Shape of the Sun

Insincere

 Reddy Mansion. Five days later.

The atmosphere at dinner had been rather casual for a pre-wedding one. Papaji hadn't even been present, opting to wait it out until the bride's parents arrived. Rajkumar couldn't tell what it was that he was feeling.

Cold feet? The jitters? 

Perhaps, that was what this was - the unease that refused to go away even after a pleasant forty-five-minute shared call with his friends. They had been very loud, so loud that he had to engage on the patio, talking to a bunch of familiar rabble-rousers as the cool night air glided across his skin and pervaded his grey cotton shirt and khakis.

Rajkumar felt a little more at peace, which was weird because he also felt a bit more at war. 

After the call with his friends, his lawyers had reached out to inform him that they had begun filing his divorce paperwork as well as the transfer of his apartment and Shamrock to Anisha. The car was to be sold off as he'd requested. He had felt a flurry of emotions - shock, gratitude, and unease. He still did.

As Raj stood there looking at the affixed, twinkling stars, his feelings were the opposite and still in flux, his mind unable to comprehend that this was it for his pre-happily ever after. Of course, there were still some loose ends to tie. He'd have to plan spaced trips to London after the birth of his son to check on Anisha and provide the grounding that she needed. Before that, he also had to tell Manmeet everything as there was no way to keep such a thing from his wife and the mother of his child.

Did he really have to tell her? He had to tell her. No more lies.

Rajkumar was only holding out, wary of exciting her in the delicate stage of the pregnancy that she was in. They were in the home stretch and he didn't dare to mess with that, her panicky state when he returned from London proof, so that he spent an entire hour pacifying her with half-truths.

It weighed on his conscience - that and the selfish thinking buried underneath all the upright reasoning for his delay. Part (if not the whole) of him believed that the reveal should come when he had the security of a marital union and a child. In the present, he felt weightless and he'd be crazy to like that one bit.

Wait...Ah. Rajkumar, have you not grown at all?

He ran through dark hair with his fingers, his molars clenched tight against each other. You stunted bastard.  The thought of a drink suddenly had much more appeal. It should be strong enough to knock him out until the morrow. Rajkumar'd rather he woke up and forget his guilt.

"Raj."

A sweet, familiar voice interrupted his thoughts and was accompanied by arms that went around him, coming to link and rest upon his abdomen. Rajkumar felt his beloved press her cheek to his shoulder and the curve of her belly settle against his lower back.

"Love?" he took one of her hands in his and pressed a soft kiss to the inside of her palm. "We are going to make one hell of a couple."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Let's kick some ass at our wedding tomorrow, Mannu."

Manmeet chuckled, the rich and beautiful sound reverberating across every inch of his body and the cool night air.

"Let's do that, my Raj."

********************************************************************************

At the same time.

But even in the same house, the moods didn't have to align.

Bhairav sat on his bed, fixated on the phone that rang out in his lap. The moonlight that filtered through the window and into the room highlighted the grey hair at the edges of his temples. They were thinning, a byproduct of internalized anxiety that kept tugging at his whole for many days turned to weeks.

Could that child of his not know this?

Perhaps, he did. Immediately this thought had taken shape in Bhairav's mind, the recipient picked up the call.

"Prithvi," he wasted no time at all, "How are you?"

He paused to listen to the reply. Apparently, it was positive because the taut lines on his face eased and there was a rare calmness that settled upon him and the room.

Bhairav went on to ask if he needed any more money or something else but he didn't inform him of Rajkumar's wedding. There was no need to stir the pot. The older man tactfully kept the conversation centered on Prithvi.

"Don't forget to have fun. Find someone nice to settle with there since you were unhappy with the list that I had sent you." He felt relaxed saying this and even more when he heard his eldest's reply.

"Yes, Father."

If only he could see his son's face at that moment. 

Prithvi's face was contorted in a mix of disbelief and rage, stark opposition to the soft voice coming out of his mouth and into Bhairav's ears. Phone pressed to his ears, he internally cursed at what he believed was the blatant bias towards his half-brother. So, the old man would rather withold news of the wedding than have him return to India by the reason of attendance? Too afraid that he'd disrupt?

Ridiculous!

Upset, he turned to the thin hooded figure beside him and felt much better. Their eyes met and he flashed a smile but she hurriedly looked away.

Prithvi sneered in his heart. So that was how this was going to be?

Stupid bitch.

Just then, a baby started crying from behind their row of seats and a disgruntled murmur arose from other folks in the waiting area. Prithvi had no time to join them because Bhairav had stopped mid-talk to ask what was going on.

"What is going on, Prithvi? Where are you?"

"I am at the train station. Have to visit a college friend." There it was. 

Wasn't his old man's hearing too good for his age?

Bhairav, satisfied at this answer, wanted to resume where he had stopped only to be interrupted by a new entry to his room. Prithvi recognized his wife's voice and graciously handed him a step down.

"Uh Father, I have to go now. Let's talk later. Goodbye."

His appreciation was evident. "Oh, alright. Goodbye and have a safe trip."

"Yes, Father."

Bhairav terminated the call and Prithvi clicked his tongue, bored.  

Who did they think they were fooling? Him?

That woman had clearly said something about Manmeet and a wedding in a voice that was loud enough for him to hear. She wanted him to hear.

Tsk. Such shoddy work on the homefront, Father.

Prithvi looked at his quiet companion again and then at the flat screen hoisted onto the platform and that displayed his origin and destination airports: LHR, London to BOM, Mumbai. He still had thirty minutes until boarding. Perhaps, he could use the time to call that person and inform her where to meet when he arrived in Mumbai.

This time, he'd speak with a smile on but it likely wouldn't reach his eyes.