Under one roof !

24. A sense of alignment

Vaani's Pov 

I dialled Agastya's number again but it went unanswered like the past 5 calls. He was supposed to accompany me to my house as it's my mom dad's anniversary and for that a small get together has been arranged.

I decided to ring his office. After a ring or two Ritam's voice came from the other end.

'Hello Ritam, this is Vaani. Is Agastya in his cabin ?' 

'No ma'am. Sir left office like 30 minutes back.'

'Alright.' I hung up.

It's 5:30 PM already. So without waiting for him anymore, I decided to drive myself.

The traffic was horrible today. It took me 45 mins to reach here when it's usually a 25 mins drive from my office. 

Could it be that Agastya is stuck in the traffic ?  But why isn't he picking up my call ?

'Di, where are you lost ?' Shrey, my cousin brother asked with a grin on his face.

'Has everyone arrived ?' I asked.

'Yes, except your husband and you. Di, how come you are late for mama mami's anniversary party ?' Shrey questioned. 

'Let me come in stupid.' I said.

'Who is it Shrey ?' Maa's distant voice could be heard from the room.

'A witch mami.'  Shrey replied but before he could escape I twisted his ear which earned me a scowl from him. 'Mami, the witch is causing me pain.' Saying so he ran away.

'Shreyyy.' I ran behind him. But before I could get a hold of him he hid behind maa. 

'Maa can't save you today from my wrath. A witch huh ?'  I tried to get a hold of him.

'Shrey, is this how you behave with your elder sister ?' It was aunt who hit him slightly on his shoulder.

'No one loves me.' He said dramatically, hugging maa from behind.

'Happy anniversary maa baba.' I wished them and took both of them in for a hug.

'Where is Agastya, Vaani ?' Agastya's mom asked.

'Yeah, where is my son-in-law ?' Maa asked.

'Uhh...mom...he is a bit busy with work. But don't worry, he will drop by.' I gave a somewhat believe worthy explanation. 

'I seriously can't with my son.' His mom complained.

'It's ok mom. Let me go and change and then I am joining you all.' Saying so I made my exit towards my room.

I freshened up and changed into a peach colour silk saree, applied minimal makeup and decided on leaving my hair unclasped. 

Someone knocked from outside. 

A smile lit up on my face hoping that it was Agastya but it died down when I saw it was Dev.

'Thought it was Agastya ?' Dev asked.

'Nah...nothing like that.' I tried to cover up my expression.

'Vaani, it's written all over your face.'

'Fine. I called Agastya like six times but he didn't pick up atleast once nor did he leave me a message. He only said that he will accompany me here but look at him.'

'Calm down darling. We will get to know everything once he gets here.'

'I don't even know if he will drop by or not.' I said.

'He said he will, so trust on him.' Dev said.

'Whatever. Lets go downstairs.'

It was 8:30 PM now. The celebration was almost over but there was still no sign of Agastya.

'Vaani, I am sorry for my son's careless attitude dear.' His dad said.

'No dad. You need not to be. It's ok. Work is important, I understand.' I tried to cover up my disappointment. 

It was 9:00 PM when my husband greeted everyone with his presence. He apologised for being late and mingled with everyone half heartedly. Nor once did he meet my eyes or talk with me. 

Something was definitely off.

After everyone left, he too wanted to go back to our house but maa requested him to stay over for a night to which he complied. Strange ! 

After wrapping everything up I retired to my room to find Agastya standing by the veranda, his back facing me.

'Here, I got this kurta-pajama for you from dad. Hopefully it would fit you.' No reply came in.

'Agastya.' I called again.

'Yaah, keep it there and go to bed. You seem tired.' Now, that's it.

'Yaah, I am tired of not getting a reply from you. We were supposed to come here together today. If you were stuck somewhere you could have atleast responded to my call to said so. I had no explanation to provide when everyone asked me about your whereabouts Agastya. Moreover, you had me worried Agastya.' I let out everything.

'Vaani....'

'Where were you Agastya ? I even dialled your office but you were not there.'

'Vaani, let's talk tomorrow. I am tired.' He said, staring at the blanket of darkness with the exception of few stars blinking by.

'No Agastya. I was worried about you ok. If I did the same thing like you did today, what would have been your reaction ?' I questioned.

'You are the perfect daughter and daughter-in-law, so you would never commit something like that.' He replied, his tone monotonous.

Ignoring his tone I asked, 'Did something happen ?'

'Vaani, will I matter to you like I do now after 4 months ?' He asked, a bitter smile on his face.

'What.....' At first I didn't understand what he meant by that but then I recalled that the validity of our contract is only for 4 more months. 

'Agastya, I thought we decided on working things out between us.'

Without paying any heed to what I said, he continued, 'You might get tired of me. You might find someone better than me, someone who deserves you.'

'Agastya....please don't go there. You are tired, let's sleep for now.' 

'No Vaani. I always ruin everything. I ruined your enjoyment, your expectations from me today.'

'You are a human Agastya. I did get disappointed but now that you are here it's a comfort for me. I won't force you to tell me what happened but I am always there to listen to you. Good night.' Before I could leave he held me back, pulling me back into his arms.

The look he has for me in his eyes takes my breath away. 

'Why are you so good to me ?' He asked, looking deeply at me.

'Why ? Do you want me to leave you ?' I asked.

He shook his head. A tear fell off his eyes. I have never seen him being so vulnerable.

It is said that eyes are the windows to the soul, but turns out they are also the windows to the heart. 

'You look beautiful Vaani.' He said, his voice a bare whisper. 

As we stood by the dead silence of the dense night, there was an understanding. A sense of alignment. A comfort by knowing that someone is here to stay, even though there is no real evidence for thinking so, believing they will anyway.  

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