Aboli

Part 73

Sanyukta didn't know if it would make much difference but she knew she had to spend some time away from home. It was taking a tremendous toll on her conscience to pretend before her mother that everything was going well in her life and her marriage. She managed to convince Anju that she had left the Shekhawat mansion uneventfully. It helped that nobody from the family called her mother to say otherwise, not even Harsh Shekhawat who naturally did not want Anju to worry.

Her last meeting with Randhir had made Sanyukta feel restless and guilty. While talking to him she had sounded as practical as can be but within herself she was going to pieces, especially when he had hinted that there could possibly be a "them"! The more she thought the more the idea appealed to her. However she continued to oscillate between her heart and her mind, the latter reminding her that she had a valid reason to marry Vishad, that flushing Randhir out of her orbit was the need of the hour. But the next moment she would begin to toy with the possibility of getting back together with the man she could not stop loving no matter how hard she tried.

"Ma, I am going over to school to meet everyone. Do you want to join me?" She asked Anju.

"No Sanyu, you go ahead, I went there a couple of days ago and even had lunch with my old colleagues. Make sure to return before it gets too dark. Meanwhile I think I will take a nap." Anju helped her daughter choose an appropriate dress. After all Sanyukta had gotten married recently and she had to look the part. Anju did her hair and even made her put on some accessories. 

"You look so pretty when you take some effort to dress up. You should do so more often, Sanyu! And remember to buy some sweets for them on your way!" Anju offered her some money but Sanyukta declined. 

"Ma, I work too, remember?" Sanyukta grabbed her hand bag and phone and stepped out. She walked the short distance of her lane and then hailed a three wheeler, directing the driver to the shop she wanted to pick up the sweets from.

It was ironic that she was taking sweets after her marriage to Vishad to the one place where the roots of her feelings for Randhir lay. Randhir and Parth were her seniors in school. Everyone knew that Randhir was a genius. Both the brothers were avid footballers and even played in the school band. They were admired by the staff and students equally and teenage girls were crazy about them, especially for Randhir because he was any girl's dream come true.

Sanyukta did not know why she had opted to visit her school of all places she could possibly. It was the quickest place she could recall that her mother would not mind her visiting alone. Not that Sanyukta was particularly fond of her school. For as long as she could remember the girls she studied with always kept their distance from her, either because she was a teacher's daughter and they did not trust her enough to confide into her or simply because they found her a bit weird. Besides that she was always making trouble or walking into it. Anju often acted as a cushion shielding her from serious impediments and chastising her every now and then for stepping out of line.

It was not a very large community, most folks had seen each other grow up. The grapevine was adequately strong and there were not too many secrets. The news of Sanyukta's marriage to Vishad had come as a surprise because it had followed quickly in the wake of the union of the renowned love birds Parth and Vidushi. Renuka's resentment for Sanyukta and her mother was well known. But people who attended Sanyukta's and Vishad's wedding reception found no sign of malice from her and were doubly surprised. Nobody outside the family sensed any friction between Randhir and Sanyukta-Vishad because it had been well disguised by the presence of Nicole, the pretty exhibit on Randhir's arm. Word had gotten around like wildfire that Renuka and Harsh Shekhawat's older son had finally found a potential bride. Sanyukta's matter was swept onto the back burner while there were enthusiastic discussions about Randhir's romance with Nicole and the cementing of bonds between two influential business families.