The Bucket List

Chapter-34

I'm as nervous as he is now, although he's a pro in hiding his sentiments I too have become an expert in reading them recently. And right now he seems lost. Is he reminiscing?

"When was the last time you saw him?" I ask.

"Five years or six. I lost count. Maybe the day he lost his second wife too. I don't remember cause I don't think I know him anymore." The toxin in his tongue is evident. And I don't blame him.

It's Diwali and this small urban town is glowing all the more on this new moon day. Hope it brings a change to the lives of people I care about. Driving twenty kilometers on the highway that leads out of the town he pulls in front of a big mansion. Huge mansion.

"It's so bright in there", he sighs. It clearly doesn't have to do with the enormous lighting work.

"Sooner or later this was gonna happen. C'mon."

"Don't let go of me", he says.

"I promise."

Through the marbled stairs, we get into the house. "Karthik. Mira", Vedika's voice rings in the hall but Karthik's eyes stay fixed on a body in a tight suit that has his back towards us in the dining hall. And then he turns towards us.

I watch Karthik's emotions shift tremendously, from hatred to longing to fondness to hatred again. I see an equal play of emotions in the man's eyes too. Guilt and stored affection and love and shame. There is no doubt they share the relationship of father and son.

They don't say anything. Their eyes communicate on their behalf and after Karthik realizes that they have had enough, he excuses both of us to the drawing-room.

His grip on my hand tightens and I caress it to soothe him. "It was fine." I encourage.

Inside the drawing-room, Raina is sitting with an old man who I presume is their granddad. Both have grim expressions. Raina jumps excitedly as she sees me, "Mira!"

We hug and greet each other a happy Diwali.

Karthik joins his grandfather. "I am happy, now. Mom told me about two of you. It is the best decision ever made."

"I hope it stays that way", I say. "How are you holding up?"

"Well...after your Dad abandons you for years and jumps forward to grab a single opportunity laid out to him, to get closer to his old family? I think maybe I'll need booze." She chuckles nervously.

"Well, there is absolutely nothing I can do to ease the pain."

"I don't think that's true. Not with him. He's only here facing his feeling, fighting them, being vulnerable because of you. He has come a long way and it makes me happy to see this particular version of him." She says and it makes me a hundred feet tall. "How is he now anyway?"

"Just the way you are now."

She gives me a painful nod. She is pretty and we fit along well Even when this is our third or fourth meeting. "I'll introduce you to my granddad."

Mr. Acharya may be in his seventies, aged with all struggles of life. His hair has grayed and his wrinkled eyes and mouth lift up as he sees me come forward. "It's nice to finally meet you. Everyone here is really fond of you and I see it now why." I'm happy to know that.

"It's nice to meet you too. You have a beautiful home."

He laughs like an old man followed by short coughing sessions. And he has great stories to tell.