Wednesday 9 September 2015
Mayur Vihar Housing Society
8.00pm

Ishita stood on the balcony of her parents apartment, watching out for Raman's car.

She had spent the past hour with Ruhi, playing with her and helping her with her homework until Rinky had finally come to take her home for bedtime.

"Raman Bhai abhi bhi nahi aaye Bhabhi" she had whispered before she left.
(Raman Bhai still hasn't come home Bhabhi)

Ishita had tried calling Raman in the afternoon, but his phone had been switched off. She knew he was busy, but she worried about him in this emotional state.

"Akka" Mihika was calling out to her and Ishita reluctantly gave up her watch and went inside.

She had been ready for a grilling from Mihika when she came home on Sunday, but Mihika had been angry with Mihir for going out without her that day and so Ishita had been spared questions, and had been treated to a long diatribe about Mihir instead.

And in the past days, Mihika had been busy with a work project, so luckily Ishita had been spared any probing enquirer from her usually highly inquisitive cousin.

Abhi was a different story though.

On the day of her secret wedding to Raman, when Abhi had agreed to wait for a further two weeks to finalise his engagement to her, she had thought he understood that her reluctance to marry him was not just nervousness on her part, that he understood that a relationship between them was far from settled. While she acknowledged that not telling him the truth outright was not fair, she had thought her reluctance, her prevarication, would give him the message that his attentions were not wanted. She had hoped and expected that he would leave her alone, would not try to get close to her until she gave him her final answer in two weeks.

But that had been wishful thinking and she had obviously miscalculated.

Abhi had been calling her up daily, texting her, trying to make plans that she was not in the least interested in. But then thankfully, happily for Ishita, some serious issues had developed with his Singapore project, and he had had to leave India for a few days.

He would be back by Friday though, and so from Saturday, the whole rigmarole would begin again. Abhi trying to get close to her, she trying to avoid him, his persistence, her guilt. And in all this, Raman.

Ishita had seen Raman's vulnerability today. She had experienced his intensity and his possessiveness over the weekend.

Her husband was a complex, tortured man. Life had made it known to him, in no uncertain terms that no one, no matter what they professed, could be trusted. He had tasted betrayal from his most intimate relationship, from his own wife. And now - he had finally taken a monumental step to mend his broken heart and his shattered life. He had opened up his heart to her, had laid his soul bare before her. And she could not even openly give him her support, her love.

How would all this work out? Circumstances had led to their having to weave a complex web of lies in order to achieve their hearts desire. But that web had enmeshed others too. How would they now unravel what they had created?

Hopefully the case conference would go well on Friday, and they would be able to sort out Ruhi's custody before Abhi's return. Then even if the cat did get out of the bag, it would not matter. Ruhi would be with them, and they could weather their families disapproval and anger as long as they were together.

"Please Murugan" she whispered. "Let everything go well on Friday. Please let the judge see that Ruhi belongs with Raman, with us. Don't let my Raman get hurt any more. Please please Murugan"

"Akka" Mihika called again.

"Haan, coming Mikku" Ishita gave one last desperate look into the night and then walked inside.

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Khanna Mansion
9.00 pm

"Ashok, you're drunk"

"Well then what else do you expect me to be, you stupid woman"

Shagun compressed her lips into a thin line as she stared angrily at her husband. She had left for her Blunt India stylist appointment straight from court and had then gone shopping, picking up 5 new designer leopard print saris in various colours.

She had been in such a happy mood, with her new hair style and her new clothes, and then to come home to this. This drunk angry man spewing abuse at her. And that too in the presence of his lawyer.

"How dare you Ashok?" she hissed. "Ruhi wouldn't come to me. What was I supposed to do? I did what you said. I used the occasion to put the blame on Raman and his family, to show how they had turned Ruhi against me. What else could I do?"

"You could have kept your mouth shut, that's what you could have done" Ashok shouted, crashing his wine glass down on the coffee table before him. It splintered and Shagun flinched back.

"I am not going to talk to you when you're being this nasty Ashok" she screeched back. " I don't care about this case. I don't want Ruhi here all the time. Let her stay with that loser Raman and his behenji wife. I just don't care"

She gave one last furious look at both Raman and the lawyer and flounced from the room, her head held high.

"God" she thought to herself. "Ashok and his dramas. If only I hadn't signed that pre-nup, I could be rid of him and take his money too. Thank God I had my Valium prescription filled. I'm going to need it tonight."

Back in the lounge, Ashok glared at his lawyer.

"So that's still your advice is it Gupta. Withdraw the case"

"Either that or be ready to lose Mr Khanna" the lawyer responded quietly. "After the way that things went on in the case assessment today, I would be astounded if the case worker even recommended unsupervised access for Mrs Khanna, let alone custody. And if Mrs Khanna continues to be so obviously disinterested in the case, and in her daughter, then things will get worse."

"I told you to buy that social worker, that Mrs Singh. Why hasn't that happened?"

"Mr Khanna, she is a principled woman. She is well thought of, I've made enquiries about her. If we try to bribe her, she will go straight to the judge and the police. Not everyone is for sale. We either withdraw this case, or we lose. I've known you for a long time , so I'm going to be frank with you. No matter how much information you have about Raman Bhalla's womanising and his drinking, they will find just as much about you. And his wife is a simple middle class girl. Her previous engagement may have been broken, but there's no scandal about her. The circumstances of her broken engagement will only create sympathy for her, not censure. But your wife, well frankly Mr Khanna, your wife created a scandal when she left Raman Bhalla for you. Without his second marriage we had a chance. If your wife showed any maternal feelings, we would have a chance. But now he is married, Ruhi has a stepmother, and that stepmother was more of a mother to her today than her own mother. No, there's no way around this. If we continue with this application, we will lose"

"I will not lose to Raman Bhalla again" Ashok shouted. "Not after the Mehta debacle. This was a huge mistake Gupta. I should've known that Shagun wouldn't be able to pull this off. No, I will not lose. Withdraw the application. Tell the court that my wife is so distraught at how much her daughter has been turned against her, that she can't continue with the case right now."

"Fine Mr Khanna, I'll file the papers in court on Friday."

"There is more than one way to skin a cat Gupta" Ashok said slowly, picking up the bottle of wine before him,and swigging straight from it. "I may not be able to win this one in Court, but I'll make Raman's life hell in other ways"

"What are you planning Mr Khanna?"

"You'll find out Gupta. You'll find out. All in good time."

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Mayur Vihar Housing Society
11.30 pm

Ishita sat in the darkened lounge of her apartment, her phone in her hand. She had pretended to be asleep until she heard Mihika's even breathing signalling sleep, then had crept out of the bedroom to sit here.

She had been texting Raman all evening, but he had not responded. She had tried calling, but his phone had been switched off. Mihir had not been reachable as well, and her worries had escalated.

Now though, she felt her phone vibrate and she hurriedly looked at it. It was a text message. From him

"I'm outside"

Ishita ran to the door and threw it open.

Raman stood by the door, his eyes bloodshot, his face exhausted. Ishita swiftly closed the door behind her and launched herself into her husbands arms. His arms closed around her as he buried his face in her hair.

A scent of alcohol surrounded her along with his arms, and Ishita gasped and pulled away. "Raman" she exclaimed. "Aap pee rahe theh?" (Raman, were you drinking?)

"Just a little bit Ishita" he murmured, pulling her into the shadows of the staircase. "We were in meetings all afternoon, and then Mihir and I just... "

"Raman, you shouldn't do this, I was so damn worried and you..."

"Shhh, no lectures, just hold me please" he nestled into her arms again, his hands tightening around her as relenting, she held him close. She could feel his heart racing and, forgetting her momentary annoyance, she tightened her arms around him, stroking his hair, murmuring endearments until he relaxed against her.

She worried about his drinking, about his constant need to seek solace in the oblivion of alcohol, but she realized that while he had taken some drinks, tonight he was not drunk. He was just exhausted, and he was also scared. And he needed her understanding, not her censure.

"Ruhi Theek hai na?" ( Is Ruhi okay?) He asked some moments later, his voice muffled by her hair.

"Yes, Raman, she's absolutely fine baba. I helped her with her homework and then she went home with Rinki" She smoothed his hair, then pulled away slightly, cupping his face in her hands, kissing him gently on one cheek.

"Did she eat anything?" His voice was full of concern for his little daughter, and she marveled again at how she could ever have thought that he didn't care about Ruhi.

She smiled at him, her eyes misty, a chuckle in her voice. "Usne daadi ki haathon ki butter chicken khaya tha.  So Ishima's upma wasn't very attractive." (She had eaten her daadi's butter chicken, so Ishima's upma wasn't very attractive)

"Did she speak about ... the court, about ...Shagun" His voice was hesitant.

"Just once, to say that she didn't want to see her."

"Ishita, what if the court orders access for Shagun, or what if...what if..."

He stood with eyes downcast, and she could hear the fear in his voice, in his slightly slurred words. She grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look at her, wanting him to know that he was no longer alone, that she was with him now. She knew that it was a combination of the alcohol and his fears that was causing him to be so uncertain and she knew that today, she had to be his strength.

"Raman, sweetheart" she said softly, cupping his face again. " Nothing of the sort will happen. I have a good feeling about this. Trust me, please"

He smiled slowly at her, her face blurring as long held back tears finally entered his eyes. "Thank you jaan" he said, drawing her back into his arms. "For everything you did today, for keeping me together, for being there for Ruhi. I don't know what I would've done without you."

"You don't have to thank me Raman" she cuddled against his chest, her voice soft. "We're a family aren't we? I'm Ruhi's mum, aren't I?"

"Yes" he whispered, breaking down in her arms. "Sirf tum meri Ruhi ki ma ho. You are my Ruhi's mother. Just you."

"Raman, please my love, it's okay, don't cry, please, I'm here" She tightened her arms around him, her hands caressing his back, drawing his head down to her. Her own heart cried out at the tears that dripped down his cheeks, and she pressed soft kisses all over his face, until she felt his sobs subside.

She continued to hold him in her arms, rocking gently in his embrace, waiting for him to compose himself.

"Im sorry jaan. I don't know what's happened to me" he finally whispered. "I was calming you before and now...now I just want to take Ruhi and you and escape somewhere, somewhere no one can tear her away from us, where we can be together. I don't know why I've become so weak today. But thank you, thank you for being my strength."

"We're each other's strength Raman" she whispered back. "And we always will be."

And she rocked him in her arms again, her heart singing with love for him. No matter what the future brought, they would be fine - as long as they had each other, they would be fine.

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Jab koi baat bigaad jaaye
Jab koi mushkil padh jaaye
Tum dena saath mera
O humnawaz

Na koi hai na koi tha
Zindagi mein tumhare siwa
Tum dena saath mera
O humnawaz

Ho chandani jab tak raat
Deta hai har koi saath
Tum magar andheron mein
Na chodna mera haath

Dil ko mere hua yakeen
Hum pehle bhi miley kahin
Silsila ye sadiyoon ka
Koi aaj ki baat nahi

Jab koi baat bigaad jaaye
Jab koi mushkil padh jaaye
Tum dena saath mera
O humnawaz