Page 51 of Musafir Cafe

‘Tell me, no, why didn’t you marry Pummy?’

‘Because you hadn’t divorced me yet.’

‘When did we get married? How could we have taken a divorce?’

‘We got married so many times.’

‘When? Tell me as well.’ Sudha sounded shocked.

‘When you decided to not go to a PG after coming home, that’s when we got married for the first time. When you had sneakily cried on the beach without letting me know, that was the second time. When you didn’t act and cried for real, I figured that was our third marriage. When you fought with me over the almirah, we got married for the fourth time. When every night you excused yourself from switching the light off, we got married for the fifth time. When you got mehendi done on your hands before leaving for the Andamans, we got married for the sixth time. When you did pooja on Diwali wearing a saree for the first time—that was our seventh marriage. When you told me you were pregnant, we got married for the eighth time. When you lied to me that day over the phone about the abortion, that was our ninth marriage. After leaving Mumbai, every day that we spent missing each other, we got married all those times. It doesn’t require a band baaja and a pandit to get married. I did figure that out but it took me some time. Sudha, we’ve got married so many times that it would take me a lifetime to get divorced from you.’

‘You knew about our son?’

‘Yes.’

‘Still, you didn’t come see us?’

‘I don’t have an answer for that. What did you name him?’

‘Akshar.’

After this, Sudha’s sadness and Chandar’s tears became one.

Chandar, his throat choked, said, ‘He takes after you, doesn’t he?’

‘Yes, a little bit, but the nose resembles yours. He’s as confused as you. Keeps asking about the meaning of your underlines in books.’

Chandar was comforted about something after hearing this. He asked Sudha to show him Akshar’s photograph. The moment Sudha switched on her phone to show him the photo, she saw many, many missed calls from Vineet. There were more than a dozen texts as well.

Vineet’s last text read that Akshar was hurt. His leg was fractured and he was hospitalized. Sudha called Vineet immediately. He yelled at her and told her that he had been extremely upset since last night and was about to take a flight to Delhi. He would reach Dehradun by nightfall. Sudha told him to stay back and said she was going to the hospital.

Chandar left for Dehradun with Sudha immediately. All the way there, Sudha cursed herself for keeping her phone switched off. Chandar kept trying to console her. They reached the hospital in two hours.

The doctor at the hospital said there was nothing to worry about. ‘He was in a lot of pain during the night, so he’s on sedatives right now. The effect will last for a few hours. There is a fracture in two places and so it will take at least a month to recover.’

When Sudha asked what had happened, she was told that some child had pushed him off the first floor. The moment she heard this, Sudha called up the school and lashed out. Tears started running down her face as she yelled; she was threatening to sue the school administration.

Meanwhile, Chandar was extremely quiet. Seeing that Sudha was unable to control herself, he took her phone and kept it with himself. He went close to Akshar’s bed and sat down on a stool. He gestured to Sudha to do the same. He touched Akshar’s nose, and kept his hand on his forehead, as if stroking away the lost ten years. Chandar looked at Akshar carefully, and Sudha gazed at Chandar’s eyes.

Chandar spoke ever so softly, ‘His forehead is exactly like yours.’

Sudha replied, ‘Do you know when I missed you the most?’

‘When?’

‘When Akshar was in his eighth month. He used to kick me in the womb all night and that’s when I felt like you should be there to caress my hurting belly … Why didn’t you come back?’

‘Is that why you’re mad at me, because I didn’t come back?’

‘Yes, a lot. Tell me, why didn’t you come back?’

‘Because I had faith that either you’d come to me or call me back.’

‘You had so much faith?’

‘More than that, this habit of yours rubbed off on me. Whenever I looked at any face carefully, I started to see you. I had been waiting for you since the very first day at Musafir Café.’

‘Come back now.’