Second Innings

Chapter 5

“Hi, di”, Arunima chimed in with excitement laced in her tone. Early in the morning, she had called Tapasya over the phone.

“Hello, soon-to-be bride, how are you doing?”, Tapasya asked while whisking the batter of pancakes. She was making breakfast for herself.

“Umm.. I needed a favor”, Arunima requested coyly, not knowing if she should go ahead with the conversation or not.

Tapasya asked, “How can I help you?”, coming straight to the point. With a grumbling stomach, her main priority was her breakfast. She had an important meeting with the tourism department of the state and she was looking forward to it. She wanted to be on time and she was not interested into Arunima early in the morning.

After Arunima’s engagement, Tapasya had particularly distanced herself. She was feeling jealous of the young girl and she despised herself for her emotions. After an unhappy marriage, she was ruined. She hated herself for not moving on. She abhorred herself for loving her ex-husband, but more than everything, she loathed herself for being jealous of Arunima, the poor girl who deserved happiness.

“Actually, di… please don’t tell mom”, Arunima pleaded and Tapasya got worried this time.

“What happened?”, she asked panicking as she flipped the pancake on the pan.

“I wanted you to receive an order on my place”, she requested, blushing on the other hand.

“What kind of order?”, Tapasya asked, wondering what Arunima was upto.

Was Jayant into some shady business? She wondered, getting concerned.

“Actually, I ordered a few things on the internet but I cannot get them delivered on my place”, Arunima finally said it, or more or like, whispered.

“What things?”, she asked, wanting to snap at Arunima for talking in riddles. She was getting worked up now, concerned for the young girl’s safety.

“Umm… di, you know mummy tends to check each and every thing I buy. She will see the bills too. Di, I have saved the money I received while teaching in the coaching institute. Di, please help.” Arunima pleaded and Tapasya was confused. She knew Shikha was an old lady who had lived in poverty so the concerns were genuine.

“Okay, when do I have to receive it?”, Tapasya asked, a bit relaxed.

“Di, please don’t tell mumma. I am embarrassed. I have ordered a few lingerie to surprise Jayant ji. Please receive them tomorrow.” Arunima said coyly, blushing hard while Tapasya turned pale.

“Okay, dear. Don’t worry your secret is safe!” Tapasya muttered, trying to sound as cheerful as she could. Only she knew that how much she wished for Arunima to have kept her order as a secret.

Cheerfully, Arunima disconnected the call; relaxed upon knowing that Tapasya had been backing her. She treated Tapasya like her elder sister and amidst her excitement of starting a new, blissful life with Jayant; she had missed out the changed demeanor of Tapasya.

On the other hand, the pancakes were long forgotten. With the treacherous tears pooling in her eyes, Tapasya was lost in her past, the terrible past that had ruined her for the worst.

It had been two months to her marriage and her husband had not touched her. Let alone the touch, he had not even spoken to her properly. They had not even gone on the date, let alone the honeymoon.

 A month ago, she had tried to reduce the distance between them and she had just received humiliation in return. The cake she had baked had been thrown on the floor by her beloved husband and her heart had been shattered into innumerable pieces. Since that day, her husband had been avoiding her like a plaque and she had also not dared to talk to him.