Chapter 35
Sameer called early that morning, before I woke up. His text said he was coming home in two days. Can’t wait to see you too, I texted back.
Two days felt like a week. The paintings had been appraised and cataloged. The exhibits had been shortlisted. The documentation was complete. As I went through the list of actions in my planner, I realized I had worked ahead of my timeline. I scheduled a meeting with Dr. Hadden to discuss prospects for a future collaboration. I had previously emailed other galleries and museums in the region about possible collaborations and consultation gigs, and I was in conversation with a private collector about appraising his collection. I tried to keep busy as I waited for Sameer’s return.
Late afternoon two days later, I was at work when I got his text, Just landed. Coming directly to yours.
I packed up for the day to return home. Should I make dinner? I texted.
No, was his brief reply.
I entered my apartment, wringing my clammy hands. I was nervous about meeting Riya. Sameer had been worried about my acceptance of Riya, but what if she disliked me? Would it create a rift between Sameer and me? Had he given it any thought?
About an hour later, the doorbell rang. I was still in my work clothes, a silk blouse and flowy trousers, but I had refreshed my lipstick before rushing to the door. With a wide, albeit nervous, smile, I opened the door and saw Sameer with a young girl.
“Tara,” he said, resting his hands on the girl’s shoulders. “I want you to meet someone very special.”
I looked at her. She looked back at me with Sameer’s eyes, and my heart sank at the thought of her as a motherless child.
“This is my sister, Riya. Riya, this is Tara, the love of my life.”
She gave me a tired smile. “He could not stop talking about you. But you are as pretty as he said.”
“Hello, Riya. It’s wonderful to meet you. Is it alright to give you a hug?”
She rushed to me with open arms, hugged me, and began crying. “Is she alright?” I mouthed to Sameer.
He nodded with a tired smile on his face.
“Well, Tara, I hope you’re ready. We are going to my parents’. We’re going to get Riya settled there, then have some amazing food cooked by Durgaben. What do you say?”
“Give me a few minutes to change?” I said, asking them to take a seat.
“Hey, pack an overnight bag, just in case,” Sameer called as I started toward the bedroom.
A few minutes later, I walked out with them in a cool summer dress, a small bag in my hand.
“I’m so tired,” Riya said from the backseat of Sameer’s car.
“It will be a while before we reach the house. Why don’t you take a nap?” Sameer suggested as we pulled out of the garage.
“I can’t. I’m so nervous!” She looked at me. “I’m meeting my father and Sameer’s mother for the first time.”
I merely nodded. I didn’t want to offer any false hope.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about.” Sameer looked at her in the rearview mirror. “That is your home now. You can be as bossy and boisterous as you want. I’ve got your back.”
“Why can’t I live with you?” She frowned. “You promised Mumma you’d take care of me.”
“I’m at work all day, and my home is not equipped to handle boisterous young women. Except one,” he added and winked at me. Heat rose to my cheeks.
“Shut up, Sameer!” I muttered under my breath.
“That’s alright, she knows we are lovers.”
“OMG,” Riya said and sighed dramatically. “Tara, you have to get him to stop using that word. It’s vulgar.”
I laughed loudly. “You’ve finally met your match, I see.”
“Yeah, now I have two stubborn women who hate my guts.”
“Who’re you calling a woman, old man?” Riya cried with an angry frown.
“She thinks I’m old,” Sameer said to me.
“Well, you are old,” I said, winking at Riya. She smiled and leaned in for a high-five.
“Are you two going to be ganging up on me?”
“Absolutely,” I said, readjusting myself in the front seat.
With the sweetest smile, he mouthed, “I love you.”
“I so totally heard that.” Riya rolled her eyes in the back. I chuckled.
“You know, using so and totally in the same sentence is redundant,” Sameer teased.
“You know what’s redundant? Explaining redundancy.”
I looked at Sameer with wide eyes. He gave me an “I know” look. We shared a smile as I saw her eyes gently droop.
Sameer held out his palm, and I put my hand in it.
“Lot of drama in your life, Sameer Rehani,” I whispered when I was sure Riya was fast asleep.
“Not anymore. I’m going to tie up all loose ends today.”
“You sound like a mafia boss planning on cleaning house.”
“People aren’t the loose ends in my life, Tara. Relationships are.”
Riya stirred in the back, and we stopped talking. We drove the rest of the way in silence, with a satisfied smile resting on Sameer’s face. I loved seeing him that way.
Durgaben’s warm smile greeted us at the door when we arrived. She stood stunned for a moment when she saw Riya. Perhaps the resemblance struck her too. But she recovered quickly and invited us in. Aunty came rushing out and welcomed us. She gave Sameer and me a quick hug.
“Riya,” she said, looking at the girl’s nervous face. “Welcome to your new home.”
Riya stepped closer to Sameer and started crying. He put his arm around her and led her to the living room. We followed. With Riya still recovering from her tears, we began talking. Aunty asked me about work, and I furnished details I didn’t need to, just to fill the silence.
“You’re an artist?” Riya’s voice broke our conversation. I spotted admiration and wonderment in her teary eyes.
“Yes.” I smiled.
“She’s very good,” Aunty chimed in.
“The best.” Sameer beamed with pride.
“That’s so cool!” she said softly, wiping her eyes.
“Let’s eat something,” Aunty suggested, using the opening to turn her attention to Riya, and led us to the kitchen.
Durgaben had laid out a colorful spread of white and green cucumber-chutney sandwiches, brown and red cookies, and crispy golden pakoras. The gentle aroma of tea infused with ginger and cardamom lingered in the kitchen, drawing in a cozy feeling.
“Do you drink tea, Riya?” Aunty asked.
“Sometimes Mumma lets me. Used to let me,” she corrected.
“Well, you can have some if you want. But we also have fresh juice and milk if you prefer that.”
“I will take some juice, please. Thank you,” Riya said deferentially.
Aunty smiled. “This is your home, beta. You don’t have to say thank you. Learn from Sameer,” she chided lovingly. “Behave like he does.”
“Hey, I’m terribly well-behaved!” Sameer protested. Riya laughed, though her eyes remained tired and swollen.
We ate amid gentle conversation, and Riya began to relax. When Durgaben joined us at the table, I said, “The sandwiches are really good. I’ve missed the taste of this cilantro-mint chutney. You’ll have to teach me how to make it.”
“Yes, I love it too,” Riya added.
“Anything you like, you let me know,” Durgaben said to Riya. “I can make most things.”
Sameer gave Durgaben a warm smile of gratitude, then excused himself. Aunty signaled me silently to follow him.
“Sameer.” I caught up with him in the living room.
“Hey babe, I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Aunty asked me to come with.”
He looked in the direction of the kitchen. “Are you both already conspiring against me?” he said with an amused frown, but he grabbed my hand anyway and led me to the other end of the house.
We walked in silence to his parents’ bedroom. It was a palatial room with large, open bay windows overlooking a beautifully maintained garden. Sameer’s father was seated in a large armchair with his eyes closed. He could’ve been asleep. I wasn’t sure.
“Dad,” Sameer said gently, dropping my hand and walking toward him.
He didn’t stir. Sameer approached him and touched his arm. “Dad.”
He opened his eyes, saw Sameer, and sat up. As he did, his gaze fell on me. He sat upright without acknowledging me.
“Riya is here,” Sameer said softly. “Do you want to come out and welcome her?”
He looked out the window. “What is she doing here?” he asked.
“She’s family, Dad,” Sameer said looking at me, then turned back to his father. “I broke it off with Aarti.”
“Yes, Bhatia called and hurled abuse at me. You threw away your future, son.”
I shuffled in place.
“I threw away your future, Dad. Mine is standing right here beside me.”
“Sangita is dead,” his father said. It sounded like an allegation.
Sameer lowered his head. “Yes, but Riya is here. Come on, get up. Let’s say hi to her,” he coaxed.
Sameer’s father made no effort to rise. Instead, he glared at me and beckoned me closer. I took a few halting steps toward him.
“Has he told you what he did?” he asked me. “You love him, don’t you? You should know this about the man you love. He took away the only woman I loved in my life. He took my baby,” he said, and began weeping.
I took a startled step back.
“He hauled me off like a piece of luggage. My baby was nine months old. He took away my happiness.” He wept bitterly. “I hate him.”
“Dad.” Sameer squatted before him. “I was young and impetuous and worried about Mom. But I did what you asked.”
“After you left me penniless! How could I take care of my family without money? I lost everything, and you used it to force me away from them.”
“I have apologized. To you and Sangita and Riya. I know what I did was wrong. I was immature. But what about you? You betrayed Mom. You betrayed our trust in you, you had another family. Yet you’ve never apologized in all these years. Not to me. Not to Juhi. Not to Mom.”
Sameer stood up and paced for a moment.
“You could’ve done it the right way. You could’ve divorced Mom, then married Sangita and had a proper family with her. But you didn’t. You didn’t because your fortune was tied up with us, with Mom, and you chose the coward’s way out. Yes, I’m at fault for separating you from your other family, but it was your fault we were in that position in the first place.”
His father turned his face away, with the stream of tears still going strong.
“Did you ask her, Dad? Did you ask Sangita what she wanted?” The older man’s stubborn neck remained strained away from Sameer. “Did you consider why she asked for me instead of you during her last days?”
That brought his father’s face swiveling back to Sameer.
“Because you assumed and imposed your will on her life. On Riya’s life. She would’ve gladly accepted to live with a little less money if it meant living with you. I understand love, Dad. I understand its loss. I understand it perfectly now. I know you loved her. But you did it wrong. You chose the wrong family for the wrong reason. You were smart. You could’ve started over. Sangita and Riya didn’t need your money. They needed you. But you needed the money and the comfort, didn’t you? You’ve always blamed me for the loss of your love, but you were the reason I lost Tara. But this time, I choose Tara. I know what it will cost me, and I don’t care.”
His father looked at me, and I lowered my eyes. I had been unwittingly drawn into their family drama, but it was going to be my family now, along with all its drama. If he wanted me to leave, he gave no indication, so I remained planted in my place.
“I sought Sangita’s forgiveness, as I have sought yours.” Sameer’s eyes moved from me to him again. “And she forgave me. But you’ve been so complacent, so unrepentant, lashing out at me for your decisions. Mom thinks you drink because you miss Sangita. But I know it’s not her you miss. You miss the unchecked behavior. You sulk because you couldn’t have it all. You couldn’t have your marriage to Mom, keep your social status, and have your life with Sangita, whom you claimed to love. You are a farce, Dad. It is high time you stop blaming me and confront your own sins.”
His father’s head snapped up at those words. Sameer stared back at him, not in anger, but with apathy for his tears.
“Riya is waiting for you. She needs you. You have a second chance. Don’t be selfish this time. And lay off the whisky, Dad. It’s time to quit. Time to move on. Riya is here, and we’ve got thirteen years to make up for.”
Sameer took a couple of steps toward me, then walked back to his father. He pulled out an envelope from his trouser pocket and extended his hand.
“Sangita wrote this letter for you. She told Riya to give it to you when she was gone.”
His father’s eyes welled up again as he took the letter from Sameer’s hand.
Outside the bedroom, Sameer paused in the hallway to try and regain his composure.
“Are you alright, my jaan?” I whispered and placed a hand on his chest. The thud of his heart against my palm sounded as loud as the whoosh of blood in my own head.
He took my hand and kissed it. “I’ve been wanting to say that for so many years. I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance.”
“Your hand is cold,” I whispered.
“Yes. But I’m alright now.” He pulled himself upright into his handsome figure and threaded his fingers through mine. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he said as we walked back to the kitchen.
“Dad is on his way,” he announced with a smile when we were back at the table. “He was taking a nap.”
Durgaben got up to make more tea.
“I’ll have some too, please,” I said, hoping the strong tea would help calm my jitters from having witnessed the father-son encounter.
“So, Riya,” I began. “What do you say we go shopping this weekend?”
Her eyes brightened. “Where?”
I smiled at Sameer. “We can start at the snooty mall.”
“Yes, sure. That’s what I am earning for, so my sister and my girlfriend can spend it all on clothes and shoes.”
“Don’t stereotype us, Sameer,” Riya chided. “We’re going to shop for books and art supplies, right, Tara?”
She winked.
We laughed. Aunty’s face was relaxed now. I looked at her and smiled. She patted my hand. “And don’t brag because Tara earns too,” she added proudly.
“Wow, now the three of you gang up on me!” Sameer threw up his hands theatrically, but our eyes were on the figure behind him. His father walked up to us and smiled, his eyes red and swollen.
“Riya,” he said with a smile. She looked around the table for cues on how to react to him. Sameer got up and stood behind her chair.
“Riya,” he said, gently holding her shoulders. “This is Dad. Our Dad.”
She burst into tears. “You can hug him if you want.” He bent down and whispered in her ear. But she didn’t budge. She just kept crying. Her father moved toward her and placed a light hand on her shoulder. Suddenly, she jumped up, as if his touch was the validation she was waiting for, and fell into his arms. They both wept uninhibitedly. Then we all cried a little. Behind those tears, I saw the smiles waiting to shine through like the rainbow after a storm.
After a light, animated dinner, we retired for the night. I was hesitant to join Sameer in his room and coyly asked his mother if I could use the same room as last time.
She gave me a mischievous smile. “Whatever works for you,” she said before proceeding to help Riya settle in.
They had prepared a beautiful, large room on the second floor for her, overlooking the backyard. We helped her unpack and organize her clothes in the closet. I asked her to make a list of personal care items she would need so we could buy them on our weekend shopping spree. After making sure she had settled in comfortably, Sameer and I retired to his room.
“I should really spend the night in the other room, for the sake of appearances, at least.”
“Who’s judging?” he asked with a frown. “My parents know we’re banging. Durgaben and Riya don’t care.”
“OMG, that’s so crude and vulgar.”
“Oh yeah?” He pulled me closer, his arms around my waist. “I thought you liked crude and vulgar in bed.”
“Stop it, Sameer,” I said, pushing him away as he tickled me.
He stopped and kissed my cheek. He held me from behind and exhaled against my neck, a feeling I had come to cherish in the past few weeks. It relaxed me. “You heard what happened. You know most of it now,” he began. “Remember when I told you Dad had incurred massive debts. He had used that money to set up his alternate life. A house, a lifestyle, the baby. He couldn’t use the money he had because it could be traced, and Mom would notice it was gone. What he hadn’t predicted was his removal from the CEO post. He hoped to repay the debts slowly, with small amounts. If he had been diligent, he could actually have pulled off the whole ‘two families, two lives’ thing. But he was so enamored with his new life that he began forsaking his duties at the company. It was humiliating to find out your father was living with another woman barely a decade older than you. Then to find out that he had fathered a child with her! I was furious. I called her every bad name in the language. I called Riya a bastard. Illegitimate.”
I could hear his voice choke a little. I placed my hand on his.
“No child is illegitimate,” I said softly. He squeezed my hand.
“I hate myself for what I did. I was so angry. We had lost everything. Ma still doesn’t know that Dad was ready to quit our family for his new one. I told him he could go live with them and figure out his own life. He had nothing—no assets, no savings. Or he could come with us, and I’d make sure Sangita and Riya would never want for anything. I used the leverage of the money he had invested in my mother’s and my name to blackmail him into giving them a secure life. When I asked him to choose between love and money, he chose money. He drinks to forget, and the only thing that kept him going all these years was thinking of ways to ruin me.”
My heart breaking, I turned to face him.
“He told me he orchestrated my surprise engagement to Aarti because he knew I was in love with you, and he didn’t want to see me happy. He wanted to see me in a loveless marriage like the one he thinks he’s in. He claims I took away his love, so he tried to take away mine.”
“Sameer, why did your mom stay? Why didn’t she leave?”
“She didn’t want to be the wife whose husband left her for a younger woman. He was rightfully hers, not Sangita’s, she said. But somewhere, I suspect, she still loves him. Some part of him, at least. I don’t understand it, but I did what I thought was right for her at the time.”
I cupped his cheeks. “It’s all in the past. We’re here now. All we can do is make a better, more loving future for Riya. For everyone, right?”
He kissed my hand. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Tara. No one else would’ve supported me and loved me after learning all this.”
“You don’t know that,” I said. “You don’t know how people will behave unless they’re put in that situation.”
“You always look on the bright side of things, don’t you? Always looking for the good in people.”
I smiled.
“If you didn’t, you probably wouldn’t have seen the tiny bit of good in me when we met. There wasn’t much there—”
I shut him up with a kiss. That night, it felt thrilling and rebellious to have sex under his parents’ roof.