned Darshan to be patient. She knew this was going to happen. She went out to see Darshan and Disha standing at the dining table facing each other.
“….my responsibility to know if there is anything wrong in your life. You are my younger sister. Now tell me what exactly has happened that you left your studies and came to India.” Darshan was shouting.
“Bhai you have no right to interfere in my life. I will do whatever I want. I can solve my own problems, I don’t need your help.” Disha shot back. Darshan was about to shout at her more when Gauri raised a hand, signaling Darshan to stop. She then spoke up calmly, “So you admit that there is some problem. Disha you have to understand we are here to help you, to protect you. Come on, tell us. I promise we won’t judge you and do everything in our power to help you.” Disha stared at Gauri and shook her head. Tears had started falling from her eyes and Darshan immediately regretted shouting at her. He took a step to reach her and hug her, but Disha was already backing away from them. She was about to turn and run to her room when Gauri spoke up in a calm manner.
“You are pregnant Disha, aren’t you?” Disha froze at that, staring at  Gauri in fear and anger. For a moment, Darshan’s mind refused to accept what he had just heard. Then as the words processed, he suddenly snapped angrily at Gauri.
“Gauri, how dare you? What rubbish are you talking about?” Gauri did not react to the anger blazing in Darshan’s eyes at all. She spoke in the same calm manner.
“It’s true. Ask her. Disha, is it not true? And do not try to lie. I am a gynecologist. That was why you tried to stay away from me. You were afraid that I would find out the truth easily. And it was really easy. You are already 14 weeks pregnant. You were even pregnant at the time of our wedding, you just didn’t know about it.” Disha burst out crying and though Darshan was outraged at Gauri, he immediately noticed that Disha didn’t deny Gauri’s accusations. He stood frozen at the spot, unable to believe what he was hearing. Gauri walked to Disha and hugged her tightly.
“It’s ok dear. It’s ok. We will figure out a way out of this. Whatever you want to do, we are here for you. We will support you.” Gauri glared at her husband, who still stood dumbfounded. She signaled him to come and comfort Disha. Nodding Darshan strode forward and hugged both the girls together. While Disha relaxed in his comforting hug, Gauri froze. This was second time he was hugging her and it was tight as he was hugging her and Disha together. The feeling was something different entirely and goosebumps were raised on her arms. Her entire body was squashed against Darshan and she could feel his taut muscles through his thin T-shirt. Darshan felt Gauri stiffen so he loosened his grip on her and Gauri quietly slipped out of the hug. They stared at each other awkwardly and then looked away from each other. Disha who was oblivious to what was happening with her brother and his wife, now stepped away from Darshan, having relaxed. Gauri put a hand on her shoulder. “How did this happen Disha? Did you have a boyfriend?” Disha motioned them to take a seat and all three of them sat down at the dining table.
She started speaking, “No, I never had a boyfriend. I was never interested in that kind of stuff. But a guy from my class liked me. I had repeatedly rejected him. He was a good person, not someone creepy so I was on friendly terms with him and he never got angry when I rejected him. Daniel, his name is. One day, we had a party at a friends house and though I never intended to get drunk, one drink led to another and I realized very late that the drinks were spiked with drugs. Someone’s idea of practical joke. Dan was there and he didn’t realize that I was drunk. He started flirting with me and I responded. We ended up having sex, but next morning when I realized what I had done I started to avoid him. He was hurt, so much that he left London and shifted to US. Then it was bhai’s wedding and thinking that it was just a mistake which I would definitely never repeat I forgot all about it. After your wedding, when I got back to London, I started feeling sick and weird so I got a medical checkup done and they told me that I was pregnant. I tried to contact Dan after that. I was so confused whether to keep the child or not. It was Dan’s too, so I decided to ask him. He said that…that he had got a steady girlfriend in US and he intended to marry her. He told me to abort the child. Even I don’t want this child. I know I won’t be able to give it the family and love it deserves. You know our society bhai, it will never accept such baby and it will suffer a lot because of me. I won’t be able to protect it from this harsh world, I myself am a child. Just 20 years old. Tell me bhabhi, am I being selfish for trying to save it from this world?” Disha said and there was a silence for few moments as both Darshan and Gauri processed the story. Finally, Gauri sighed.
“I myself would have kept the child, but it’s your life, your decision. I am with you. I will help you in whatever way you want. If you want to abort the child, I can start giving you medicine, but first let’s see what Darshan has to say about this.” Gauri motioned Darshan to speak, but he still remained silent. It was clear that this had come as a shock to him, his baby sister, whom he still thought as a little girl was pregnant with a strangers child and was discussing about abortion. This strongly reminded him of another pregnancy. Ayesha’s. He abruptly stood up and walked to his room. Gauri and Disha hear a bang which indicated that Darshan had locked himself in the room. Gauri sighed. She knew that she needed to give him some space and time but she also knew that the first thing Darshan would do was to drink. As much as she wanted to go and talk to him, she controlled herself. She would give him time to think over the things.
“I think I should better sleep with you in the guest room.” Gauri told Disha and she nodded.
“I am sorry bhabhi, I know what I did wrong, but it wasn’t my fault really. I know I should have taken precaution, but I was really disturbed and stressed that time. I know this is a lot for bhai to take in. I just hope he understands.” Gauri hugged her again, trying to sooth her.
“He will understand. I know he will. Just give him some time. He will come around and he will fo whatever it takes to help you. He loves you a lot, always remember that.” Gauri told her and Disha nodded.
She then asked Gauri, “But tell me bhabhi, how did you find out?” Gauri smiled at that.
“Your symptoms were easy to recognize. No normal person would sleep for more than 12 hours a day and even though I was at hospital, Darshan told me when I got back. Also, when I hugged you two days ago, your stomach was hard. Though your bump is really small and barely noticeable, I am trained to find out if it’s fat or it’s a baby bump. Also, when I took your clothes for laundry, I noticed that you hadn’t brought any pads but as far as I know about your period cycles, your periods are due anytime now. There were other smaller things, but I won’t go into details. I am a doctor after all, it’s my job.”